It’s a parent’s worst nightmare: you no longer have custody of your child even though you feel that you’ve done everything right. Unfortunately, that nightmare has become reality for the Pelletiers. Judge Joseph Johnston recently ruled that the state should maintain custody of the couple’s 15-year-old daughter Justina, according to the Boston Globe. While the judge plans to appoint a court investigator to take another look at the case, the Pelletiers were hoping to have their daughter home for the holidays.

Justina’s case is a complicated one. Boston.com reports that Pelletier has spent most of the last ten months locked in a psychiatric ward at Boston Children’s Hospital.

WSFB reports that Justina’s nightmarish journey began in February when the 15 year old was receiving treatments for Mitochondrial Disease. When Justina’s symptoms worsened, she was sent to Boston Children’s Hospital where she was diagnosed with Somatoform Disorder; a mental illness in which doctors can’t trace symptoms back to any physical cause.

When the Pelletiers tried to remove Justina from the hospital, they were reportedly prevented by hospital staff, including security. Now, they are in a tooth-and-nail fight with the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families for custody of their daughter.

“I don’t understand how they can do this. I didn’t do anything wrong,” said the girl’s mother after the hearing on Friday, according to Boston.com.

The judge has set the next hearing for January 10.