To read the tribute to SFC Marcus Muralles, please click here
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Parents Can Actually Make Choices For Their Kids? Who Knew?
I'm not sure if you've heard Abraham Cherrix's story. He's a 16-year-old young man who is battling Hodgkin's Disease. He had one round of chemotherapy, and it made him quite ill for months following the treatment. So, when doctor's recommended a more aggressive round of chemo, he said, "thanks, but... no."
His family did some research, and they found out about an alternative therapy not available in the United States. They took him to Mexico for the treatment. A social worker found out about this and asked a juvenile court to step in and order conventional treatment for him. Unfortunately, the judge agreed, found his parents negligent, and ordered him to have the chemo.
An Appeals Court judge suspended the order and ordered a new trial. Now, his family's attorney and social services have reached an agreement. According to the agreement, Abraham will be under a care of a oncologist who uses conventional radiation therapy and is interested in alternative treatments, and his parents are in no way negligent in his care.
This story really got to me. The parents were not negligent- they didn't just leave him in bed to die. They sought out different treatment options when the first option made him sicker than the disease it was trying (unsuccessfully) to treat. No, I'm not saying that I'm all for alternative medicine in every instance- it works sometimes, and sometimes it doesn't. And I also know that clinical trials and alternative treatments can save lives.
Yes, I know that social workers see far too many people who don't know the first thing about taking care of their children, or who don't even want to try to take care of them. There are definitely times when there needs to be intervention- abuse, true neglect, life-threatening living conditions. This wasn't one of those situations. Not even close.
In the end, it's the parents' responsibility, NOT social services' or some judge's, to look after the medical needs of their children. Abraham's parents did the research. They knew the risks. And they made the choice they felt was best for their son. I'm just glad that they were able to reach an agreement so that they could seek the treatment they wanted to for their child.
His family did some research, and they found out about an alternative therapy not available in the United States. They took him to Mexico for the treatment. A social worker found out about this and asked a juvenile court to step in and order conventional treatment for him. Unfortunately, the judge agreed, found his parents negligent, and ordered him to have the chemo.
An Appeals Court judge suspended the order and ordered a new trial. Now, his family's attorney and social services have reached an agreement. According to the agreement, Abraham will be under a care of a oncologist who uses conventional radiation therapy and is interested in alternative treatments, and his parents are in no way negligent in his care.
This story really got to me. The parents were not negligent- they didn't just leave him in bed to die. They sought out different treatment options when the first option made him sicker than the disease it was trying (unsuccessfully) to treat. No, I'm not saying that I'm all for alternative medicine in every instance- it works sometimes, and sometimes it doesn't. And I also know that clinical trials and alternative treatments can save lives.
Yes, I know that social workers see far too many people who don't know the first thing about taking care of their children, or who don't even want to try to take care of them. There are definitely times when there needs to be intervention- abuse, true neglect, life-threatening living conditions. This wasn't one of those situations. Not even close.
In the end, it's the parents' responsibility, NOT social services' or some judge's, to look after the medical needs of their children. Abraham's parents did the research. They knew the risks. And they made the choice they felt was best for their son. I'm just glad that they were able to reach an agreement so that they could seek the treatment they wanted to for their child.
