Richard Cushworth and wife Mercedes Casanellas welcomed their baby boy at a hospital in El Salvador in May. The Dallas couple flew home with their newborn, but grew suspicious after the child had little resemblance to them. A DNA test proved the infant was not theirs. What happened next is truly so shocking that you can't make this stuff up.
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The mother and father discovered that they were given the wrong baby at the hospital after they delivered. For more than three months, the couple was caring for a baby that wasn't theirs! Mercedes did notice that her son's genitals appeared darker than she remembered. She complained to the nurse, who said, "That's normal." As a mother, I'm sure Mercedes' maternal instincts kicked in, but she didn't want to believe that her own baby was swapped.
This experience would be enough to send me to a psychiatric ward. The parents plead to have their baby returned and the Salvadorean officials conducted DNA tests on the other babies born on the same day. The swapped babies were safely returned to their rightful parents.
In an even crazier twist, the couple believes that they are a victim of child traffickers and that their baby was targeted because it was lighter-skinned. It's difficult to prove whether the doctor named Alejandro Guidos made the swap on purpose or whether it was an honest mistake. He obviously denies any wrongdoing, but authorities are investigating the case further.
The most important part of this case is that the baby was reunited with his family. I believe the doctor should lose his license and officials should look into whether illegal child trafficking is going on at the hospital. Freaky things take place in the maternity unit, but this has to be one of the craziest stories I've heard to date!
Image via Corbis
