BEVERLY:  I had just had my daughter in Barrow on June 21 of '79, and I knew if I went home to Anaktuvuk, I would -- I would work.  So I decided to spend my six weeks in Barrow.  And after my six weeks was up, I went home. 

And apparently there was a young mother that had had a baby that was 10 days before I did.  She had had this baby June 10th.  And when I came in, I was already gone six weeks, but this baby was 10 days, you know, that is like 7 and a half weeks. 

I saw this baby and I said, this is -- something's really wrong.  You know, this baby is supposed to be bigger than my baby.  But this baby was very malnourished and you could see his rib cage and he's using all his energy and -- just to breathe, you know.  And then I said, what the heck, you know.  What's going on. 

And then the alternate health aides had been calling the doctors about constipation or the baby seemed to be constipated all the time.  And there was, like, how many encounters, you know. 

And then I was reviewing my mail and then -- anyway, I said to the doctor that -- the doctor on call that this baby is -- has Kussmaul breathing.  It's breathing with all it's got, you know, like on a very labored.  I said, I'm bringing this baby in. 

And then this doctor said, oh, it sounds like child abuse.  Child neglect.  You know. 

And then I said, no.  This family is a good family.  I don't think they would do that.  You know. 

I just said that, but I said -- he kind of, you know, made some kind of comment about, well, just as well, maybe that child is better dead than alive.  You know, he has the audacity to say that. 

And then I said, you know, you have no authority to say that.  You're not God.  You know, I'm bringing the baby in, I don't care what you do.  You know, this child needs immediate attention.  Well, I'm going to give it all I got, I'm bringing the baby in.  And that was my final.

KAREN:  Final answer. 

BEVERLY:  Yeah.  And I brought the baby in.  This doctor didn't want to see me, but I said I don't care.  You know.  This family's not abusive, this is a nurturing couple, and they -- I don't think, would starve the baby. 

Anyway, as I was -- I brought the baby in, and, of course, you know, they had brought the children youth services people in. 

And then -- and then I happened to carry the mail, you know, that I didn't have time to read because this baby needed a lot of -- so I was opening my mail, and then here it was about this infant, you know.  The discharge papers, you know. 

It said, probable bowel obstruction, question mark.  You know.  And this is the same baby. 

And then I said -- and then I quickly brought that paper over to the doctor, and I said, this is -- you know, if anybody has done a miscarriage, it's you folks.  You've -- you've sent a baby home that had a questionable bowel obstruction. 

And, you know, to assume that, you know, they had neglected this baby is not right.  You -- you need to rescind these DFYS people that are social workers that come to -- you know, because sure enough, this -- this infant had Hirschsprung disease, you know. 

KAREN:  Which is what? 

BEVERLY:  It's -- some of the villi in the intestines, a certain area, didn't have -- it wasn't functioning.  It was like it had no nerves. 

So the bowel, you know, as -- those villi are just like little things that move the -- the food or whatever along the intestines, you know, and there's a certain section where he had this disease called Hirschsprung's Disease.
And this baby was not -- he had -- he did eventually have a bowel obstruction. 

KAREN:  So then nothing was moving in that area? 

BEVERLY:  Nothing was moving, yeah.  And this young man, he's now a young man, you know.  He's a father.  And -- but you know, it's just these things that, you know, even though this doctor thought -- you know, I had to do that.  And I don't ever regret doing it. 

He tried to call me an insubordinate, you know.  Yeah, insubordinate to God, yeah.  But, you know, I mean, I couldn't do that, you know.  I mean, act like I'm God and you have -- you know, you pass judgment whether this person should live or die, you know.  And he was just wanting -- it's just as well this child dies, you know.  That's not right.  You know. 

So this baby had to spend a lot of -- maybe most of his first year in life in the hospital because of having to have a colonoscopy.  I mean, you know, colostomy.  Had to have a little bag until he healed over and they reconnected his bowel eventually.  But he's now a young man, he's graduated, and he's 10 days older than my daughter, you know. 

So, you know, these are small victories, but these are things that I wouldn't do any differently because I believe we have to -- each individual that's born should have the best opportunity to reach their potential, and I think that's what I always strive to do.