I figured I would reach out to you guys and see if there is anyone that could help or provide some advise.
I will eventually get around to speaking with an attorney, but cash is slim and I want to get all my facts documented before I get one on retainer.
Sorry, this will be a long post but I want to get all the details out there.
I just recently went through a divorce and have 2 kids with my ex. I am also recovering from being nearly dead in the hospital. Health wise I'm doing much better, I'm getting my strength back and can function normally now. We were married for 5 years, have a 3 year old and a 1 year old. About 2 years ago my health started declining at a fairly rapid pace. I'm normally a 225-230 pound guy at 6'2" and have been for most of my adult life. About 2 years ago, she completely flipped a 180 and decided to turn vegan and cut out meat and dairy. I am not here to debate whether vegan or non-vegan is the way to go, so please don't go that route. She forced the vegan diet in the household, including me and the kids. She started saying things like "If you eat meat, I cannot love you". Doing what most husbands do, I try to keep the wife happy even though I'd rather stay omni. I had never tried the vegan diet before and I was open to try it. I lost some weight and quickly got down to 185 pounds. I felt pretty good at 185-190 pounds but then I kept losing weight and I wasn't doing any exercise at all. It dropped to 160, then to 150. I got concerned at 150 pounds and went to my doctor. They ran test after test and everything was fine, except my blood sugar. My hbA1c was 14.5 with a fasting blood sugar of 370. I had never had problems with blood sugar regulation in my life. I went on a treatment plan for that and got my blood sugar under control. My weight continued to drop, now down to 140, then 130. I am feeling so weak at this point, I can barely get out of bed, can't function at work, can't interact with the kids, etc. She keeps telling me it's all in my head. Finally my mother is over visiting and says, you're going to the hospital now. My mother takes me to the hospital and I get admitted. They run extensive tests and the only thing they notice is that I'm dehydrated. I get pumped full of fluids and after a few days of monitoring me, they send me home. I come home to find out my ex had moved her stuff out and took the kids to live with her parents. Her excuse was that she can't handle me being sick anymore. She moves back in a few days later. We end up putting our house up for sale because I'm not sure if I can work anymore at this point. She leaves me again while I'm still sick and weak and moves back in with her parents. The house sells and guess what, I'm back in the hospital again down to 119 pounds. I'm in the hospital for a few days. Keep in mind, my ex has not even came to see me in the hospital at all with any of my visits. I end up getting a feeding tube installed through my nose down through my stomach and directly into my small intestine. I'm now doing feedings for 16 hours a day every day. The only thing the doctors could come up with is malnutrition due to the vegan diet. According to the doctors, my complete digestive system shut down and was preparing for my body to die. The doctors advice was to eat a normal balanced diet that includes meat and dairy. I get released from the hospital and my only place to stay is at my mother's house since our house had already sold and everything was in storage. Once moved in with my mom, I start eating a normal diet (country Texas style cooking) and immediately my health starts to improve. I had the feeding tube for 3 weeks and my doctor was so impressed on my improvement that he took out the feeding tube. It's been a steady increase since then. I'm now back up to 160 pounds and am working on getting my muscle mass back but I have the strength to function normal during the day. I'm back at work after a 3 month medical leave of absence. Things are looking good now. Oh and my hbA1c is back down to a 5.7 with no meds.
Back in December, I told her that if we were going to work things out between us I needed to be able to eat a normal diet. She could not agree to it and said that meat and dairy will not be allowed in the household that she lives in. Also keep in mind, she lives with her parents and they cook normal food there. She was dead set on our house had to be a vegan lifestyle. So I asked if the vegan lifestyle meant more than our marriage, and the answer was yes. We filed for divorce and the divorce actually went pretty quick, was final in February. The kids remained with her because back then I was in no way capable of raising 2 young kids with my health the way it was. Here is where it gets a little hairy. She is treating the kids the same way with their diet. My 3 year old has developed tooth decay on all of his top teeth. They are completely rotted at the gum line. The bottom ones are perfect. She won't take him to a normal dentist, only a holistic one. I have him scheduled in for an exam at my dentist coming up soon. If you research vegan diet with tooth decay, you will find all sorts of information regarding calcium deficiency. It affects the top teeth first which is where his is. If his teeth were rotted due to not brushing, why would his bottom ones be perfect. His height and weight are on the low side for his age group. She will not bathe the kids using soap because it has chemicals in it. She will not use sunscreen on them due to chemicals as well. The daily diet that she feeds him is a smoothie for breakfast and lunch (spinach, banana, orange juice, water) then rice, potato (sometimes sweet potato) and avocado for dinner. Snacks are rice crackers. That's all he gets every day. When he is with me during my visitation, I feed him regular food. He loves eggs, bacon, milk, hamburgers, steak, chicken, mac&cheese, etc. He would rather eat than go to a playground.
To throw a new wrench in the fire. The divorce has been final since mid February. We've been separated since early December 2016. It's now towards the end of April and she calls me that she's moving in with her boyfriend of 6 months with the kids. Do the math on the 6 months. I still have not met this guy or ran a background check on him and my kids are supposed to be moving in with him. I'm not okay with this. Regardless of this situation, I've been wanting to get custody of the kids due to how she's treating them as mentioned above. I have the kids scheduled for an exam with my dentist and also scheduled for a wellness check with my doctor. I'm hoping that they can provide some sort of evidence that she's neglecting them.
What are you guys' thoughts on this, do I have a chance in court. I know the courts will generally favor the mother regardless. Please share your advice and thoughts on this. I don't have the money to go back and forth with an attorney, I'd really like this to be a home run shot in court.
I will eventually get around to speaking with an attorney, but cash is slim and I want to get all my facts documented before I get one on retainer.
Sorry, this will be a long post but I want to get all the details out there.
I just recently went through a divorce and have 2 kids with my ex. I am also recovering from being nearly dead in the hospital. Health wise I'm doing much better, I'm getting my strength back and can function normally now. We were married for 5 years, have a 3 year old and a 1 year old. About 2 years ago my health started declining at a fairly rapid pace. I'm normally a 225-230 pound guy at 6'2" and have been for most of my adult life. About 2 years ago, she completely flipped a 180 and decided to turn vegan and cut out meat and dairy. I am not here to debate whether vegan or non-vegan is the way to go, so please don't go that route. She forced the vegan diet in the household, including me and the kids. She started saying things like "If you eat meat, I cannot love you". Doing what most husbands do, I try to keep the wife happy even though I'd rather stay omni. I had never tried the vegan diet before and I was open to try it. I lost some weight and quickly got down to 185 pounds. I felt pretty good at 185-190 pounds but then I kept losing weight and I wasn't doing any exercise at all. It dropped to 160, then to 150. I got concerned at 150 pounds and went to my doctor. They ran test after test and everything was fine, except my blood sugar. My hbA1c was 14.5 with a fasting blood sugar of 370. I had never had problems with blood sugar regulation in my life. I went on a treatment plan for that and got my blood sugar under control. My weight continued to drop, now down to 140, then 130. I am feeling so weak at this point, I can barely get out of bed, can't function at work, can't interact with the kids, etc. She keeps telling me it's all in my head. Finally my mother is over visiting and says, you're going to the hospital now. My mother takes me to the hospital and I get admitted. They run extensive tests and the only thing they notice is that I'm dehydrated. I get pumped full of fluids and after a few days of monitoring me, they send me home. I come home to find out my ex had moved her stuff out and took the kids to live with her parents. Her excuse was that she can't handle me being sick anymore. She moves back in a few days later. We end up putting our house up for sale because I'm not sure if I can work anymore at this point. She leaves me again while I'm still sick and weak and moves back in with her parents. The house sells and guess what, I'm back in the hospital again down to 119 pounds. I'm in the hospital for a few days. Keep in mind, my ex has not even came to see me in the hospital at all with any of my visits. I end up getting a feeding tube installed through my nose down through my stomach and directly into my small intestine. I'm now doing feedings for 16 hours a day every day. The only thing the doctors could come up with is malnutrition due to the vegan diet. According to the doctors, my complete digestive system shut down and was preparing for my body to die. The doctors advice was to eat a normal balanced diet that includes meat and dairy. I get released from the hospital and my only place to stay is at my mother's house since our house had already sold and everything was in storage. Once moved in with my mom, I start eating a normal diet (country Texas style cooking) and immediately my health starts to improve. I had the feeding tube for 3 weeks and my doctor was so impressed on my improvement that he took out the feeding tube. It's been a steady increase since then. I'm now back up to 160 pounds and am working on getting my muscle mass back but I have the strength to function normal during the day. I'm back at work after a 3 month medical leave of absence. Things are looking good now. Oh and my hbA1c is back down to a 5.7 with no meds.
Back in December, I told her that if we were going to work things out between us I needed to be able to eat a normal diet. She could not agree to it and said that meat and dairy will not be allowed in the household that she lives in. Also keep in mind, she lives with her parents and they cook normal food there. She was dead set on our house had to be a vegan lifestyle. So I asked if the vegan lifestyle meant more than our marriage, and the answer was yes. We filed for divorce and the divorce actually went pretty quick, was final in February. The kids remained with her because back then I was in no way capable of raising 2 young kids with my health the way it was. Here is where it gets a little hairy. She is treating the kids the same way with their diet. My 3 year old has developed tooth decay on all of his top teeth. They are completely rotted at the gum line. The bottom ones are perfect. She won't take him to a normal dentist, only a holistic one. I have him scheduled in for an exam at my dentist coming up soon. If you research vegan diet with tooth decay, you will find all sorts of information regarding calcium deficiency. It affects the top teeth first which is where his is. If his teeth were rotted due to not brushing, why would his bottom ones be perfect. His height and weight are on the low side for his age group. She will not bathe the kids using soap because it has chemicals in it. She will not use sunscreen on them due to chemicals as well. The daily diet that she feeds him is a smoothie for breakfast and lunch (spinach, banana, orange juice, water) then rice, potato (sometimes sweet potato) and avocado for dinner. Snacks are rice crackers. That's all he gets every day. When he is with me during my visitation, I feed him regular food. He loves eggs, bacon, milk, hamburgers, steak, chicken, mac&cheese, etc. He would rather eat than go to a playground.
To throw a new wrench in the fire. The divorce has been final since mid February. We've been separated since early December 2016. It's now towards the end of April and she calls me that she's moving in with her boyfriend of 6 months with the kids. Do the math on the 6 months. I still have not met this guy or ran a background check on him and my kids are supposed to be moving in with him. I'm not okay with this. Regardless of this situation, I've been wanting to get custody of the kids due to how she's treating them as mentioned above. I have the kids scheduled for an exam with my dentist and also scheduled for a wellness check with my doctor. I'm hoping that they can provide some sort of evidence that she's neglecting them.
What are you guys' thoughts on this, do I have a chance in court. I know the courts will generally favor the mother regardless. Please share your advice and thoughts on this. I don't have the money to go back and forth with an attorney, I'd really like this to be a home run shot in court.
