What powered success now is said to cause flaws

Birth mother: 'It's been pure hell.'
ROGERS (AP) -- The wooden sign that hangs from the red wrap-around front porch is incomplete.
"The Shannon and Roger Family" it reads in honor of Kerri Shannon and her new husband's relatives, who have deep roots in this town known for its rolling farm land and weekly flea market.
Shannon is quick to point out that there is a space left for the last name of her two children, left behind unwillingly nearly 1,000 miles away in Addison, Maine, where she used to live.
Her son was 5 and her daughter 9 when her battle with that state's child welfare system began four years ago. She says her children were removed from her care after she reported that her ex-husband was abusive.
Custody was awarded to their aunt because the government did not believe her, and efforts since to win the youngsters back have failed, Shannon said.
There is more to the story, for sure. But Jim Beougher, director of Maine's Office of Child and Family Services, which runs the state's foster system, said he could not comment specifically on Shannon's case.
Continuous pain
Shannon, 37, spends her days working as a convenience store cashier, then caring for her husband and 17-year-old stepdaughter, who have been supportive of her fight.
"I think of my kids 24-7 even while I am at work or laying in bed or wherever I am," she said. "When I see other families with their kids out doing things or even sitting around the house, I really think of them, and I can't help but wish it was me with my kids."
Boxes of documents detailing her court fight, counseling sessions, parenting classes and correspondence with social workers are among the potted flowers, handmade crafts and other home decor.
Shannon flies to Maine for periodic weekend visits and says she's allowed to call her kids only once a week. The children have been to Ohio a few times and would like to stay, she says. Her parents, extremely close to their grandchildren, are devastated.
The desperation is evident in Shannon's voice when she talks about her struggle. Sometimes she can barely squeeze out words as she cries. Other times she shouts angry thoughts about how the foster care system is supposed to protect children from abusive or neglectful parents, not from loving mothers like her.
She believes laws putting pressure on states to quickly find permanent homes for foster children added to the difficulty she experienced with her case, which is now closed.
"I don't trust anybody. How can I trust anybody? They came in and literally ripped my family apart and destroyed our lives, and they expect me to trust them and do what they want me to do?" she cried.
"It's been pure hell," she said. "I was trying to protect my kids. I'm going to fight until the day I die. I'll never give up on them."