ThatsLife
  • WIN
  • News
  • Real Life
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Pets
  • Your Stars
  • Puzzles
  • Podcasts
  • Video
ThatsLife
  • WIN
  • News
  • Real Life
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Pets
  • Your Stars
  • Puzzles
  • Podcasts
  • Video
Subscribe
There's A Better, Faster Way To Predict Sepsis
Watch 0:37

There's A Better, Faster Way To Predict Sepsis

{headline}

{headline}

Sweet Gwen: Extra cute, extra special, EXTRA JOY!

Sweet Gwen: Extra cute, extra special, EXTRA JOY!

Miracle baby born not breathing for seven minutes came back to life

Miracle baby born not breathing for seven minutes came back to life

'A stranger had our son's baby - SEVEN YEARS after he died'

'A stranger had our son's baby - SEVEN YEARS after he died'

Mum's medical mystery: 'I couldn't cuddle my boy for TWO YEARS'

Mum's medical mystery: 'I couldn't cuddle my boy for TWO YEARS'

{headline}

{headline}

'So in love' Britain's biggest family welcomes baby number 22

'So in love' Britain's biggest family welcomes baby number 22

Baby surprise - I had no clue I was due

Baby surprise - I had no clue I was due

My baby and I came back from the dead

My baby and I came back from the dead

{headline}

{headline}

BIRTH SHOCK: Young Melbourne model has SURPRISE BABY on bathroom floor

BIRTH SHOCK: Young Melbourne model has SURPRISE BABY on bathroom floor

Mum sees 'ghost baby' cuddling her boy on baby monitor

Mum sees 'ghost baby' cuddling her boy on baby monitor

Anti-vaxxer's baby died from asphyxiation while co-sleeping and not vaccinations

Anti-vaxxer's baby died from asphyxiation while co-sleeping and not vaccinations

Vegan parents who left their baby so malnourished she had no teeth spared jail

Vegan parents who left their baby so malnourished she had no teeth spared jail

Man believes dead baby found in his mother's freezer is his sister

Man believes dead baby found in his mother's freezer is his sister

Father jailed for shaking baby so hard it has been left severely disabled

Father jailed for shaking baby so hard it has been left severely disabled

Age 63 and I’ve got EIGHT babies

Age 63 and I’ve got EIGHT babies

  1. Home
  2. News

Baby taken away from her parents was the start of 22-year fight

So tragic - by Riah Matthews
  • 20 Sep 2019

At eight months old, baby Yoey was severely malnourished and wasting away.

Her devastated dad Russell Milne has recounted to ABC's 7.30, how it was discovered that Yoey faced a fight for her life.

Russell was working away on a farm in rural Queensland when he received the news that the Royal Brisbane Hospital had diagnosed Yoey with a genetic mitochondrial disease and she didn't have long to live.

xx

Baby Yoey was a sick baby.

Supplied.

Not wanting to give up on his girl, Russell arranged for her to be flown to Sydney where a shocking discovery was made.

Doctors told Russell that Yoey didn't have a genetic disease at all, instead her mum had Munchausen syndrome by proxy.

The psychological condition is when a care-giver, often a mother, craves attention so they either make up or create an illness make it look like a child is sick.

After the diagnosis in 1984, Yoey was taken away from her mum and started to gain weight. 

xx

Yoey as a baby.

Supplied.

Although Russell had been working away and didn't know what had been happening, he also lost custody of Yoey and she was put into the care system. 

Russell gave up his job and dedicated his time to navigating the court system to prove he was a capable father.

'I remember in those days I would write everything on a typewriter and if you got one letter or word wrong, they'd send it back to you and you'd have to do it all over again,' he told ABC's 7.30.

By then, Yoey was showing signs of autism and had epilepsy and delays due to her mistreatment. 

Not regaining custody, for the next 20 years Russell only saw Yoey once in 1991. Instead, she was moved through foster homes and group homes and suffered sexual abuse.

xx

Yoey grew up in care.

Supplied.

By now Russell was an art teacher and had started another family. He continued to write letter to find out how Yoey was and eventually thought she was dead.

'We kept sending stuff but we never got any reply,' he told 7.30.

When Yoey was 22 they were finally reunited. Yoey is now in a group home and has cataracts caused by self-harming, anxiety and autism.

In 2002 she was also diagnosed with the developmental disorder Smith-Magenis syndrome. The diagnosis left Mr Milne wondering if this could explain why his girl was starving when she was young and whether she'd been put into care for the wrong reasons. Although he still suspected the original Munchausen by proxy diagnosis was probably also accurate.

Russell is planning to share Yoey's story at the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with a Disability.

'She’s lived a life of hell.' But despite it all, he says, 'she’s an amazing human being'.

  • News
  • Real Life
Riah Matthews
Riah Matthews
Riah Matthews is the Deputy Editor for that’s life! She started her journalism career in the UK at the Nottingham Post before moving to Australia and working on that's life! and the podcast How I Survived. Her work has also been published in the Daily Mail, Chat, Woman, Pick Me Up, Take a Break, Real People and on Newidea.com.au

That's Life Mega Monthly! -SAVE UP TO 20%

LESS THAN $4.17 AN ISSUE - TRY IT TODAY!

Subscribe Now
That's Life Mega Monthly!

That's Life Mega Monthly! -SAVE UP TO 20%

LESS THAN $4.17 AN ISSUE - TRY IT TODAY!

Subscribe Now
That's Life Mega Monthly!

Recommended to you

There's A Better, Faster Way To Predict Sepsis
Watch 0:37

There's A Better, Faster Way To Predict Sepsis

{headline}

{headline}

Sweet Gwen: Extra cute, extra special, EXTRA JOY!

Sweet Gwen: Extra cute, extra special, EXTRA JOY!

Miracle baby born not breathing for seven minutes came back to life

Miracle baby born not breathing for seven minutes came back to life

'A stranger had our son's baby - SEVEN YEARS after he died'

'A stranger had our son's baby - SEVEN YEARS after he died'

Mum's medical mystery: 'I couldn't cuddle my boy for TWO YEARS'

Mum's medical mystery: 'I couldn't cuddle my boy for TWO YEARS'

{headline}

{headline}

'So in love' Britain's biggest family welcomes baby number 22

'So in love' Britain's biggest family welcomes baby number 22

Baby surprise - I had no clue I was due

Baby surprise - I had no clue I was due

My baby and I came back from the dead

My baby and I came back from the dead

{headline}

{headline}

BIRTH SHOCK: Young Melbourne model has SURPRISE BABY on bathroom floor

BIRTH SHOCK: Young Melbourne model has SURPRISE BABY on bathroom floor

Mum sees 'ghost baby' cuddling her boy on baby monitor

Mum sees 'ghost baby' cuddling her boy on baby monitor

Anti-vaxxer's baby died from asphyxiation while co-sleeping and not vaccinations

Anti-vaxxer's baby died from asphyxiation while co-sleeping and not vaccinations

Vegan parents who left their baby so malnourished she had no teeth spared jail

Vegan parents who left their baby so malnourished she had no teeth spared jail

Man believes dead baby found in his mother's freezer is his sister

Man believes dead baby found in his mother's freezer is his sister

Father jailed for shaking baby so hard it has been left severely disabled

Father jailed for shaking baby so hard it has been left severely disabled

Age 63 and I’ve got EIGHT babies

Age 63 and I’ve got EIGHT babies

ThatsLife
  • Gold Club
  • Online Entry FAQ
  • About Us
  • Subscribe Today
  • Contact Us
  • Terms
  • Competitions
  • Privacy Policy
ThatsLife Magazine Subscribe
  • Gold Club
  • Online Entry FAQ
  • About Us
  • Subscribe Today
  • Contact Us
  • Terms
  • Competitions
  • Privacy Policy

Brands

  • New Idea
  • Who
  • Girlfriend
  • Practical Parenting

Our Network

  • Better Homes and Gardens
  • BHG Shop
  • marie claire
  • Instyle
  • Beauty Crew
  • New Idea food
  • Women's Weekly Food
  • Bounty Parents
  • Home Beautiful
  • All Recipes
  • 7plus
  • 7News
  • Health Engine
  • Starts at 60
  • The West Australian
  • Perth Now
  • Airtasker
  • Society One
© 2021 Are Media PTY LTD
Get more from

Magazine Subscription Offer

That's Life Mega Monthly! -SAVE UP TO 20%

Shop This Offer
That's Life Mega Monthly!