Father Arrested for 'Child Abuse' Before They Finally Discover Symptoms Were from a Food Allergy

By Amanda Thomason April 6, 2019 at 2:45pm

Abuse is a horrible reality that many people face. So many have become adept at covering it up, convincing themselves it’s not a big deal, or believing that they have no viable alternatives.

Nurses and teachers have been trained to look for signs of abuse, especially in those who cannot defend themselves. There are certain tell-tale signs that indicate abuse, but as one couple in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, discovered, there are also health conditions that exhibit similar signs.

When Natalie Whyte and Marc Sutherland sought advice about their newborn baby boy’s concerning symptoms, they were told it was merely colic. This wasn’t Whyte’s first baby, though, as she already had a daughter named Lucy.

As baby Callan screamed more and suffered, however, they knew something was seriously wrong.

“We were constantly told that it was colic,” Whyte said, according to the Daily Mail. “But I knew it wasn’t just that — every feed he would be agitated and scream the house down.”

“I had taken Lucy out and on my return Marc told me how Callan had really struggled,” Whyte recalled, of a particularly trying episode. “He had been pushing and straining and had gone bright red and purple. The left side of his face was red and slightly swollen.”

“The next day, his face still had some strange red and purplish marks on it and I was very worried, as any parent would be.” Of course, those marks also looked like abuse-related bruising, and the concerned mother soon met with prying questions.

“She asked if Lucy could have hurt her brother or if I felt safe leaving the baby alone with my husband,” Whyte said of a health visitor. The couple was asked to report to the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and informed that they were under investigation, specifically Sutherland, who was “arrested, cautioned, and held for four hours,” according to the Daily Mail.

“We were placed under tremendous scrutiny and told we couldn’t be around either of our children unsupervised,” Whyte said, adding that 22 people interviewed them. “Lucy was investigated and her school was contacted for comment on what kind of parents we were.”

“I was forced into leaving my newborn overnight. Our hearts were in a million pieces – we were absolutely devastated.”

Callan went under a multitude of tests to determine whether or not there were concrete signs of abuse, but they could find none. The couple sought advice from a second doctor on their son’s condition, and that’s when the simple answer to their struggles was determined: Baby Callan had an intolerance to dairy.

“I can’t believe we had to go through all that torment — someone should have picked up that he was allergic to milk — I knew something wasn’t right,” the relieved mother said. ”I understand that you have to protect vulnerable babies, but no-one listened to me. I just hope no other families have to go through the same thing we did.”

An NHS Grampian spokeswoman responded to the couple’s complaint, saying, “Ms Whyte and her family have raised their concerns directly with us. As this matter is currently under investigation it would be inappropriate for us to comment further at this time.”

“When concerns about children are raised to police — no matter the nature — they must be taken seriously until the full circumstances are established,” Detective Inspector David Howieson said.

“In this case a report was received from a partner agency and enquiries were subsequently carried out, with all those involved updated at each stage.”

Thankfully the parents have been cleared of wrongdoing and Callan is a much happier, more content baby now that they’ve switched his food.

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