The Andressohn Family Nightmare
www.rawfriends.com/andressohns.htmJoseph and Lamoy Andressohn live in Homestead, Florida just outside Miami. The Andressohns are the proud parents of 4 beautiful children ages 8, 6, 4 and 3. They are a God revering & loving family. Along their life journey together, they discovered the wondrous benefits of a living food lifestyle.
Joseph and Lamoy choose this healthy way to live more than 4 years ago, with their two children at the time, and made it an important part of their life. Over the next several years, the Andressohns were blessed with three more children. As part of their home schooling, the children were taught how and why a live food diet is so important to their health & well being. When well-meaning neighbors offer candy to the children, it is politely declined. When asked why, the children say,"Candy is not good for you!" and then explain to them the great benefits of eating only living foods.
The Day the Andressohn Family Was Torn Apart!
Life was grand until one fateful day, May 15, 2003. The Andressohns' 51/2-month-old daughter, Woyah, who at birth was diagnosed with DiGeorge Syndrome was having problems breathing. The Andressohns immediately called 911 for help. The ambulance arrived with the local police.
Being entirely unfamiliar with a living food lifestyle the officers questioned the Andressohns at the scene. Due to the officers ignorance of a live food nutritional lifestyle, they jumped to conclusions and suspected parental neglect, and held the parents for further questioning, forbidding them to go to the hospital to be with their ailing child.
Just two hours after the emergency call was made, the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) arrived and took the other four children into custody. Immediately following this action, police investigators arrived at the Andressohns' residence, asking them to sign a release paper so they could search their home. They were told by the investigators, " A warrant would be obtained from a judge the next day so why not let the search begin immediately? ". The Andressohns were also told the more they cooperated, the sooner they could see their baby girl. Completely wrought with worry for their daughter and with nothing to hide, the Andressohns signed. Nothing was found in the search to substantiate the suspicions of the police investigators.
However the investigators were still not satisfied and took the Andressohns to the police station for further questioning. The parents were questioned by the police for hours, and after all of this time the Andressohns were then given the terrible news their baby daughter Woyah had died hours before. The Andressohns had been lied to and grilled by the authorities for information. The police and DCF investigators had clearly withheld the information of their baby's death as a means to extract information unethically. The shocked and grieving Andressohns were then taken home and were told they would be contacted.
What Would You Do If This Happened To Your Family?
The Andressohns' first concern at this point was the health of their other children. With permission from DCF, they prepared living food and took it to the care provider's home. During this time the DCF doctor was under pressure from the prosecutor to examine the children. The doctor performed a cursory examination only and thus misdiagnosed the children's state of health and reported to the court that the children were malnourished and had signs of rickets. It was later discovered this was a lie under oath! The state's radiologist later re-examined the children and gave them all a clean bill of health! However, the misdiagnosis by the DCF doctor granted the judge the authority to force the children's DCF care providers to feed them bread, pasta, peanut butter, soymilk and other so-called "Standard American Diet" foods. Within the first week of this radical diet change, all the children came down with flu-like symptoms. The two older children complained of head and stomach pains, while the two younger children were rushed to the emergency room. Never having been sick a day in their life, they were diagnosed with bronchitis, asthma and pneumonia.
Now you need to understand that these are children who have never experienced illness in their entire lives or the symptoms of being sick such as stomachaches and headaches so this was completely foreign to them. As you can imagine the children were terrified!
When the Andressohns learned of this despicable action, they motioned the courts to reverse this decision and allow the children to return to eating whole live foods. Reversing this action took several court appearances to accomplish. Then on June 6th the Andressohns appeared in court on a motion to have the children placed in the custody of Joseph Andressohn's sister.
Provide Your Family A Healthy Diet: GO TO JAIL!
The same day, the media arrived to film the police serving arrest warrants to both Joseph and Lamoy. That day they began a 99- day stay in jail! While the Andressohns were incarcerated, DCF decided to modify the children's diet yet another time, this time including meat and dairy, and they were given inoculations. This caused the children to again, become radically sick, and more visits to the emergency room followed. The children were finally allowed to live with Joseph's sister.
Making the Best of A Miserable Situation
While incarcerated, Joseph and Lamoy attempted to continue eating a living food diet. Lamoy received support from her fellow inmates and some of the staff, but the facility authorities became concerned and ordered her to visit the detention hospital for a thorough check-up. This went on for 11/2 months until they were convinced that she was fine. She was able to continue to eat living food the entire 99 days. Three inmates actually became vegetarians while in jail with her, and Lamoy was also able to help people with headaches and other minor pains by providing reflexology. Joseph unfortunately, did not have all the support he needed, and thus succumbed to small amounts of cooked food. As a result Joseph himself became very ill, suffering a multitude of ailments.
During the Andressohn's 99 days in jail, friends and loved ones diligently made great efforts to arrange their release. In the end, a friend who hardly knew the Andressohns came forward and paid $12,500.00 to release the Andressohns on a combined $125,000 bond. Their release came with the unusual condition that the Andressohns agree to be placed under "house arrest". This condition requires both parents to be shackled to electronic ankle monitors. But as the Anderssohns soon learned this was just the beginning of their horrific ordeal...
Imagine receiving a 50-year prison sentence for feeding your children a healthy live food diet!
Unbelievably, the prosecutor actually attempted to negotiate a plea bargain. The prosecutor offered 50 years for 1 count of aggravated manslaughter and 4 counts of child neglect. When this was refused, the prosecutor came back with a 10-year offer. Once again, the Andressohns refused and he dropped it to 2 - 3 years. When the Andressohns refused this offer the prosecutor then dropped it once again to 364 days. The prosecutor was adamant and said that this would be the last offer. Having done nothing wrong, the Andressohns said they would not admit guilt and headed for the courtroom doors. The prosecutor literally chased them out of the room asking if they would accept probation. Even though probation may sound good... the Andressohns said they would not compromise their position or their children's health knowing that probation most likely meant feeding their children a diet that the state would force upon them.
What the Andressohns Now Face
The Andressohns are facing two critical court trials and they MUST win both cases in order to reunite their family.
The first trial is for criminal charges:
1 count of aggravated manslaughter and 4 counts of child neglect. This trial is set for January 25th, 2005.
The second trial is in the family court:
To prove they are parents fit to raise their children. This trial date for the family court is under continuance until the criminal trial is concluded.
Please keep in mind the Andressohns are people of very modest means. The financial strain of this nightmare is beyond belief!
What Is Being Done To Help The Andressohns?
What needs to be done is obvious...
The Andressohns need help getting their family back together again. Their four children have been without their parents for 18 months and the Andressohns desperately need financial help in order to defend themselves & reunite their family.
Rawfriends.com along with the help of some very special people who have generously donated their time and resources, have put together an easy, practical & rewarding way for YOU to help the Andressohns today. For your support, of 19 dollars or more, you will receive in return a valuable gift. Gratefully, all the valuable gift products have been donated to the Andressohn cause. This guarantees that 100% of all donations will go directly to the Andressohn family!
The Big Picture
Now, please take a moment to ponder the big picture and what this case means to you & everyone who believes it is our right to live a healthy & happy life. As advocates and emissaries of this lifestyle, we know full well that it's our lifestyle that is being persecuted!
What Is Our Responsibility?
Embracing living foods isn't only about how to juice vegetables and make raw wedding cakes; it can mean facing adversity & standing up for our right to live a life of wellness. Right now, each and every one of us who embrace a living food lifestyle is on trial right along with the Andressohn family.
The Andressohns are not only fighting for themselves and their children's lives but for our way of life as well!