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By Ileen
Finkelstein Carter
When I first
met six-year-old
Theodora (Teddy)
Coutsoukis she
weighed 45 pounds.
Teddy also weighed
45 pounds at the
age of three when
her father brought
her to New York
in 1997.
Teddy was born in Los Angeles on September 28, 1993, to
Photius Coutsoukis and Susan Samora Coutsoukis. She was a
healthy normal infant. Her neonatal scores were above average,
she had no known congenital defects and subsequent genetic
tests showed no flaws.
Teddy's father suspended a successful business career where he
had previously made a six-figure income to care for their baby
girl.
Within days of Teddy's birth, her mother filed for divorce in
California and then made preparations for a move to Oregon,
where she had accepted an executive position.
While Mr. Coutsoukis had already made arrangements for the
move and had procured a beautiful new house for them, his wife
had decided to take Teddy and leave the father behind, only to
relent after his pleas to let him care for their baby.
In November 1993 the family moved to Medford, Oregon.
In January 1994, Mrs. Coutsoukis left the house, taking Teddy,
and then evicted Mr. Coutsoukis with a family abuse restraining
order. She placed Teddy in day care. Mr. Coutsoukis denied that
he ever committed any violence and the court ordered divorce
evaluator, Dr. David Oas, subsequently confirmed that in
testimony.
Less than a month later, with the mother having rescinded the
restraining order, Mr. Coutsoukis was reunited with Teddy, only
to find her catatonic and ill. According to Toni Hulse, the
Coutsoukis' housekeeper who saw her a week later, Teddy was
withdrawn and not her normal self and she had a runny nose.
She had also lost weight, she was very pale and she barely
moved. "I never seen her sick before.", said Hulse. Hulse said
after Mr. Coutsoukis's return and under his care, she became
her usual smiling babbling happy self.
Ms. Hulse, who worked for the Coutsoukis family from Nov.
1993 to Sept. 1994 said that she observed Mr. Coutsoukis
making baby food for and feeding Teddy, changing her diapers,
bathing her, and playing with her, and that she could tell "he
loved the child very very much...He took excellent care of the
child. He was a loving and very conscientious father."
The housekeeper also described Mr. Coutsoukis as Teddy's
primary caregiver and she said that she rarely saw Mrs.
Coutsoukis, who was pursuing a career outside the home.
Ms.Hulse testified that she had never seen Teddy in poor
condition before Mr. Coutsoukis left the family home that
January. Mr. Coutsoukis nursed her back to good health over
the next few weeks, Ms. Hulse said.
She described Mr. Coutsoukis's situation as a difficult one.
Mrs. Coutsoukis had been hostile to him since Teddy's birth but
the housekeeper said he took it in stride, not complaining but
concentrating on his job as Teddy's 24-hour caretaker. He
sometimes looked tired and overworked from having to stay up
at night when Teddy woke up. Mr. Coutsoukis made "the
greatest food" for Teddy, his wife, Susan, and their guests,
decorated the house with his art work, and tended the flower
garden in the spring and summer.
"I have always said that Teddy is a lucky girl to have Photius as
a father," Hulse concluded.
One of Mr. Coutsoukis's common complaints about the poor
manner that Teddy was treated by her mother has to do with
medical care. When Teddy needed a
pediatric ophthalmologist, her father took her to Dr. Laurie
Christianson of the Casey Eye Institute in Portland and to Dr.
Hoytt at the University of California San Francisco, who
examined her gently without touching her or startling her. When
her mother took her to a local ophthalmologist following Mr.
Coutsoukis's eviction, he put metal clamps on her eyelids and
examined her while her mother restrained then 3-month old
Teddy. That ophthalmologist then reported that the baby was
"uncooperative."
When it was time for Teddy to go to a dentist, her mother took
her to one where two assistants and her mother held her down
while her teeth were cleaned (see Dentist's report). Her father
chose a dentist who let Teddy sit in Mr. Coutsoukis' lap while
she was examined and took several breaks during the exam when
Teddy wanted to. She played in his office while she was there.
In July 1994 at 10 months of age, while on a visit to Greece,
Teddy was diagnosed with serious developmental delays by Dr.
Helen Skouteli, a pediatric neurologist, who recommended a
battery of tests including an EEG. Mrs. Coutsoukis forbade her
husband to have the EEG performed, hampering early
intervention into Teddy's medical problems. Mr. Coutsoukis
meanwhile was reluctant to do anything that would antagonize
his wife, knowing the potentially catastrophic consequences of
being separated from Teddy.
Upon return from Greece, Mr. Coutsoukis sought and began
physical therapy for Teddy. Mrs. Coutsoukis again asked him to
move out, and he began caring for Teddy daily at his own
apartment while his wife worked.
Ms. Samora Coutsoukis did not call back in responce to my request
for an interview.
On October 6, 1994, Mrs. Coutsoukis filed a divorce petition in
Oregon.
While earning what amounts to an exceptionally high income for
the area, Mrs. Coutsoukis insisted that Mr. Coutsoukis go to
work or never see Teddy again. While preferring to be a
full-time stay-at-home parent, he started a home based business
and hired staff. He cared for Teddy in his new home from 8
a.m. until Mrs. Coutsoukis picked up Teddy after work each day
and oversaw her rehabilitation.
In August 1995 Mrs. Coutsoukis observed three seizures in
Teddy and finally had the EEG done at Rogue Valley Medical
Center.
Teddy began receiving seizure medication prescribed by Dr.
Helen Skouteli, the pediatric neurologist who had first examined
Teddy 13 months earlier.
A month later Mrs. Coutsoukis unilaterally reduced the number
of hours Mr. Coutsoukis could care for Teddy in his home to
every weekday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and just "his" weekends,
in other words when she so decided.
In November 1996, after nine months of resistance, Mrs.
Coutsoukis finally relented and the parties began a court-ordered
custody evaluation of both parents and the child by Dr. David
Oas, a licensed clinical therapist, and a clinical psychologist
with 25 years of experience. Dr. Oas, a member of the American
Psychology Association, said that he had testified "in hundreds
of child custody cases, with the best interests of the minor child
always considered as the primary goal".
In February 1997 Dr. Oas indicated that he would recommend
that custody be given to Mr. Coutsoukis. He said that he based
his decision on "the strength of Teddy's biological and emotional
attachment to her father." He noted that "Teddy is an at-risk
child who has significant delays in development and that "I
believe Mr. Coutsoukis is the best parent and best person to
provide in-home parental care of Teddy with his capacity to use
specific skill-building strategies to offset the significant
behavioral deficits she exhibits." He added that such in-home
care is preferable to out-of-home care for a child with Teddy's
needs.
Mrs. Coutsoukis refused to undergo psychometric tests and
denied Dr. Oas access to her recent psychiatric records.
In mediation, which Mrs. Coutsoukis also resisted, in December
1996, an agreement was signed by which Mr. Coutsoukis gave
his estranged wife temporary custody of Teddy provided that she
would spend her days with her father as was done previously.
The agreement also required that she would discuss educational
and medical decisions with the father before implementation.
To Mr. Coutsoukis's consternation, the mother bargained down the
hours that Teddy would spend with her father, choosing instead
to have her cared for by hired baby sitters until 11:30 AM.
Nevertheless, Mr. Coutsoukis felt that it was the best he could
get under the circumstances, which included the fear of a
feminist judge, the notoriously unfair treatment that immigrants
received in court and the possibility that a court might grant
exclusive custody to the mother, with limited rights for him, as
happened subsequently.
Having left her $70,000 a year job, she then requested the
court's permission to move to New York, citing better job
opportunities there.
She moved to New York in April, 1997, and Mr. Coutsoukis
followed a week later with Teddy. He moved his business so he
could be close to his daughter.
Upon arrival in New York, Mrs. Coutsoukis filed a modification
petition in Westchester Family Court and applied of a temporary
restraining order.
In June, with Mrs. Coutsoukis claiming that he violated the
order, Mr. Coutsoukis was dragged into the courtroom in
handcuffs and without a hearing or admission of guilt, without
even informing him of his right to counsel, and with complete
disregard for UCCJA, the since disgraced former New York
Family Court Judge Ingrid S. Braslow, based on Ms. Samora's
unsupported allegations, had Mr. Coutsoukis, suspended the
Oregon order and drastically reduced his time with Teddy to
weekly supervised visits.
Having been terrorized and having seen his daughter severely
diminished, Mr. Coutsoukis consented to the order of protection
at a subsequent hearing in September 1997. He did so "without
admitting" and while vociferously denying Ms. Samora's
allegations.
The judge dismissed the mother's modification
petition with prejudice and reinstated the Oregon order. But in
the intervening three months, Teddy was only allowed to see her
father for a few times at the YWCA under supervision. Following
Braslow's new decision, Ms. Samora refused to allow Teddy to
see her father as specified by the then in effect Oregon order,
except for a few minutes in a child rehabilitation facility. During
that visit Ms. Samora brought a bowl of what Mr. Coutsoukis, a
world class cook, described as "white vomit" for Teddy to eat.
Prior to that hearing, in the summer of 1997, Ms. Samora had
taken Teddy to Dr. Darryl DeVivo at Columbia Presbyterian
Medical Center requesting that Teddy be placed on the ketogenic
diet. Teddy was hospitalized in August for monitoring and to be
placed in that diet.
Mrs. Coutsoukis took Teddy to the emergency room twice, for
emergency hospitalizations, after the seizures went on for 15
minutes.
In May 1998 the Oregon divorce decree was entered shortly
after Oregon denied Mr. Coutsoukis' petition to modify the
custody/visitation order and custody was given to Ms. Samora.
In August 1998 Oregon declined jurisdiction leaving the case in
N.Y. courts.
In April 1999 Judge Braslow had recused herself from all future
proceedings in this case.
Mrs. Coutsoukis had taken Teddy to Dr. Darryl DeVivo, a
pediatric neurologist, at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center
who put the child on a ketogenic or high protein, high fat, low
carbohydrate diet for the seizures, despite the lack of research
that proves the diet can be helpful in such cases.
After examining Teddy's medical records, Dr. William Bloom, a
neurological consultant, said that Teddy's condition "seriously
deteriorated beginning in the fall of 1997 and continued to
deteriorate...she had previously progressed beyond expectation."
He added that Mr. Coutsoukis made Dr. DeVivo aware that
Teddy spent her days with her father who was her primary
caregiver since birth. Dr. De Vivo, however, chose not to speak
with Mr. Coutsoukis or Dr. Skouteli and assumed the validity of
the medical history provided by Teddy's mother.
Upon a change of treatment, Teddy suffered seizures of such severe
magnitude (more than 15 minutes of unconsciousness according to her
mother) that she was hospitalized twice on an emergency
basis.Major setbacks or 'regression" as noted by Teddy's
caregivers followed the seizures. He believed that removing
Teddy from a medication that worked without serious side effects
and substituting a ketogenic diet was a departure from standard
practice and resulted in lasting brain damage from the ensuing
seizures.
According to the Child Neurology Society, the ketogenic diet is a
high-fat, very low-carbohydrate diet used in some children with
epilepsy that is difficult to control with conventional drugs. It
was developed in the 1920's and fell into disuse as new
medications to treat epilepsy became available. The diet has
never been evaluated in a scientifically controlled manner. Its
major side effect is kidney stones.
Sandra Savo, a babysitter hired by Mr. Coutsoukis in
April 1997 also testified in an affidavit regarding Mr.
Coutsoukis as a parent that Teddy was a loving happy child and
adored her dad, who "goes out of his way to spend time with
her and teach her new things."
Ms. Savo said she could only "imagine the horror and agony"
Teddy and her father felt when they were suddenly separated
from each other. She said she was there the day Teddy's mother
"falsely" accused her father of abusing and imprisoning her.
Ms. Savo added she recently was rehired to help with Teddy
during her vacation with her dad, and found her to be frequently
constipated, incredibly hyperactive and distractible, repeating
the same thing over and over. She said Teddy had forgotten a lot
of the things she knew like sign language, alphabet and
numbers, how to turn a knob and open a door, insert a key into
a keyhole and personal hygiene. Teddy could no longer do
elementary things like chew her food or blow her nose. She was
temperamental and insecure, bits instead of kissing, salivated
profusely and was extremely insecure. Ms. Savo said she had
never in her life met "anyone as patient with a child as
Photius."
This reporter, who visited Mr. Coutsoukis and Teddy in
Peekskill, on a weekend she stayed with him, agrees with Ms.
Savo's last statement. She has never met anyone as patient with
a child as Photius Coutsoukis.
I observed Mr. Coutsoukis spend three hours in the kitchen
painstakingly preparing for food for Teddy's ketogenic diet. A
friend of his had gone to the grocery store and spent nearly
$200 buying mostly the food for that diet. While he was cooking,
Teddy was already asleep for the night.
When she was awake, he cared for her lovingly as well as played with
her and fed her and helped her in learning to feed herself. He read
to her, talked to her, hugged her.
Mr. Coutouskis repeats over and over with Teddy her colors and
numbers and letters and words. He knows as much as an art
therapist a speech therapist and a physical therapist and he
appears to be eminently qualified to give Teddy the proper care
as well as a great deal of love.
Although it was the weekend, this reporter did not observe Mr.
Coutsoukis enter his in-home office or do any work for his
business while Teddy was there during the time she was at the
Coutsoukis home from when Teddy arrived Friday before dinner
until Sunday morning when the reporter left. Teddy went back to
her mother's house later that day.
At the present time, Teddy's case is under appeal by Mr.
Coutsoukis in the New York State Appellate Court, and Mr.
Coutsoukis is still seeking custody of Teddy in order to "save"
his daughter's life before it is too late. Teddy is America's other
six-yer-old hostage.
He added Teddy had shown regressive losses in
cognitive,language and physical development bases on reports
from special education teachers in her schools in Ossining and
Hawthorne,New York.He said the therapy she was currently
undergoing was inadequate for her needs and she needed daily
parental intervention that he believed Mr. Cousoutkis could best
provide.
Dr. Oas later on reiterated his recommendation, saying that
since June 1997, during which time Teddy has been
predominantly under the care of her mother, with minimal
contact with her father, "Teddy's behavioral deficits have
increased significantly, whereas before being separated (from
her father), she was progressing significantly."
Dr. Oas also stated that the most current research on early
intervention suggests that long-term brain deficits are known to
be a consequence of traumatic life experience, especially in
neonates, toddlers and children the first three years.
These deficits are even more pronounced if there are
neurological/brain/developmental delays and are best offset by
immediate comprehensive and early intervention seven days a
week by a parent who has knowledge of the specific skills to be
applied and a strong emotional attachment to the child to offset
environmental stressors. April 2000 - ctr8/10/00