Syesha Mercado highlights natural healing two years after child custody battle

Two years after authorities placed her infant son in foster care over concerns about malnutrition and later briefly took her newborn baby girl into protective custody, “American Idol” finalist Syesha Mercado says her reunited family is healing day by day.

And she is re-emerging with her first significant public event that marks the 15th anniversary of one of the high points in her music career.

Mercado and her husband, Khnum Sba, faced an eight-month ordeal in 2021 that started in February when they brought their then 13-month-old son Amen’Ra to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg. They were concerned that Mercado’s breast milk was running dry and the boy was not accepting other fluids.

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They expected to bring him home after he was treated, but several weeks later, the couple was ordered off the hospital campus by St. Petersburg police, and their son was placed in foster care. Six months later and about 10 days after Mercado gave birth to a daughter named Ast, police surrounded the couple’s car and took the girl into protective custody.

Astonished fans and parents watched the drama unfold on a live social media feed.

By October, the whole family had been reunited.

Family is growing and happy

Mercado now says her children are happy and thriving. Amen’Ra is 3 and Ast is 20 months old.

“Everything is in the past and resolved and now we are moving in strength,” she said. “We all come to this planet and we have a mission and a purpose, and when I see my children, I see that even at an early age, they’ve started to fulfill their mission and purpose. Every single day, we’re guiding them and pouring so much love into them.”

The healing process is something that will take a lifetime to deal with, she said,

“We can either allow challenge to put us in a mental prison or a paradise, and every day we choose to let obstacles catapult us into purpose, into mission or into misery,” she said in a telephone interview. “For me, the experiences we encounter in this life can take a lifetime to heal. The healing will never stop.”

Her family is helped by working with nature for balance and healing. Last year, the couple started the company I Am Nature Wellness (eyeamnature.com), a family-owned LLC that works with other families to “remind our community that one of the most available healing tools we have is nature. We encourage children to get offline and get outside, take your shoes off, get your feet in the ground, raise your hands to the sky and simply breathe.”

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The company, which accepts donations and grants to support some programs, provides wholistic health and nutrition education, wholistic health alternatives and lifestyle models. ”We do programs in schools. Our entire mission is rooted in quality care, safety and protection and cultural competency,” Mercado said.

Celebrating nature and balance

That approach to life is behind the Syesha Day Celebration, which will be held 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. May 6 at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park, 2523 Cocoanut Ave., Sarasota.

It was scheduled to mark the 15th anniversary of May 8, which was declared Syesha Mercado Day in the city of Sarasota as part of her hometown visit that was filmed for the final episodes of her run on “American Idol.” (She finished third in 2008). There was a parade and a large gathering of fans, friends and family at the Ringling Museum.

“That was so long ago, so much of it was a blur, but what I do remember is everything was moving so fast, I couldn’t catch my breath,” she says. “I felt like I wasn’t moving in my true authenticity. I was singing other people’s songs, I was performing in a way like I was playing a role. That’s why this Syesha Day is so important. I no longer have to play a part. My role is just being true to myself everyday.”

After “Idol,” the Booker High School graduate performed concerts, toured in the musical “Dreamgirls,” appeared on Broadway in “The Book of Mormon” and worked on her own music.

She will be singing songs during the day, though not like the kind of concerts she used to give.

“I teach the children culture through melodies. I have a bunch of songs that are rooted in nature to teach children about their connection to nature and also teach them about their anatomy, about nutrition and teach them about life,” she says.

The Newtown Farmer’s Market will be happening during the day, there will be drumming, sound healing and games for children among other activities.

“We want to enjoy just being,” she says. “There are so many things that we do on a day to day basis that can be very stressful and hectic. This is a day to just be slow. Nature has been a healing tool for me and my family.”

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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: ‘American Idol’ star Syesha Mercado re-emerges after custody battle