Doctor: Psychological damage tough to fix
Herald-Journal (Spartanburg, SC)
Investigators: Three boys getting medical help for starvation
Author: AMANDA RIDLEY
The playground chant about sticks and stones isn't always true for children who have been physically abused.
"The broken bones are easy to treat," said pediatrician Dr. George Glenn.
But the psychological damages may be more difficult to mend, said Glenn, who works with troubled children at the Southeastern Children's Home in Duncan.
And in the case of the three boys who authorities say have been deprived of food by their adoptive parents, Dennis Scott and Molly McCurry of Lyman, it may take some time for them to recover both physically and mentally.
Local child advocates say seeing children who have been deprived of food, or at least proper nutrition, happens with some regularity, but not usually to the extent reported in the case of the Lyman brothers.
The three children, ages 5, 7 and 8, are receiving medical treatment in Spartanburg for what investigators described as starvation.
Each of the children's heights and weights are at or below the third percentile, which means 97 percent of children their ages are taller and heavier than they.
Without a thorough physical exam and family history, Glenn said he couldn't be sure whether the children are unhealthy or naturally smaller than most children. However, Dennis Scott McCurry told investigators he tied the children to a bedpost to keep them away from food.
The youngest child, who weighs fewer than 20 pounds and is 36 inches long, is way below the average height (43 inches) and weight (40 pounds) for his age, which indicates a problem, Glenn said.
"He is most worrisome," Glenn said.
The others are also below average. A typical 7-year-old weighs 50 pounds and is 48 inches long, while the average 8-year-old weighs 58 pounds and is 50 inches long.
If the children have been deprived of food for a long time, Glenn said it would take at least four to six weeks to determine whether they will need further treatment for more serious side effects such as mental retardation.
"With children, we often don't know exactly what's happened to them until we can watch their recovery," Glenn said.
The children's smaller stature and size could be the result of physical and emotional stress, Glenn said.
Glenn said studies show that children who have been given adequate nourishment but have not been nurtured have similar signs of deprivation.
That's why children need their emotional and physical needs met, said Robert Kimberly, executive director of the Southeastern Children's Home, which provides private and group counseling for children and their families.
Kimberly has seen situations very similar to this one in which children have been neglected or abused. Most times they don't know everything that happened to the children – or even the root cause of the abuse, Kimberly said.
"But if they are allowed to be honest and are allowed to deal with their emotions, there's a very good chance they can recover from this," said Kimberly, who said it would take several months for that to happen.
"They have to realize that this is not their fault. They did not cause this to happen, and they did not deserve this."
Sylvia Stahley, director of the Spartanburg Children's Shelter, which also helps children who have been abused or exposed to some kind of abuse in their home, said the children would also have to learn how to trust adults again.
"It's hard to build that trust back with adults. Yo•can build it, but it's really, really hard," she said.
It has not been determined whether the children will be placed into a foster home or another facility. One couple has volunteered to care for the children. Their birth mother, Nina West, lost custody of the boys three years ago. Their father, Harley West, died in July 2004 after a car struck the bicycle he was riding.
The McCurrys were arrested Friday after police officers received an anonymous tip that the children were in danger.
They have been charged with three counts each of intent to inflict great bodily injury upon a minor.
"I hope that more people will get the message that they shouldn't be afraid to call and report this kind of thing," Stahley said.
"This could have saved their lives, and it could save the lives of other children."
To report a suspected child abuse case, call the Spartanburg County Department of Social Services at 585-1445. The office is available 24 hours, and callers are not required to give their names, Stahley said.
Amanda Ridley can be reached at 562-7221 or amanda.ridley@shj.com.