The Daily Dormouse. (aka Bike, est. 2007) Part 2258 by Angharad Copyright © 2013 Angharad All Rights Reserved.

“Mr Warwick,” announced Jacquie and she turned and left. I didn’t offer coffee this wasn’t a friendly encounter.

“Lady Cameron,” he offered his hand and a smile. I shook his hand with a neutral expression.

“This is Dr Stephanie Cauldwell.” I made the introduction and they shook hands. “I’m recording this meeting, a copy of which will be available for you to take with you at the end.”

“How are you recording it?” he asked looking a little less confident.

“Audio only,” if he objected that was an end to the proceedings.

“And I get a copy at the end?”

“Yes. I suggest we sign each other’s copy and that will reduce any future misunderstanding.”

“Unusual, but fine by me.” He agreed.

I switched on the mike and introduced myself, then Stephanie and finally, Warwick. I continued, “The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the events of the past weekend when I was misled by a social worker regarding a meeting with Neal Allen and my fostering of his infant daughter, Elizabeth while he is unable through illness to care for her himself; and the subsequent return of said social worker in my absence and the seizure of my thirteen year old transgender daughter on the premise of taking her into care.” I glanced at Warwick, his face was expressionless except to say he was listening carefully to everything I said.

“Do we all agree the purpose of the meeting?” I asked and the other two agreed it was.

I then related the events as I believed they had happened, the first visit of the social worker, my signing the fostering forms and her saying she had spoken to Neal who agreed the arrangement. I then explained how we’d, that was Sammi and I, had gone to see Neal only to find he was clearly unwell and had been for some time. As the clinic logs all visitors, I asked to see it to determine when the social services had called to see him as no date had been given by them. There was no record. I had therefore to conclude they had not visited.

“Do you wish to challenge any of this?” I asked Warwick who had a large file on his lap.

“According to our records he was spoken with on December 24th last year.”

“That’s Christmas eve,” I noted. “Who went to see him?”

“Suzy Vallance. He signed the form.” He passed it to me to see.

“That isn’t his signature or his writing.”

“You said he was ill, it could have changed.”

“It could also have been forged. According to the clinic he had no visitors that day and I would suggest he was in no position to sign anything.”

“Well somebody did.”

“It wasn’t Neal. I have specimens of his writing here and his younger sister is upstairs, I could ask her to attend or I could show you his writing.”

Warwick agreed to the latter. I had some lab reports from him and showed him three of them. His writing was consistent and nothing like the specimen on the agreement. Warwick made notes and I asked him for the purpose of the recording to comment. He agreed the signature was suspect.

I then went on to report on what I was told about the removal of my adopted daughter, Danielle including what had been said about her and me by the social worker at the earlier meeting. Warwick looked very serious.

I then asked Danielle to attend and describe what happened. Warwick was surprised by this.

She came in and I introduced them. They shook hands and I asked Danielle to say what had happened on the Saturday afternoon.

“What all of it?” she asked looking very anxious.

“If you can, darling, Mr Warwick is head of social services and he is very interested in what happened.”

She started off saying that the people had come and she was grabbed by a policewoman and taken off to a car and taken to a home for boys. She had protested that she was a girl as had Stella. Stella had also protested that Danni was recovering from surgery and should be handled gently.

Danni accepted that she wasn’t harmed by the seizure except she hadn’t wanted to go and had been forced to. All through the time she was being taken and subsequently, she was referred to as a boy and by the boy version of her name despite her protests. Warwick was making copious notes.

I asked her to describe what happened in the children’s home. She did including being stripped down to her underwear–a bra and panties–before the two members of staff accepted she was a girl. She got a bit upset at the memory of this and I had to comfort her. To her great credit she recovered enough to say after the undressing episode they gave her boy’s clothes to wear over her lingerie and to stay in her room to avoid contact with the boys in the home. She stayed there until she was brought home on the Sunday where I asked her to speak with Dr Cauldwell.

Warwick looked very worried. “Danielle, I’m very sorry that this happened to you. I believe what you told me is accurate and I will be instigating an investigation to see who is responsible and taking action against them. I can’t say what that action will be until I’ve investigated but I think some people will be in danger of losing their jobs if not facing charges of gross professional misconduct. They could be struck of the register of social workers and possibly even prosecuted.

“Thank you very much for telling me what happened, you’re a very brave young lady to do so, especially as I can see how upsetting it was for you. I can only reiterate how sorry I am that it happened.”

Danielle thanked him and left.

I invited Stephanie to contribute but she declined on grounds of patient confidentiality.

I reminded Warwick of what had happened to Danielle from the assault in France to the lead up to her wanting to live as a girl and to the final episode of her being assaulted by her friend and nearly dying from blood loss. I told him that I’d explained all this to Ms Vallance and that the surgeons had had to reconstruct the damaged genitals with a vaginoplasty and clitoroplasty.

At no time had I encouraged Daniel to become Danielle but once she’d expressed a desire to live as a girl I felt obliged to allow her the space experiment in the role. She had lived for several months as a girl and seemed to be thriving as one. Stephanie was prepared to say that was her experience as well and she could think of no reason, medically, why Danielle should have been removed by social services and in fact that given Danielle’s recent traumatic history, her removal was definitely contra indicated.

Warwick began to look very worried.

“I don’t know what to say,” he began, “except to say how sorry I am that this happened. As I told your daughter, I shall be investigating this matter thoroughly. I shall of course let you know the outcome.”

I expressed an opinion that because the children I had were different, by virtue of being gender variant, I felt social services had attempted to harass me for being prepared to let them experiment with gender despite my seeking medical guidance and support throughout.

“I see. I’m prepared to investigate that as well if you’d like me to, meanwhile I can only apologise for past mistakes if we have made any and assure you that in future anyone wishing to have business with this family discuss it with me first. I must emphasise how unusual that would be as a procedure.”

I thanked him and accepted his apologies and assurances. I ended the meeting which had run for two hours. I then sent for Sammi who made two recordings which we each signed as true records and he left shortly afterwards.

“You did very well there.” Was Dr Cauldwell’s opinion.

“I hope I achieved what I set out to.”

“I think you frightened him to death. He’ll have his hands full for weeks, especially as you didn’t mention any court action, though I suspect he understood it as implicit if he doesn’t produce the goods at the end of his investigations.”

“If heads don’t roll he’ll have to sell his BMW and get a bicycle because I’ll sue him as well as his homophobic friends.”

“I thought you might–now, what’s for lunch, I’m starving?”