Omar and Ruthelyn Rojas during a recent visit (Rojas)
PLANT CITY, Fla. (CBS12) — While many
stories about guardianship involve senior citizens, this one shows that
young people can be placed into the system, too.
Omar Rojas was removed from his mother's home, placed into a group home, and put under the control of a court-appointed, professional guardian after he turned 18.
Now his mother, Rutheyln Rojas, is fighting to end the guardianship and get him back.
The
guardianship system is designed to care for people who are
incapacitated and cannot manage their own affairs. It is often reserved
for people without family members who are willing and able to care for
their loved ones.
"We are able to take care of him and we want Omar back," Ruthelyn told the I-Team from her home in Plant City. "We ask God day and night to bring Omar back home."
A MOTHER'S MIRACLE
Ruthelyn didn't think she could have children, so when she found out she was pregnant with Omar it felt like a miracle.
Childbirth came with challenges. During delivery, Omar lost oxygen and suffered brain damage, leaving him severely disabled with cerebral palsy.
Doctors weren't sure he would live more than a few months -- so for Omar to be approaching his 22nd birthday feels like a miracle to Ruthelyn, too.
"If he's alive, it's because I took care of him for 20 years with extreme perfection," she said. "I was with him day and night, every single appointment, school activities, everywhere."
The family won a large settlement from the hospital due to Omar's birth-related injuries. They used that money to provide constant, in-home care for him.
GUARDIANSHIP BEGINS
Around the time Omar turned 18, his parents were going through a contentious divorce.
Both mother and father petitioned the court to be his guardian. Instead of choosing between them, a judge appointed a professional guardian named Susan Whitney to oversee Omar's care and finances.
At first, Ruthelyn thought a guardian would be a good thing -- but she, and Omar's care manager, started to become alarmed by the guardian's actions.
In a letter sent to the Office of Public and Professional Guardians, the state agency that oversees guardianship in Florida, Omar's care manager describes concerns about Whitney, calling her "inappropriate, unethical" and even "threatening" to Ruthelyn.
The care manager writes that she was concerned about certain medical decisions the guardian made, like reducing the food in Omar's feeding tube.
She told the OPPG it would be a mistake to remove Omar from his "loving, caring" home to put him in a group facility.
And she quoted the guardian as saying, "I'm the mom now. I make the decisions" when it came to Omar's living situation.
REMOVING OMAR
Ruthelyn remembers the day Omar didn't come home from school. She was waiting for him to get off the bus, as usual, but he wasn't there.
She frantically called the school, her ex-husband, and guardian Whitney to try to find out if something happened to her son.
She says it took hours but she eventually heard back: the guardian took Omar from school and to a group home, without notifying his parents.
Later, she moved Omar to a new facility, even further away. Ruthelyn says she has to drive two hours one way to see her son, and can only make the trip about once a week due to her work schedule.
Initially visits were limited and supervised.
"It’s horrible," she said. "It’s taking something from you. It’s my son. My son. And every time we say bye Omar, he knows that word."
Ruthelyn's new focus is getting Omar out of the guardianship and back home where he has family, friends, and a church community.
She's praying for another miracle in her son's life: for a judge to reverse his decision and end the guardianship before it's too late.
"We don’t know how long Omar will live, but we want to be together," Ruthelyn said. "We want Omar with us. I want to have the privilege, the mother privilege, to take care of my son day and night."
STATE INVESTIGATION
The OPPG investigated complaints against guardian Whitney, but found the evidence against her was "insufficient" and declined to take action or recommend discipline.
The report states that Ruthelyn and her ex-husband have "set aside their differences" and asked the judge to end the guardianship so Omar can come home - but to this day, he is living in a care facility, under the control of a guardian.
Through her assistant, Susan Whitney declined to be interviewed for this story. She said she cannot comment on active cases.
The OPPG report contains a summary of their interview with her and her lawyer. They deny that she was ever verbally abusive to Omar's family and they claim Omar's family became dependent on the hospital settlement money, even suggesting that the funds were mismanaged.
Ruthelyn
says she is hoping a lawyer will hear her son's story and take on the
case, so she can continue to petition the court for custody.
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