Thursday, June 17, 2010

Florida mother wonders why her disabled son living in a group home has bad bruises

From 13 News in Florida:


APOPKA, Fla. -- The mother of a paralyzed man wants answers.

Linda Barborka got a firsthand look at her severely bruised son Monday after his stay at the Springs Group Home in Apopka.

"I can't figure out what the heck they were doing because his whole chest is bruised," Barborka said.

It was first thought Bryan Barborka (pictured), 26, had a fractured shoulder. It now turns out it is broken and he is scheduled to have surgery.

Barborka was out of town on business when the incident happened.

It's hard for Barborka to talk about what her son has gone through.

"He’s got Cerebral Palsy,” Barborka said. “He's paralyzed on his right side. He's blind on his right side. I can't imagine what kind of restraint was needed to hold him down like that."

The incident report said Bryan started having behavioral problems around 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Employees attempted to restrain him, but it wasn't until 6 a.m. Thursday that he was taken to the hospital.

"My understanding from the report was that in the morning when he continued to complain of pain, they took the necessary action to take him to the emergency room,” said Merari Perez from the Agency for Persons with Disabilities.

"They didn't call an ambulance to take him that night,” Barborka said. “He laid there all night like that. They're saying they didn't see the bruising at that time but you had to hear a bone break."

Now several agencies are investigating.

The family said two female workers were questioned and gave statements to officers.

The group home said all workers who may have been involved have been taken off the schedule until the investigation is over.

The Florida Department of Children and Families is also keeping an eye on the home and its 11 other patients.

"We want to be sure that this person is safe now,” said Elizabeth Arenas from DCF. “We want to be sure the other people in the facility are safe."

Barborka's family is trying to keep it together and help Bryan make a full recovery.

They still don’t know where they'll go from here they still don't know.

Bryan is scheduled to go into surgery Wednesday to have a rod put into his shoulder.

Barborka said Bryan is 26 but has the mind set of about a 7 year old.

She said Bryan is not sure what is going on, but said he wants to go home.