Michigan May Compel Surgery for Toddler

[mahdokht]

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[JessicaS]

I don't really know how I feel about this. I do not think homeopathic remedies will work for this. It bothers me that their hands are being forced but with the nature of this illness the longer wait the more the tumor will grow and the greater the degenerative affects.

[mahdokht]

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[mahdokht]

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[JessicaS]

I completely agree, it is just a heartbreaking thing to consider in a child. Without the surgery she will lose her sight, her ability to speak will diminish, it is just tragic.

[TiredX2]

What a horrible choice to have to make.

>>>Two pediatric neurosurgeons told the couple that there was a 70 percent to 80 percent chance that their daughter would emerge either dead or with severe complications. <<<

With only a 20% chance of life with full technology, I'm not sure I would write off homeopathy as "quackery." I have no idea what I would do if my child faced this, but for myself, I would probably not undergo surgery. I can totally understand this child's parents not wanting her to have to go through that.

[LavenderMae]

I think it is very scary that parents don't have the last word on what is done to their children. Why is the state or the doctors seen as a better judge of what is best for a child. Why is it that the parents aren't allowed to take all the information and then make the best choice based on the info. I do not want to see parental rights being lessened even more , when they are done what rights as parents will we have left?

[sadie_sabot]

ugh. How horrible for these parents.

I can't help but wonder if their being Bangladeshi has anything to do with this. It seems to me that whenever i read about a child being taken away for messed up reasons, like the baby taken away b/c of a picture of mom breastfeeding, the parents are people of color, or immigrants, or, if white, poor.

[CollegeMama]

Originally posted by Sheacoby
I think it is very scary that parents don't have the last word on what is done to their children. Why is the state or the doctors seen as a better judge of what is best for a child.

I think because of the few, horrible parents out there (the kind who lock their children up in closets) who would simply deny a child any health care at all.

In this case though, it's obvious that the parents have looked at all their options and are trying to do what they feel is best for their child (even if I disagree with them, they should still have that choice, IMO.)

I would definitely do the surgery, only for selfish reasons, cause I couldn't live without my child and would do everything I could to increase his odds of living. There are lots of blind people who are living happy lives. Being a vegetable is another story and then I'd have to contemplate removing life support then.

I feel so badly for these parents. To be going through all of this in the midst of possibly losing their child.

Marcy

[frogertgrl]

Court has ruled that the child will not be forced to have surgery! Prosecutors dropped their case today. The site is down where I read this, or I'd post the link. Will try to find it elsewhere.

[mahdokht]

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[frogertgrl]

I do not like this news source at all, but I cannot find the story on the AP Wire! Sorry.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,86656,00.html

With the girl's condition worsening, neurosurgeons no longer recommend surgery because of the nature, location and size of the tumor, David Williams, an assistant county prosecutor, said at an Oakland County Family Court hearing.

Hoque family lawyer Charles Cooper had argued that the parents should be allowed to decide what treatment is best for their child.

"They wanted the petition dismissed, obviously. They wanted the government out of their lives. They wanted people to stop calling and harassing them," Cooper said.

[Ms. Mom]

http://www.detnow.com/news/0305130806.html

Here is another link. I've been following this one closely.

[heartmama]

What a relief, although I am sure it is still little comfort to these poor parents.

[applejuice]

I am glad the courts made that decision.

I recall in the early eighties the case of Chad Green, a little boy with cancer whose parents took him from Boston to Tijuana for treatment. He died eventually anyway, but they were activists for alternative cancer therapies for a while. I heard them speak in Long Beach.

I also recall a little girl who was born at home in the early eighties by Dr. Hai Abdul. She was in LA's Children's Hospital and was diagnosed with cancer. After refusing any conventional medical treatment, her father grabbed her and ran out of the hospital with her in his arms, because he knew what was next. He headed for Tijuana also, and his daughter actually improved in her condition. I recall that she had Hodgekin's lymphoma and was about two years old.

She was killed in a car crash some five years later on the I-5.

Parents should have the right to decide what is correct treatment for their child. They will after all live with the result.

[Ms. Mom]

I agreee Applejuice. When we're dealing with something like Cancer a cure could only be temporary - also, I don't understand putting a child through painfull treatments just to keep them alive another year or so. What's the point if they're in agony?

When my grandmother was in the final stages of Cancer we opted to discontinue her radiation, but the doctor ignored our request and gave her one last treatment on her throat. She lost her voice and vomited blood for 3 days before she died. It's always broken my heart that she lost her voice. I think she had more to say to us.

Medical science can be so amazing, but I think we need to know when to let someone go too.