Over 50 years of believing he had been treated with electric shock therapy to treat a tumor that NEVER EXISTED.

[LouisaC]

Happened in the state of Florida. Just recently found out that he never had a brain tumor that his family had drilled us into believing to protect the abuser/abusers. It's included in all his medical history that he had a brain tumor as a kid. He started having issues a couple of years ago and then 2 years ago our life pretty well fell apart with these mental episodes. The entire time I was telling that family about brain scans and MRI's looking for any sign that the tumor had come back and the one family member demanded a copy of the MRI readout. "THE TUMOR NEVER EXISTED". I feel like a FRICKING FOOL! We just recently found out that his abusive father most likely gave him a traumatic brain injury from what we have found out from the other side of the family that we never got to know due to logistics. I knew he was paralyzed on the left side when he was a kid but we were told that was from the brain tumor. "IT WAS FROM THE HEAD TRAUMA. He is currently 64 years old and I've know him since I was 14. His sister had been a trigger for the episodes, caught her while he had her on speaker phone talking to him like a little kid which was creepy as sin. I am on total emotional overload. THEY ALL KNEW we were suffering, mentally, financially like a sinking ship...Up to 3 months ago it was still all a lie. I also found out he ended up in the worst facility in Florida that was shut down in the 70's for abuse and they used electrical shock treatment and what he could remember in reference to what it was called. He thought southland but when I googled that along with Broward Dade county I came up with Sunland, an unimaginable HORROR STORY and my husband may have spent 2 years there as a kid. 1971 for sure. What kind of attorney do we need?????

 

[quincy]

Happened in the state of Florida. Just recently found out that he never had a brain tumor that his family had drilled us into believing to protect the abuser/abusers. It's included in all his medical history that he had a brain tumor as a kid. He started having issues a couple of years ago and then 2 years ago our life pretty well fell apart with these mental episodes. The entire time I was telling that family about brain scans and MRI's looking for any sign that the tumor had come back and the one family member demanded a copy of the MRI readout. "THE TUMOR NEVER EXISTED". I feel like a FRICKING FOOL! We just recently found out that his abusive father most likely gave him a traumatic brain injury from what we have found out from the other side of the family that we never got to know due to logistics. I knew he was paralyzed on the left side when he was a kid but we were told that was from the brain tumor. "IT WAS FROM THE HEAD TRAUMA. He is currently 64 years old and I've know him since I was 14. His sister had been a trigger for the episodes, caught her while he had her on speaker phone talking to him like a little kid which was creepy as sin. I am on total emotional overload. THEY ALL KNEW we were suffering, mentally, financially like a sinking ship...Up to 3 months ago it was still all a lie. I also found out he ended up in the worst facility in Florida that was shut down in the 70's for abuse and they used electrical shock treatment and what he could remember in reference to what it was called. He thought southland but when I googled that along with Broward Dade county I came up with Sunland, an unimaginable HORROR STORY and my husband may have spent 2 years there as a kid. 1971 for sure. What kind of attorney do we need?????

Is it your husband who you believe was misdiagnosed as a child?

How old are his parents now?

What are you looking for in a legal action? What do you hope to recover?

 

[LouisaC]

Is it your husband who you believe was misdiagnosed as a child?

How old are his parents now?

What are you looking for in a legal action? What do you hope to recover?

I knew this was going to be difficult to explain, soo many layers and trying my best to keep it simple. Yes, my husband. We had been told, he as far as bits and pieces of memories. Me, since I was 14 when I first met him...1)."This was all made up by his family" To cover up what we have just found out recently that he was hit in the head by a family member and sustained a traumatic head injury. 2) I posted something on F/B about divorce because I ended up in the hospital during one of his episodes with a b/p of 197/134. His sister saw the thread and where my husbands niece posted that we needed to speak because my husbands behavior was identical to his brothers (her fathers) behavior who was diagnosed with alzheimers. 3) His sister saw what the niece posted and immediately messaged me to NOT discuss MY husband with that side of the family...,4) After we arrived back from the Dr's office I immediately contacted 2 relatives on that side of the family and asked them both separately, what they knew about my husband having a brain tumor as a child...1) Said never heard anything about a brain tumor but the relative knew that he had sustained a traumatic brain injury as a child but did not know how the injury happened. 5) I asked the second relative the same thing, nothing about a brain tumor but knew he had a traumatic brain injury as a child. I asked her if she knew what happened and she said he got hit. I asked her by a car and she said no, his father.... The siblings especially the oldest sister is the influencer, the protector. I have no idea what the end game is here to do this to another human being to KNOWINGLY know they are suffering with mental issues, heart issues, my health issues from all this AND THEY HAVE JUST SAT BACK as they tell stories about how sick he was. ALSO one relative actually said she was told by another brother that my husband had been sent away for a long time to go under experimental shock treatment to dissolve an inoperable brain tumor or he would die. "I HAVE ALL CORRESPONDANCE GOING BACK OVER 2 YEARS worth DISCUSSING "HIS" BRAIN TUMOR with his sister and her telling me what hospital she believed he was in and it just goes on. Nothing but dirty little lies most likely to protect the reputation of the family or he saw something that he should not have and that's why he got hit. I'm hoping someone at the sheriffs office could pull cold case files, I'm waiting on a call back. Sorry to extend this to be soo long. This is only a smidge of what has happened. It's not even the original lie that took this whole situation down a rabbit hole. I am going after the family, the siblings. The parents have long passed away... What I want out of this.....1) I want known what has been done to my husband and if I go public, they will come after me legally, if I don't already have an attorney. 2) This has ruined us financially AND as far as I am concerned they have KNOWINGLY caused us unfathomable, malicious, emotional and additional mental anguish, KNOWINGLY. And as of right now, they do not KNOW THAT WE KNOW. ALSO there was a settlement against the facility to the patients and families which I am sure is long gone and I have absolutely no idea on how to find out if his family received anything on his behalf. I believe the place was the worst in 71, I have a picture dated with him there along with his mother. The following year it was shut down. Google "Sunland Miami Scandal". I hope that made sense, haven't had much sleep since last Wendesday. Edited to add: When all this happened his one sister and 2 brothers were adults in their 20's...

 

[quincy]

I knew this was going to be difficult to explain, soo many layers and trying my best to keep it simple. Yes, my husband. We had been told, he as far as bits and pieces of memories. Me, since I was 14 when I first met him...1)."This was all made up by his family" To cover up what we have just found out recently that he was hit in the head by a family member and sustained a traumatic head injury. 2) I posted something on F/B about divorce because I ended up in the hospital during one of his episodes with a b/p of 197/134. His sister saw the thread and where my husbands niece posted that we needed to speak because my husbands behavior was identical to his brothers (her fathers) behavior who was diagnosed with alzheimers. 3) His sister saw what the niece posted and immediately messaged me to NOT discuss MY husband with that side of the family...,4) After we arrived back from the Dr's office I immediately contacted 2 relatives on that side of the family and asked them both separately, what they knew about my husband having a brain tumor as a child...1) Said never heard anything about a brain tumor but the relative knew that he had sustained a traumatic brain injury as a child but did not know how the injury happened. 5) I asked the second relative the same thing, nothing about a brain tumor but knew he had a traumatic brain injury as a child. I asked her if she knew what happened and she said he got hit. I asked her by a car and she said no, his father.... The siblings especially the oldest sister is the influencer, the protector. I have no idea what the end game is here to do this to another human being to KNOWINGLY know they are suffering with mental issues, heart issues, my health issues from all this AND THEY HAVE JUST SAT BACK as they tell stories about how sick he was. ALSO one relative actually said she was told by another brother that my husband had been sent away for a long time to go under experimental shock treatment to dissolve an inoperable brain tumor or he would die. "I HAVE ALL CORRESPONDANCE GOING BACK OVER 2 YEARS worth DISCUSSING "HIS" BRAIN TUMOR with his sister and her telling me what hospital she believed he was in and it just goes on. Nothing but dirty little lies most likely to protect the reputation of the family or he saw something that he should not have and that's why he got hit. I'm hoping someone at the sheriffs office could pull cold case files, I'm waiting on a call back. Sorry to extend this to be soo long. This is only a smidge of what has happened. It's not even the original lie that took this whole situation down a rabbit hole. I am going after the family, the siblings. The parents have long passed away... What I want out of this.....1) I want known what has been done to my husband and if I go public, they will come after me legally, if I don't already have an attorney. 2) This has ruined us financially AND as far as I am concerned they have KNOWINGLY caused us unfathomable, malicious, emotional and additional mental anguish, KNOWINGLY. And as of right now, they do not KNOW THAT WE KNOW. ALSO there was a settlement against the facility to the patients and families which I am sure is long gone and I have absolutely no idea on how to find out if his family received anything on his behalf. I believe the place was the worst in 71, I have a picture dated with him there along with his mother. The following year it was shut down. Google "Sunland Miami Scandal". I hope that made sense, haven't had much sleep since last Wendesday. Edited to add: When all this happened his one sister and 2 brothers were adults in their 20's...

I am still not quite sure what you are looking for here.

If I understand correctly, your husband’s parents led everyone to believe he had a brain tumor instead of telling (what you now believe is) the truth - that he suffered a traumatic brain injury at the hands of his father.

After 50 or so years of medical treatment for the nonexistent brain tumor and of attributing all of your husband’s acts and actions on the brain tumor, your husband and you want ... what? To tell everyone what happened?

 

[AlmostThere]

I am still not quite sure what you are looking for here.

If I understand correctly, your husband’s parents led everyone to believe he had a brain tumor instead of telling (what you now believe is) the truth - that he suffered a traumatic brain injury at the hands of his father.

After 50 or so years of medical treatment for the nonexistent brain tumor and of attributing all of your husband’s acts and actions on the brain tumor, your husband and you want ... what? To tell everyone what happened?

And to what end? What do you want to accomplish by telling everyone what happened? You have no way of proving what might have been had he grown up knowing the truth, and if he suffered some loss by not knowing the truth.

I can understand that your husband is angry - and perhaps some therapy to help adjust to this new truth. And if his parents are still alive, and he has any desire to have a relationship with them, perhaps some joint therapy with them.

 

[quincy]

And to what end? What do you want to accomplish by telling everyone what happened? You have no way of proving what might have been had he grown up knowing the truth, and if he suffered some loss by not knowing the truth.

I can understand that your husband is angry - and perhaps some therapy to help adjust to this new truth. And if his parents are still alive, and he has any desire to have a relationship with them, perhaps some joint therapy with them.

LouisaC says her husband’s parents have “long passed away” (this was sort of hidden in the second post’s long block of text).

It would therefore be those who are living and who apparently kept “the secret” from the husband who potentially could challenge any statements published by Louisa and her husband. Defamation is one possible challenge that comes to mind.

 

[Taxing Matters]

The parents have long passed away...

That's your husband's biggest hurdle when it comes to any criminal action to be taken. You say his injuries were caused by his father's abuse when he was a kid and his father has long since passed away. The police cannot arrest a dead man, nor can the courts convict and sentence a dead man. Moreover, the statute of limitations for that would have likely closed long before they died. As for a lawsuit, his father was the one to blame for his condition. He's long dead and presumably any estate assets are long gone. So even if there was an open statute of limitations for it, there is no one to sue and no assets to get them from.

So far as I can see, his living relatives committed no crime. So I doubt the police and prosecutor will have anything to charge them wit. As for suing his siblings or other relatives for telling you the family lie for 50 years, I don't know if you'd have a good cause of action for that. You'd need to consult a personal injury about that.

What kind of attorney do we need?????

I think a personal injury lawyer is whom you and your husband should see. But if you've known about this for several years it's likely that the statute of limitations for any tort claim (a civil action not based on negligence) here is expired, which would leave you with no way to sue them now. But the attorney will be able to go over the details with you and explain your options, if any, for legal action. If you plan to tell this story to others with the names of living relatives being part of who covered it up, you'd want to see a defamation attorney. They would need to prove you made the alleged defamatory statements. You'd likely need to make the defense that what you said was true. But proving that may be a considerable challenge, particularly since it'll likely be difficult to prove what they knew and when they knew it. So protect yourself by consulting a defamation attorney to find out what risk you have in spreading this story. You can tell people about what his dead father apparently did as the dead may not sue for defamation. But if I were you, I'd be careful about what I'd tell others about what those still living did, at least until I'd had that talk with the defamation lawyer.

 

[quincy]

A LOT has been written about the Sunland Training Centers already, by the way, and there has been at least one film about them. For those interested, following is a link to a research paper by Kim Curry (2019), “The Sunland Training Centers: Florida’s Institutes for Children with Intellectual Disabilities,” Florida Public Health Review: Vol. 10, Article 6.

https://digitalcommons.unf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1152&context=fphr#:~:text=One of the most publicized,, April 7, 1972).

I agree with Taxing Matters that LouisaC, you and your husband most need to worry about defamation, should you decide to tell his story.