A Denton County mother fighting to get her two-year-old son back from Texas Child Protective Services since before Christmas appeared once again in court Wednesday morning.
Several hours later, Joslyn Sanders left the courtroom without her son, separated for 75 days.
"It's disheartening," said Sanders after the hearing.
The case has garnered national attention over parental rights in medical emergencies and whether objecting to advice from doctors amounts to potentially lethal medical neglect.
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On Dec. 21, 2023, CPS removed Josiah Sanders from his home after his mother left a pediatric hospital in Dallas against medical advice.
The case is being heard in the 362nd Denton County District Court by Judge Bruce McFarling.
Cameras are not allowed in the courtroom during proceedings.
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The child's ongoing health concerns have been detailed in court, from suffering a seizure in March 2023 to being referred to a feeding specialist for feeding problems and a rash that worsened in the fall of 2023.
The boy's mother says minor issues began in early 2023 when she weened Josiah off breastmilk.
Sanders was a patient at Shine Pediatrics in Richardson, where her son received treatment since birth.
She says a new laundry detergent caused her son to develop a rash in the fall.
Sanders took the toddler to Shine Pediatrics, where he was seen by a nurse practitioner who testified in court on Wednesday.
"Given that most people are not familiar with contact dermatitis, it could be alarming," she said. "But, given that I'm familiar with his care, his rash was healing."
The nurse practitioner described the boy as exhibiting a severe rash all over his body and swelling in his hands, feet, and genitals.
The child had lost several pounds, was experiencing hair loss, and had not urinated in over 12 hours, she said.
The nurse practitioner testified the symptoms did not appear to align with an allergic reaction to laundry detergent.
Concerned sepsis might set in, the nurse practitioner instructed Sanders to take Josiah to a hospital for lab work during the 11 a.m. appointment, giving her the option between Children's Dallas and Children's Plano.
Sanders chose Children's Dallas but said she needed to gather items from home for the hospital stay.
The nurse practitioner says she alerted Children's Dallas about the Sanders family's arrival and then received a call from the hospital at approximately 4 p.m. saying the family had not yet arrived.
Attorneys representing CPS accuse the delay of a lack of urgency on Sanders' part.
Sanders, who is disabled, rejects that assertion.
"I am visibly disabled, and the average person doesn't know what it takes to get from place to place to get the medical supplies that I need," Sanders responded after the hearing.
Once the child arrived at Children's Dallas, Sanders says she opted to leave against medical advice, AMA, after doctors advised Josiah needed clindamycin, an antibiotic drug.
Sanders strongly disagreed with her son receiving the drug with a 'black box warning' and opted to leave the hospital AMA.
Sanders said she wanted to consult her son's medical providers at Shine Pediatrics to receive an alternative medication.
According to the nurse practitioner, Sanders' father [Josiah's grandfather] showed up at the clinic on Dec. 21 asking for a prescription. Still, he did not receive it after refusing to show the healthcare worker all the child's lab results from the hospital.
The mother's decision to leave the hospital AMA triggered a call to CPS.
A case worker, reportedly new on the job, is accused of traveling to Corinth to carry out an emergency removal of Josiah from his home.
While Josiah's mother and supporters previously protested CPS removing him without a signed court order, an attorney for CPS said that, by law, the agency does not have to have one.
A Corinth police officer who was called to the house testified that he did not observe any signs of Josiah being in danger and that the allegations the CPS worker presented him did not align with what he observed.
Still, the CPS worker followed through with the removal after speaking with a supervisor on the phone.
The officer recalled hearing the CPS worker giving Sanders the option of taking Josiah back to the hospital herself or she would, and Sanders said she would instead go to Children's Plano.
He testified that he noticed the worker left the child unattended in her car for several minutes before driving him back to Dallas Children's.
Attorneys for the state have revealed Sanders left the hospital against medical advice in March of 2023 after Josiah suffered a seizure.
A second nurse practitioner from Shine Pediatrics who has treated Josiah on more than one occasion also took the stand, testifying Sanders appeared to be an attentive, loving mother.
Sanders admittedly takes a holistic approach to food and medications for her son but says the toddler was not on a vegan diet.
Asked to respond to any perception from CPS or the public that Sanders is a neglectful or arrogant mother who believes she knows more than doctors, Sanders responded:
"Being temporarily disabled also comes with different medical needs that I need, so I've been able to research," she said. "I'm also a Top 10 graduate from UNT, so I'm able to do my own research and come to my own conclusion, of course, with the advice of licensed professionals."
The hearing concluded for the day because of a scheduling conflict.
Judge McFarling will decide next Tuesday after additional testimony, including Sanders herself.
Before leaving the courtroom, Sanders' attorney asked the judge to allow Sanders to visit her son for four consecutive hours instead of the current one-hour weekly visits.
Attorneys for CPS argued against the extension, citing Josiah's strict feeding schedule.
McFarling will allow Sanders three one-hour visits a week for now.
