A mother returns home from the hospital with the wrong baby: after a 9-month legal battle, she finally gets to take home her actual child
Maternal instinct is an innate thing that only mothers have and they would be able to recognize their child among hundreds. Just like Mercy Casanalles, who is the protagonist together with her husband of this surreal story.
In fact, this couple had their newborn baby boy exchanged while it was in one of the cribs at the hospital where Mercy Casanalles gave birth and despite the fact that the mother had noticed, no measures were taken to correct this error. Fortunately, the tenacity and willpower of this couple never failed, even after almost a year ...
Mercy Casanalles and Rich Cushworth are a couple from Dallas who became the protagonists of a rather particular story that is also heartbreaking. The story of the two newlyweds begins like that of many other couples in love. The two get married, decide to start a family and after some time the woman becomes pregnant. Mercy decides to give birth and spend the last months of her pregnancy in her city, El Salvador, where she delivers a beautiful baby named Moses. From this moment on, the wonderful story of the Crushworth family turns into a nightmare.
From the first breastfeeding, in fact, the woman began to complain to the doctors that something was strange about her newborn baby boy. It did not seem to be the same newborn baby boy that she had held in her arms immediately after giving birth, but the doctors did not want to take her concerns seriously. The couple, even if still full of doubts, decided to raise this newborn baby for 4 months as if he were their own child and during that time they had the baby tested for DNA. The answer came back and confirmed their darkest predictions, the test in fact reported 0% chance that the baby was Mercy and Rich's newborn son.
Reluctantly, the two parents decided to return the baby that they had raised as if they were theirs and they reported the disappearance of their newborn baby boy, Moses. The story became public and investigations began with hypothetical child traffickers with whom it was discovered that the Casanalles's doctor was also involved, and he was immediately arrested.
Many were the heart-rending appeals of this desperate mother who only asked to be able to embrace her missing baby again. They participated in many TV interviews and the two parents torn by grief made countless heartbreaking appeals, until the circle was narrowed to four male babies born on the same day and in the same hospital as Moses. After performing the DNA tests on all four of the newborn baby boys, one finally turned out to be positive, provoking an immense joy in the two parents. They had finally found their child, but the story was far from over.
Several months passed between legal battles in court and public accusations, before they could get a birth certificate and a passport for their baby boy. Nine months later they finally managed to take custody of their baby and take him back with them to Dallas, where they were greeted by an enthusiastic crowd that commended them for the courage and strength they demonstrated in all those long dark months.
At the end of this article, you can find the video of the moment when the Cushworth family lands at the airport and is greeted by a loud and happy crowd.
