Lindsey Nagel Baby, Rico, removed and forced on HIV drugs

For everyone that saw "HOUSE OF NUMBERS" you will remember your emotions hearing Lindsey Nagel's story. For those lucky to see and meet her in person in a Q and A after the film. you will be further touched and i hope moved as Lindsey story didn't just end after the light when out in the theater, or you turned off your DVD. 

Watch this shocking video for the rest of the story or go to www.saverico.com 

Mower County Child Protective Services

Director of Health and Human Services  

Julie Stevermer

 julies@co.mower.mn.us call (507) 437-9715

The Vendetta: The Kidnapping And Torture of Rico Martinez Nagel

By Celia Farber

 ”They aren’t gonna quit. It doesn’t end. There can’t be two of them. Can you imagine if Lindsey had a baby after 22 years and the baby lived? Can you imagine? It didn’t happen to Lindsey. It happened to Rico.”

Steve Nagel

We’ve kept quiet about the situation since December, 2012. Lindsey Nagel gave birth to a healthy baby boy on December 19. He was supposed to come home a few days later. He is still not home. He’s remains in the hospital, in state custody, covered in tubes. So battered and destroyed by force fed ARV drugs, the family has begun to wonder if Rico will make it.

“I don’t know if Rico will make it out of the hospital, at this point,” said Rico’s grandfather, Steve Nagel. “He’s basically on life support right now. He’s 7 pounds. He needs his family. He needs love. But they couldn’t let this mother have a baby that lived too. I’m all cried out. It’s just unbelievable.”

Rico and Lindsey

 The same day Rico was born, while Lindsey was resting, three figures appeared at the foot of her bed.  It was an infectious disease doctor, a lawyer and a social worker.  They told her that unless she consented to being tested for HIV, and allowed them to test Rico for HIV, they were going to turn Lindsey in to Mower county Social Services for child endangerment.

I have covered the HIV wars, in gory detail, and with increasing shock, since Peter Duesberg’s first critique appeared in the literature in 1987, in Cancer Research, arguing against “retroviruses” as causes of cancer and or pathogens capable of causing “AIDS.”

You know, this “war,” it always has a precise location at a given time, a portal–a human being, or family, through whom it beats its message of ultra violence, its domination, its will to prevail. It is blind with rage and fear, and it does not know how to differentiate between killing and “saving lives.” If it has to kill in the name of saving lives, it will.

It–the dark, grey, meaningless, Godforsaken evil– has now gotten a small baby boy in its grip, and his life is hanging in the balance, as I write this and as you read it.

The boy’s name is Rico Martinez Nagel. His mother is Lindsey Nagel, familiar to many of you. Lindsey was adopted by her parents, Steve and Cheryl Nagel, from Romania, as an infant, in 1990. She was tested for “HIV” in Romania, and tested negative. Upon arriving to the United States, she was re-tested and tested positive. Shortly after arriving to her new home with her new loving family, in Minneapolis, MN, her parents prepared for her imminent death, after doctors gave their grave prophecies that she would probably not live past the age of two. She was put on AZT. She suffered, of course–AZT being “the antithesis of life,” and a chemotherapeutic agent that kills all dividing cells. She screamed day and night, she stopped eating, she stopped growing. Her parents were assured this was all the effects of the deadly virus, HIV.

Cheryl’s father one day happened upon an article in The National Review, by Tom Bethell, about the critique of German cancer virologist Peter Duesberg, asserting the harmless nature of HIV and explaining why HIV can’t cause AIDS. What a “retrovirus” was exactly, was unclear then–the field was very new. Today the matter is even more opaque. But Duesberg pointed to the elephant in the room: Prior to Robert Gallo’s astonishing declaration at a press conference in April of 1984, that his lab had isolated a novel retrovirus and that it was determined to be the “probable cause of AIDS,” (by the next day, “the cause of AIDS”) retrovirology as a field was in agreement that retroviruses were non pathogenic, or “harmless,” i.e. did not kill cells.

The Nagels (in 1992) wrote to him in Berkeley, despairing about their “HIV positive” daughter suffering on AZT.   “Dr. Duesberg, if Lindsey were your daughter, what would you do?” they asked.

Duesberg, speaking now as bio-chemist, wrote back, sending a dossier of scientific papers, and a hand written cover letter that said: “If you don’t take your daughter off AZT right away she will die, like Kimberly Bergalis…” (who perished on AZT and other “nukes,” from the early years of AIDS treatment.)

Lindsey had been on AZT for 22 months. Her growth had flatlined–she was literally not growing, at all, and barely eating, and spending most of her waking hours screaming. Despite dire threats from Lindsey’s doctors, the Nagels took their daughter off the drug.

“We decided we’d rather she have three good months than six bad ones,” her father Steve said.

Lo and behold, the “deadly virus” stopped being deadly, right away–coinciding perfectly with the cessation of the DNA chain terminating chemotherapy going into her system. Lindsey started growing and thriving, normally. She put on weight, fast. All her normal functions returned. The doctors continued to browbeat the Nagels in a protracted battle; They kept insisting Lindsey would die, soon, they knew not when exactly, if she were not put back on the drug. She would not live to age five. She would not live to age seven. She would not see “double digits.” And so forth. The Nagels prevailed. The system (which Duesberg calls “the Reich”) was not organized at that time, to simply seize a child and forcibly medicate. Or else they just got lucky. In any event, they got away with it. They got away with saving their daughter’s life and also keeping custody of her.

Lindsey grew up. She never manifested any sickness.

When she was 19, she met Peter Duesberg for the first time, at a 2009 screening in Nashville for the documentary House of Numbers.  I took this photo of the two of them in the parking lot of the airport.

Lindsey’s father Steve, some years back, did some research, to see what happened to the others. At the time Lindsey was “diagnosed” there were 12 children in the state of Minnesota under the age of 10 who had also been diagnosed HIV positive. Steve found that the other 11 were dead. Lindsey, the only child who got off the “lifesaving drugs” train, is the only one who made it out alive. Her life was saved by clear and unambiguous intervention of Peter Duesberg, routinely accused of being a mass murderer, for “denying” that “HIV causes AIDS.” Her life was also saved by her parents intuition, clear thinking, and courage.

I went to visit the Nagels in 2009, in Minneapolis, and I met the extended family–Cheryl’s parents, and her amazing sister Pam, her husband Wes, and their kids. I was thinking to myself: This is a story about the heartland. Watching them, I understood how they all had a hand in Lindsey’s safe passage. Nobody was taken in by mumbo jumbo, or Godless insanity.

Steve still had a dark cloud he struggled with. “This isn’t over,” he said then. “It starts all over again when Lindsey gets pregnant and starts a family.”

And I remember thinking Steve was being a a bit negative, should not think like that, surely–

In September of 2012, Cheryl Nagel called me. “I have good news,” she said. “Lindsey is expecting.”

She also told me that Lindsey was engaged to the baby’s father, that the family adores him, and that his name is John.

I was thrilled, and I trilled and cheered and congratulated, and jumped up and down.

Lindsey always was in my mind the princess of life, the one happy ending, the only triumph. The AIDS orthodoxy, which celebrates openly and luridly when an “AIDS denialist,” dies, obviously were driven mad by Lindsey’s existence. She undermines the notion that HIV antibodies signal impending sickness and death, for one, and clarifies the terrible truth about AZT therapy, namely that it killed “a whole generation of AIDS patients,” as German MD. Claus Koehnlein has said.

Case in point:

At a panel discussion for the Nashville screening of  House of Numbers, I sat on a panel with, among others, Cheryl and Lindsey. A furious activist from the AIDS orthodoxy–Jeanne Bergman stood up from the audience, almost foaming at the mouth–and began attacking us all. I pointed to Lindsey: “May I ask a question?” I said to her. I pointed to Lindsey: “Can we agree Lindsey is sitting there, right there, and that she is real, and that she is alive?” Bergman went ballistic. “YOU ARE SUCH A F$%&NG LIAR!” she hollered, over and over, being escorted from the room by security. (To indicate the door through which the panelists should exit to attend the gathering afterwards, somebody had written a sign and put it on the door:

“F–ng Liars This Way.” )

Cheryl attended many of Lindsey’s prenatal visits with her daughter. Everything was normal and fine. At no point were they counseled or urged to take ARV therapy during pregnancy. (This detail will become crucial later.)

On December 19, 2012, at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, Lindsey gave birth to Rico, a healthy baby boy. His blood counts were indicative of health and a normal immune system.  Lindsey had repeatedly declined HIV testing for Rico.

Barely ten minutes after giving birth,  Lindsey was ambushed by hospital workers telling her if she declined testing she would lost custody of Rico. But they had already tested Rico, obviously. Afraid and cornered, Lindsey and John agreed to their demands.

Here is Cheryl Nagels account of the events that unfolded after that:

“Rico had meconium in his lungs and they thought he had an infection, so at first all we knew was that he would be placed on an antibiotic, and had to go to the NICU for awhile.

The same day Rico was born, while Lindsey was resting, three figures appeared at the foot of her bed.  It was an infectious disease doctor, a lawyer and a social worker.  They told her that unless she consented to being tested for HIV, and allowed them to test Rico for HIV, they were going to turn Lindsey in to Mower county Social Services for child endangerment.  When Lindsey refused, the lawyer turned on his heels, walked toward the door, and started dialing his cell phone.  The door slammed behind him, and he was gone.

We were shocked!  Steve had the nurse call the lawyer, and asked if we could have 10 minutes to think things over.  So the four of us, Lindsey, John, Steve and I agreed that we better comply with their demands.

We knew Lindsey was HIV positive, but of course, we weren’t sure about Rico because there is not an accurate test for babies, as they usually carry their mother’s antibodies to HIV until about 18 months.  85% of babies born to HIV positive mothers shed their “maternal antibodies” by themselves and never truly become HIV positive, even without any drugs.

Lindsey was never counseled to take drugs while she was pregnant, which would have decreased Rico’s chances of being positive to 2%! No one bothered to tell her that, even though upon our first visit to the midwife unit on June 13, Lindsey and I  told the nurse all about HIV, and Lindsey’s experience with AZT.   Lindsey didn’t want the HIV test, as she knew she was positive, so why take the test again?

In the second and third days of his life, Rico was placed on a battery of drugs, including the very toxic drug that almost killed Lindsey – AZT.   By day 14 of his life, he was also placed two other anti-HIV drugs.  One of the drugs he was on is 45% alcohol, so it was no wonder Rico slept most all the time.

Lindsey started breast-feeding Rico when he was 6 days old.  He took to it pretty well, despite the fact he’d had a feeding tube for the first few days.  A breast-feeding specialist visited Lindsey every morning, and assisted with Rico, and soon he was breastfeeding 100% of the time, and we got to go home!  Lindsey and John stayed at Ronald McDonald House for a few extra days, and visited Rico’s pediatrician as an outpatient for a few days.  We were so happy!  Rico would finally come home!

Steve called the doctor and cancelled an appointment for January 15, as both John and Lindsey wanted to get a second opinion about Rico’s condition.  We were told by a friend, to go to Seattle to see a physician there.   So we visited our family in the Twin Cities, and headed to Seattle on January 16 later that afternoon.  We drove to Fargo/Moorhead and spent the night.  The next morning we got up and headed west.  But the further we got from home we were having second thoughts.  The biggest thing is that during a phone call with the doctor from Seattle, we realized that he doesn’t work with pediatrics.  Then Steve called and told us Child Protective Services wanted to meet Lindsey and John in half an hour!  They had given us no warning.  We didn’t know we were being assessed by CPS!  The next day, after we’d driven home, CPS arrived, as well as the Sheriff. They handed us some papers and took Rico right out of Lindsey’s arms. It was the worst thing I’ve ever witnessed…

They drove off with him, and for five long days we had no information about where he even was. Finally we found out he was back in the hospital and that they were feeding him via a tube, because Lindsey was not there to breastfeed him.

The medical staff and CPS had researched Steve and me.  We’d participated in a documentary film in 2009, telling the story of how Lindsey almost died from AZT but survived. It was clear that the doctors were suspicious of our views, and it was as if they decided to punish Lindsey and John because we had the nerve to defy medical orders 20 years ago, even though their our decision to do so saved our daughter’s life.

At the hearing the judge asked CPS what their “cause” was to remove this baby from his parents.  It appeared that a cancelled doctor’s appointment was the cause to remove Rico.  Though we don’t like the idea, Lindsey and John did NOT defy medical orders!  Lindsey and John gave Rico his meds faithfully, twice a day.  The county attorney stated that Steve and I did not believe HIV caused AIDS, and were against AIDS drugs.

When CPS picked Rico up, he was supposed to go live with foster parents.  The foster mom met the CPS social worker at the sheriff’s station and discovered that Rico was congested, and had trouble sucking out of a bottle.  After breastfeeding for two weeks, it’s no wonder!  So he ended up back at the hospital, and had to be fed once again, with a tube.  Two weeks ago he had a gastric tube installed, and when he comes home he will continue to be fed via the tube.   All because of a missed doctor’s appointment!”

Here is a video that shows Rico’s abduction:

Right now, Rico remains in the hospital, with seven medications, including AZT, pumped straight into his stomach via a GI tube. According to Mayo Clinic documents The Truth Barrier has obtained through the family, on Feb 15, they were:

Acetaminophen

Fluconazole

Zidovudine

Lamivudine

Kaletra

Pedcid

Bactrim

Elsewhere in the medical records there is mention of IV morphine, “if pain not controlled.”

He weighs the same as he did at birth. The only time he gained weight was when Lindsey was breastfeeding him in the first weeks of his life, before he was seized and placed in state custody at the hospital. Then her milk dried up. He is now severely anemic from the drugs, particularly AZT, and has had two blood transfusions. His abdomen is very distended and he has facial edema as well as scrotal edema, and “abdominal wall edema.”

Some various and bizarre notations from Rico’s medical records, Feb 15:

“Rico is doing well. He is hemodynamically stable and afebrile. His abdominal examination this morning revealed a more distended abdomen.”

And:

“Currently we have a reason for weight loss/failure to gain weight. However if he continues failing to gain weight after feeds are started, will consider repeat sleep study sooner than later.”

“Continue administration of anti-retrovirals through G-tube.”

“The maternal grandfather testified that he will leave the room during the administration of the ART because he did not want to witness the “convulsions” and “foaming at the mouth” which the child experienced during the taking of that medication

“He spontaneously moves his upper and lower extremities and will attempt to turn himself towards the examiner.”

So, you may ask: What are they thinking?

The language chills you right to the bone. It seems to come from a post-human planet:

“Rico is a 1-mo infant with HIV, started on HAART with triple-agent coverage. Last week, found to have a leakage of infant formula around the site of the gastronomy tube revision into the peritoneum. Subsequently, started on piperacillin/tazobactam for empiric coverage of peritonitis.”

“Parents appear overwhelmed and distressed by the various legal proceedings facing patient’s dismissal plan. Despite this, they ask appropriate questions, are involved in patient’s care, and have been compliant with requests from the medical team and Mower county thus far. Social work interventions are in place and will continue providing emotional counseling and a supportive role on behalf of patient’s best interest.”

“During today’s visit, parents were attentive to patient’s needs. Parents held, rocked, and spoke to patient.”

From Jan 23:

“The child’s health and welfare would be immediately endangered if he were released to the care of his parents.”

“At the time of Dr. Youssaf’s observations of the child on January 23, 2013, the child at 33 days of age was still under his birth weight. The doctor in that service record opines, “It is my sense that much of Rico’s symptomatology, including microcephaly, axial hypotonia, delayed head control, and immature feeding pattern, can largely be explained by early neurologic manifestations of HIV infection”; “In addition, swallowing abnormalities in HIV infected children have been described in the literature recently.”

“The maternal grandfather testified that he will leave the room during the administration of the ART because he did not want to witness the “convulsions” and “foaming at the mouth” which the child experienced during the taking of that medication. The Court has nothing to base a finding upon whether the reaction of the child was associated with the medication itself or the feeding difficulties the child is experiencing.”

Perhaps the most stunningly Orwellian notation:

“Reasonable and active efforts have been made to prevent the removal of the child from the home.”

Through the medical records, Rico is referred to as “the patient,” while Lindsey is “biological mom” and Cheryl is “maternal grandmother.”

“Mom changed patient’s diaper one time during the stay and changed him into clothing from home. Mom also had questions about the output in the vented G and asked why it was leaking. RN checked the tightness and seal on the container and determined that it needed adjusting. Mom and grandma were interactive with patient and played with toys and turned on mobile music for patient during the stay. After Mom and Grandma left, RN provided all cares to patient after they left and no other family visited or was contacted throughout shift.”

“He did not have a bowel movement yesterday.”

“Will update biological parents with plan of care as they are available. Currently has no legal guardian, no assigned foster parents.”

“General: He is lying in his mother’s arms in no acute distress.”

So.

This is reality. Are you among those who look away, who still don’t know, “which side is right?”

One night about a week ago Steve Nagel called me. We spoke for over an hour.

“I grew up on a farm, and we didn’t do this to animals,” he said, about what is happening to Rico. “An animal would just be put down.”

Steve told me he isn’t at all sure Rico is going to make it.

“They aren’t going to quit,” he said. “It doesn’t end. He is so debilitated, so frail. He needs the hospital now, to stay alive. But we want to get him home. Rico has to come home and be loved whether we have to kill him with AZT or not. The number one priority is not to get him off the drugs or anything, but to get him into our home 24 hours a day.

He’s maxed out on radiation. After Lindsey and John saw him yesterday I think it sunk in that the skin on his stomach is so tight, they realize he may not come home. Rico may not make it out of the hospital. And they are going to try to pin this on the AIDS denialists, another Christine and E.J. That’s the plan. Every sentence, on every page of the massive medical report, it’s thick like a phone book, is about how all this is a manifestation of HIV. They ambushed us. It didn’t happen to Lindsey. It happened to Rico. They went through the deck and they pulled out all four aces. They had the positive test in their hands. You see, there couldn’t be two of them. Can you imagine if Lindsey had a baby after 22 years and the baby lived? Can you imagine? They could not let this baby be healthy. There’s too much at stake.”

“This has been Rico’s life. He’s been poked, prodded, radiated, turned over, poison poured down down him. His intestines are stripped, burned out. He gets no nourishment. He doesn’t have his mother. He is only alive because they put electrolytes into his bloodstream. He takes in no nourishment. He lies on his back and stares at a fluorescent light until we get there. I told Lindsey: “He doesn’t know that life could have been better. We’re the ones who know. A chicken in a cage doesnt know he’s had a bad life. If  he was looking at it from that vantage point, that this is all that life will ever be, he would die within minutes. Sometimes I wish he’d go tomorrow. Just to end this suffering. It’s beyond barbaric. It’s incomprehensible.”

At that point I broke. I started crying, and could not stop.

How? How is it possible, that it has come to this, this utter insanity, this orchestrated kidnapping and murder of an infant, turn from his mother’s arms in his home and sent to a hospital?

“It’s a war against me and Cheryl,” says Steve somberly, “because we told our story in House of Numbers and elsewhere.”

In an email last night, Cheryl Nagel wrote me:

“Just between the three of us, John prays a lot while he’s holding onto Rico.  One night when the kids were staying overnight in the hospital, Lindsey said she opened her eyes to find John sitting in the rocking chair with Rico, and was sobbing his eyes out. “

John and Rico

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