On November 10, 2000, four-year old Anamarie Martinez-Regino returned home after nearly four months in the custody of the State of New Mexico's Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD). On August 25, Anamarie was removed from her parents' custody because of allegations from CYFD that her parents were not following her doctor's orders and were causing her harm by overfeeding her and feeding her the wrong foods.These allegations were never proven and all charges were dropped. Eventually, the court-ordered strict gag order was lifted as well. Nearly a year since the ordeal began, Anamarie's mother, Adela Martinez and her mother, Margaret Martinez, spoke with Without Measure about how Anamarie and her family are doing now.
"There's still a lot of work that needs to be done," Adela Martinez said. "People…are not exactly aware of what's going on. It's not just teaching people, it's changing people's ways, and that doesn't happen overnight."
According to Martinez, the media coverage about her daughter led many people to believe that Anamarie was "on her deathbed." Instead, when friends or family or strangers meet Anamarie, they see a different picture.
"People have been great, telling us how happy she (Anamarie) is, how healthy she is," Martinez said. "And she's not on her deathbed."
"She's just a normal girl, she's just bigger than anyone else (her age)," Martinez said. "She's not in front of the TV, eating, like everyone thinks she is."
The Martinez-Regino family does have lawsuits pending, according to Martinez, but none have been filed as yet. Their attorney, however, has closed their legal defense fund and the family has been struggling financially.
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