After a medical misdiagnosis, my kids were wrongfully taken from me. It took 5 months to get them back. (newsbreak.com)

Author Kelly Burch's article, After a medical diagnosis, my kids were wrongfully taken from me.

• Lorina Troy took her son J.J. to the hospital, where doctors suspected abuse.
• J.J. later received a diagnosis of a medical condition that causes fluid in the brain.
• This is Lorina's story, as told to Kelly Burch.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Lorina Troy. It has been edited for length and clarity.

When my son J.J. was born, something seemed off from the beginning. His head measured large, and he frequently vomited. But my pediatrician, the urgent care, and the ER all dismissed my concerns. Finally, after J.J.'s 4-month appointment, his pediatrician ordered an MRI of his head. And that was the start of our nightmare .

I watched the system fail and inflict harm

You can spend your entire life thinking the system is there to protect you — that CPS is there for the good of children. But for my family, that wasn't true. My 4-year-old lost 20 pounds while he was in foster care. My infant cried and cried.

And through it all, Jason and I knew that if we wanted to be reunited with our kids, we had to play by their rules. We hired attorneys and followed our parenting plan. Finally, after five months, the children's court-appointed special advocate — a person assigned to push for the interests of the children — said the boys should return home. He had seen how the children clung to me and Jason, and he knew we weren't abusing them.

I wish I could say that was the end of the nightmare, but it wasn't. Jason had been charged with two felonies. They were later dropped, but he lost his top-secret clearance and his job. We sold our house and maxed out our credit cards to pay more than $80,000 in legal fees.

We moved on with our lives and into advocacy

After 2 ¹ / ₂ years, everything was resolved. But we never got an apology from anyone.

Today, I advocate for families like mine. I've testified before the Texas House of Representatives and some senators, and I've met with lawmakers in Nevada and California. I've written a book about my experience. My message is simple: Parents accused of abuse are entitled to a second opinion.