North Carolina Breast Cancer Mom Continues Fight for Custody

For a North Carolina mom with breast cancer, her battle to overturn a judge's ruling that gave primary custody of her two children to her husband is still ongoing. Recently the court dissolved the temporary stay Alaina Giordano had gotten that would have delayed following through on a court order that gave her husband custody of their two children.

While Alaina awaits her appeal, her children have left the state of North Carolina and are in Illinois with their father for summer vacation.

This is a setback for Alaina, whose fight to keep her children made national news thanks to a Facebook page which brought her battle to the public arena.

click here to see Facebook support page

The support for Alaina has been overwhelming and the reason why this story has received so much attention is because of the injustice of the ruling by Judge Nancy Gordon.

read about Alaina's story here

If this ruling is not overturned it could stand as precedence for others who are trying to use a parent's illness as a reason why they should not have custody. If we allow illness to be a factor, what is going to be used next?

Many divorces are battles with all the couples's dirty laundry being exposed. In a custody case it can become even uglier. What is in the best interest of the children is often forgotten as two people use the innocent victims of their broken union as pawns.

Although I first got involved in this case back in May, the wheels of justice move slowly. Alaina does have a team of lawyers who are awaiting a court date to present her appeal of the original court decision. Meanwhile, friends of Alaina are still working hard to raise money for her legal fees and medical treatments.

Many of us believe that taking children away from their mother (or a father) just because she has breast cancer is wrong. Alaina Giordano's cancer is contained. She has been caring for her two children on her own without their father's help.

Using her cancer diagnosis to determine her children's living situation is discrimination. This is the basis of the judge's ruling along with the fact that Alaina is a stay-at-home mother.

It is very difficult for a court to make a fair decision when determining a custody arrangement for the children of divorce. In this case, what is in the best interest of the children was not considered. Cancer is a scary thing to some people and the uncertainty of Alaina's future made the judge rule the way that she did.

This ruling needs to be overturned so that future cases involving parents who happen to have cancer or other illnesses will not be a factor in determining a child's future. This is why I and many others continue to fight along with Alaina. Alaina's children need her in their lives for as long as she is meant to be here. Her cancer is not worsening and she could live to see her children graduate from high school. No one knows for sure.

Cancer is not a reason for losing custody of your children. Social media helped to give Alaina a voice to shout out about injustice. Those who are listening can get involved and help to make a difference. The battle is not over.