Post by Nutcase on Mar 29, 2009 2:28:38 GMT -5
Nadya Suleman is a very poor decision-maker, no doubt about it. It’s more than just immaturity with her, though; there’s something pathological about her inability to foresee consequences.
...so Suleman wasn’t in her right mind when she went for those fertility treatments. Her view of the situation was so warped that her initial defense was simply, “I only wanted one more child, not eight.”
She was completely oblivious to the fact that intentionally having six kids, let alone trying for a seventh, was wildly inappropriate considering her circumstances. (But that doesn’t make her evil. The amount of hatred directed at her is way out of proportion.)
During the various interviews she gave, Suleman seemed genuinely unaware of just what she was facing. When officials at Kaiser Permanente, the hospital where the octuplets were born, delivered an eight-page document outlining all the changes Suleman would have to make before the babies could be brought home, she began to panic. It was only then that she clued in to how seriously bad this situation actually was.
Angels In Waiting USA is a non-profit organization that provides in-home medical care for foster kids with special needs. Its founder, Linda West-Conforti, offered AIW’s services to Nadya Suleman less than a month after the octuplets were born – or at least that’s how it seemed.
In truth, West-Conforti and her attack-dog lawyer, Gloria Allred, had made this offer as part of an ultimatum: ‘Take our help or we’ll lodge a complaint with CPS, requesting a probe into your fitness as a parent.’
(Suleman had a right to turn them down. She was asking for public donations, yes, but she was under no obligation to accept help from people she believed were threatening her.)
The staff at Kaiser Permanente, along with Suleman’s own mother, were among the few people who could make any authoritative claims about Suleman’s fitness as a parent. West-Conforti and Allred had no more standing to request a CPS probe than any other member of the public. At the time, neither woman had so much as met Suleman. But they sure did ham it up for the cameras.
After a meeting with West-Conforti at Dr. Phil’s house, Suleman assented to have AIW come to her home and help care for the children.
Because of the animosity and threats, that relationship was pretty much doomed from the start.
Suleman claims the nurses were “spying on her” – and seeing as AIW employees admit to filing at least three separate complaints with CPS in the space of a single week, Suleman seems pretty justified in her suspicions.
Allred also had the nurses refuse to sign non-disclosure agreements under the pretext that signing would jeopardize the “total transparency” AIW had promised its donors.
But a non-disclosure agreement could never have superseded the duty of a mandated reporter – a nurse or social worker etc. – to report any evidence of abuse or neglect to CPS. Allred was merely forcing Suleman to give up even a minimal level of privacy in exchange for the services her organization had demanded Suleman accept under penalty of losing custody of her children.
Suleman sent AIW packing about a week after they started with her. The headlines were full of claims that “Octomom fired free help!”
West-Conforti appeared on the Dr. Phil Show to drag Suleman through the mud, claiming among other things that Suleman didn’t care about her kids and was in it for the media attention.
“She is in for the paparazzi, the media,” West-Conforti said. “That is my opinion. I’ve been there for a week. I’m the eyes, the ears and the mouth of these little children.” (And apparently all their egos, as well.)
She also claimed that three of the nannies Suleman had hired were probably TB-positive. How she knew this for certain was never made all that clear. She said simply that one was coughing and another had a rash on her arm that might have indicated a positive TB test. She went on to say that Suleman permitted the nannies access to the nursery, with the proviso that they wore face-masks.
“I was supposed to be there to train nannies, to train Nadya,” West-Conforti continued. “What I get is Hispanic-speaking ladies that are showing up, showing positive for TB.”
That kind of bald hostility from a professional, representing her own organization on national television, raises serious concerns about her behavior towards Suleman off-camera. West-Conforti also set the tone for how her own employees would treat the mother of 14.
AIW had some perfectly legitimate complaints about security within the house. Suleman seems like the sort who would have taken the threat of abduction fairly seriously had it been brought to her attention by professionals acting in a respectful manner. Allred was quite correct in sharing her concerns with Suleman’s attorney. She was right to worry. Unfortunately, those very real concerns were likely buried under a fuckton of acrimony.
(AIW might be an awesome organization, but the mix was bad here.)
If Suleman is in this for the publicity, she isn’t alone. In my opinion, Dr. Phil, Gloria Allred, and Linda West-Conforti were involved in this situation for the same reason – except, unlike Nadya Suleman, none of those folks could ever hope to blame mental illness.
...so Suleman wasn’t in her right mind when she went for those fertility treatments. Her view of the situation was so warped that her initial defense was simply, “I only wanted one more child, not eight.”
She was completely oblivious to the fact that intentionally having six kids, let alone trying for a seventh, was wildly inappropriate considering her circumstances. (But that doesn’t make her evil. The amount of hatred directed at her is way out of proportion.)
During the various interviews she gave, Suleman seemed genuinely unaware of just what she was facing. When officials at Kaiser Permanente, the hospital where the octuplets were born, delivered an eight-page document outlining all the changes Suleman would have to make before the babies could be brought home, she began to panic. It was only then that she clued in to how seriously bad this situation actually was.
Angels In Waiting USA is a non-profit organization that provides in-home medical care for foster kids with special needs. Its founder, Linda West-Conforti, offered AIW’s services to Nadya Suleman less than a month after the octuplets were born – or at least that’s how it seemed.
In truth, West-Conforti and her attack-dog lawyer, Gloria Allred, had made this offer as part of an ultimatum: ‘Take our help or we’ll lodge a complaint with CPS, requesting a probe into your fitness as a parent.’
(Suleman had a right to turn them down. She was asking for public donations, yes, but she was under no obligation to accept help from people she believed were threatening her.)
The staff at Kaiser Permanente, along with Suleman’s own mother, were among the few people who could make any authoritative claims about Suleman’s fitness as a parent. West-Conforti and Allred had no more standing to request a CPS probe than any other member of the public. At the time, neither woman had so much as met Suleman. But they sure did ham it up for the cameras.
After a meeting with West-Conforti at Dr. Phil’s house, Suleman assented to have AIW come to her home and help care for the children.
Because of the animosity and threats, that relationship was pretty much doomed from the start.
Suleman claims the nurses were “spying on her” – and seeing as AIW employees admit to filing at least three separate complaints with CPS in the space of a single week, Suleman seems pretty justified in her suspicions.
Allred also had the nurses refuse to sign non-disclosure agreements under the pretext that signing would jeopardize the “total transparency” AIW had promised its donors.
But a non-disclosure agreement could never have superseded the duty of a mandated reporter – a nurse or social worker etc. – to report any evidence of abuse or neglect to CPS. Allred was merely forcing Suleman to give up even a minimal level of privacy in exchange for the services her organization had demanded Suleman accept under penalty of losing custody of her children.
Suleman sent AIW packing about a week after they started with her. The headlines were full of claims that “Octomom fired free help!”
West-Conforti appeared on the Dr. Phil Show to drag Suleman through the mud, claiming among other things that Suleman didn’t care about her kids and was in it for the media attention.
“She is in for the paparazzi, the media,” West-Conforti said. “That is my opinion. I’ve been there for a week. I’m the eyes, the ears and the mouth of these little children.” (And apparently all their egos, as well.)
She also claimed that three of the nannies Suleman had hired were probably TB-positive. How she knew this for certain was never made all that clear. She said simply that one was coughing and another had a rash on her arm that might have indicated a positive TB test. She went on to say that Suleman permitted the nannies access to the nursery, with the proviso that they wore face-masks.
“I was supposed to be there to train nannies, to train Nadya,” West-Conforti continued. “What I get is Hispanic-speaking ladies that are showing up, showing positive for TB.”
That kind of bald hostility from a professional, representing her own organization on national television, raises serious concerns about her behavior towards Suleman off-camera. West-Conforti also set the tone for how her own employees would treat the mother of 14.
AIW had some perfectly legitimate complaints about security within the house. Suleman seems like the sort who would have taken the threat of abduction fairly seriously had it been brought to her attention by professionals acting in a respectful manner. Allred was quite correct in sharing her concerns with Suleman’s attorney. She was right to worry. Unfortunately, those very real concerns were likely buried under a fuckton of acrimony.
(AIW might be an awesome organization, but the mix was bad here.)
If Suleman is in this for the publicity, she isn’t alone. In my opinion, Dr. Phil, Gloria Allred, and Linda West-Conforti were involved in this situation for the same reason – except, unlike Nadya Suleman, none of those folks could ever hope to blame mental illness.