On September 2, 2025, I sent an official letter to MLA Rick Glumac, Premier David Eby, and Minister Jodie Wickens.

I was pleading for help to stop what was happening to my six year old son, Bennett.

That letter—copied here in spirit—was my desperate attempt to stop the trauma being inflicted on my vulnerable six-year-old son, Bennett. I wanted the record to show that I reached out before more harm was done.

My name is Darian Thomas, and I live in Coquitlam, British Columbia. I’m not a politician or a professional advocate—just a mother fighting to protect her child from a system that has lost sight of compassion and evidence.

Bennett isn’t just another child on a caseload. He’s a six-year-old boy who lives with a rare ANKRD17 genetic disorder, autism with language impairment, ADHD, anxiety, and severe gastrointestinal problems that make eating by mouth difficult. He partially relies on a G-tube for his daily intake—a small medical device in his stomach that keeps him alive.

He relies on trained hands, predictable routines, and familiar faces to feel safe. Sudden changes cause him panic, pain, and shutdown.

For six years, I have been those hands. I am Bennett’s sole legal guardian under a 2020 Final Court Order. I’ve built and coordinated a circle of care that includes Behaviour Interventionists, a Board-Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA), dietitians, counsellors, and the specialists at BC Children’s Hospital.

Together, we built a stable world where Bennett could grow and recover from procedures that once terrified him.

The Crisis That Changed Everything

In late July 2025, I was hospitalized with gallbladder complications and an exacerbation of my chronic illnesses—Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) and Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS). Because no one else was medically trained to manage his G-tube and complex care, Bennett was admitted to BC Children’s Hospital as well.

His Behaviour Intervention (BI) team immediately stepped in. They stayed by his side 24 hours a day, supporting doctors through emergencies and two G-tube reinsertion procedures. Every clinician involved agreed that the presence of his trusted team was the only reason he remained calm and safe.

Then, in early August, the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) proposed moving Bennett into government-arranged Special Needs Agreement (SNA) care.

The proposed placement wasn’t medically ready—no nurse oversight, no delegation for G-tube care, no training for staff in his complex medical or sensory needs. Every medical and behavioural professional warned in writing that such a move would traumatize him.

So I declined.

Instead, I created a family-led discharge plan that was safe and fully supported by his doctors:

My brother Dylan, whom Bennett adores, would step in as interim guardian under the Family Law Act. His BI team, already hospital-tested, would continue 24/7 home coverage. A private registered nurse would oversee delegation and medical standards.

It was safe. It was lawful. It was family.

The Day Everything Was Torn Apart

On August 28, 2025, everything we built was disregarded.

MCFD suspended my guardianship, dismissed Dylan’s legal guardianship designation, and ordered Bennett’s trusted team out of the hospital. My son watched as the people who had been holding his hand for weeks were escorted away mid-shift.

He was placed with strangers in the same resource I had already declined—one that had no medical delegation, no behavioural training, and no continuity of care.

He cried for the people who’d kept him safe. He couldn’t understand why they were gone.

This was not protection. It was harm.

What I Asked Our Leaders to Do

In my September 2 letter, I pleaded for three things:

1. A review of Bennett’s case and the decision to apprehend him.

2. Accountability for the officials who overrode medical evidence and legal safeguards.

3. Reform, to ensure no medically complex child is removed without nursing oversight, clinician input, and real exploration of family-led care.

I also asked for a renewed commitment to kinship care—placing children with trusted family members rather than strangers in unprepared facilities. Families like mine aren’t resisting the system; we’re trying to survive it.

For the Record

This post exists so that the public record is clear:

On September 2, 2025, I formally reached out to MLA Rick Glumac, Premier David Eby, and Minister Jodie Wickens. I asked for help before irreversible damage was done.

Families like mine are not adversaries—we are parents, advocates, and caregivers trying to keep our children safe in a system that too often mistakes bureaucracy for care. Bennett deserves to grow up surrounded by love, stability, and the people who know how to keep him alive.

📎 Attached Exhibit 1: Letter to MLA Glumac

📎 Attached Exhibit 2: Letters to Premier Eby

📎 Attached Exhibit 3: Letter to Minister Wickens

#BringBennettHome #DisabilityRights #MedicalComplexity #ChildProtectionReform #BCPolitics #MCFD #AutismAwareness #KinshipCare #ParentAdvocacy #BCHumanRights #SystemicFailure #JusticeForBennett