A Christian nurse who was reportedly fired from her job at Texas Children's Hospital (TCH) in Houston for exposing alleged Medicaid fraud related to transgender procedures for minors views her situation as that of a spiritual war.
"I am a Christian, and my faith is the foundation of everything," Vanessa Sivadge told The Christian Post. "That's the reason why I've spoken out as I have."
According to an exclusive statement provided to journalist Christopher Rufo., Sivadge claimed that TCH, the largest children's hospital in the nation, fired her on Aug. 16 for exposing alleged Medicaid fraud, which she said was using federal funds to cover cross-sex hormones and puberty blockers in violation of Texas law.
Sivadge reached out to Rufo last year to claim that TCH was pushing "gender-affirming" care on young patients rather than attending to their underlying psychological problems.
Her meeting with Rufo follows his May 2023 story about Dr. Ethan Haim, who leaked medical records indicating that TCH continued to prescribe puberty blockers for children with gender dysphoria despite claiming otherwise.
According to a DOJ press release, The U.S. Department of Justice gave Haim with four felony counts in June for obtaining "personal information including patient names, treatment codes and the attending physician from Texas Children's Hospital's (TCH) electronic system without authorization."
Haim and Rufo contend the patient names were redacted from the leaked document.
In her latest statement, Sivadge told Rufo that she requested a religious accommodation at the hospital on May 31 that would have transferred her out of the endocrinology clinic, where she claims that she was coerced into "indirect participation in the care of children on cross-sex hormones."
She requested to be transferred back to her core competency at the cardiology unit, where the trans ideology was not as widespread.
"This past Friday on, August 16, TCH fired me effective immediately," Sivadge wrote. "This is unlawful for two reasons: it is retaliation for my coming forward with information on TCH's egregious pattern of deception and Medicaid fraud, and this action also illegally disregarded my request to transfer due to my belief that these procedures bring irreversible harm and lifelong regret to children confused about their sex."
She added that she does not know Haim and that her situation differs from his since she hasn't faced federal charges yet, despite pointing out that federal law enforcement had shown up at her home back in June.
"I never thought that [my identity] would come to light and that I would be ultimately visited by the federal government, wanting to intimidate me into silence," she said of the incident, which video footage was posted by Rufo on X.
This is where we are now: The Biden Administration sent two FBI agents to intimidate a nurse who told the truth about the child sex-change program at Texas Children's Hospital. The regime is mobilizing to threaten and imprison anyone who opposes "transgender medicine." pic.twitter.com/XbtZVnp5Kw
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) June 18, 2024
"And so I think that instead of investigating medical institutions and organizations — in my case, a hospital — for wrongdoing and for illegal activity, the federal government was weaponized to come after people exposing crime and whistleblowers like me," she said.
"And so that's egregious. It's something I never imagined in a million years would happen to me," she added.
She also warned that political weaponization of federal agencies against people of faith will continue if Kamala Harris is elected president.
"I believe that the Department of Justice has been weaponized against people of faith and people who expose wrongdoing and illegal activity — not just in my case, but in many others," she said. "And so I am deeply concerned that if she gets elected, nothing will change in that regard."
She told CP that her case is likened to spiritual warfare and contended that she completed her duty as a Christian by exposing wrongdoing.
"Ephesians 5 says to have nothing to do with the worthless deeds of evil and darkness but instead expose them, and that everything exposed by the light becomes visible," Sivadge told CP.
"So that was really the foundation and the motivation for me to do what I've done, to speak out like I have."
"Because we have, I believe, a responsibility as Christians to bring to light what's been done in the darkness," she added.
She also shared that she has "absolutely" sensed God's presence in her situation.
"Not just that, but I've felt tremendous support from the people of God," she said, adding that "people in the community who have reached out, have sent so many messages, have donated to my GiveSendGo, have ultimately made me feel like I'm doing the right thing, no matter what comes down the pike."
"And that's ultimately the greatest encouragement that I receive, is from people who have donated and who have prayed for me," she continued.
As of Monday afternoon, Sivadge's GiveSendGo has raised 50,591 out of her $500,000 goal.
Photo Credit: ©Instagram/vanessa.l.sivadge
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.