Strollerderby

I'm so glad this boy is getting treatment and also glad that the state is pro-life for this child!

I can't believe that his crazy mom would tell him that chemo would kill him, but natural remedies would help him.

Wait, wait, how did this "cannot read" detail not come out before? Or did I just miss it? Perhaps he has a severe learning disability; if that's not the case, there is something SERIOUSLY wrong with his parents.

I think you are all missing the point.  Just as the use of alternative therapies could not do enough to stop the cancer, there is also the chance that the chemo itself could kill this boy.  You have to sign off on that possibility when you agree to have doctors treat your child.  You won't sue them if the chemo kills your child, through possibly blood clots or other side effects, but this family isn't being given the choice at all now?  Every parent has the right to do what they believe is best for their child.  I have a very dear friend whose daughter died, not from cancer, but from chemo.  She told me it was the worst decision of her life.  They told her "She is going to die without chemo.  Or you give her chemo and it could kill her."  She still lives with the knowledge that it wasn't the disease, it was her choice to give her chemo that ended her daughter's life.  Every parent has the right to make that choice.

Chemo is not the only cure….there is ssoooo much researched on pub med on analogues being created from researched herbs that stop cancer stem cells in 72 hrs…….outside the US therapy is changing very fast the chemo standard is not as useful any longer…..may his mom find the right and healthy path for him…there are safer cures that have so much wisdom to them..a good web site is…. jaymun.com….. he has helped his son…..good research there a little consevative….natural news .com……or curezone……….This has happened before with Abraham Cherrix

You should have a picture of his mom on the post instead of the boy, then it could be like Babble's Most Wanted.

"Every parent has the right to do what they believe is best for their child."

Including parents who think that what's best for their child is him not learning to read?  What about parents who believe, say, that beating the devil out of their kid is what's best for them?  Or putting them to work 14-hour days for the family business?

well put, Knitty!

No matter your opinion, the courts are Communist to pursue and harass this family and tell them how to run it. So much for freedom, huh? What a thing of the past.

Knitty it's not your place to tell them how to run their family. A LOT of kids I know that went to public school still have a lot of difficulty reading, writing and spelling. Some of them are in their mid 20s now! So don't make assumptions that the parents are so "bad".

Shannon very true. My sibling is on chemotherapy, her second round right now, and has sustained lung damage and hearing damage. Is it really worth it?

Yeah, down with the communist courts! Those socialist fascists, always trying to tell freedom loving people what to do. Like, say you want to shoot your child in the head. This is fine, but those communists are always trying to tell you what you can and can't do. By the way, this is true no matter your opinion.

No, it's my MY place to tell them what to do. Did I say somewhere that I was going to march into their home and force them to teach their child to read and give him live-saving cancer treatment?  It is, however, the court's place to protect children from neglectful parents, and anyone who raises a NT child to thirteen without him knowing how to read is neglectful, plain and simple.   If the public school isn't doing the job (which I find hard to believe, but fine, okay) then it's the parent's place to pick up the slack and teach their child basic skills.

As a parent you have no right to deny your child medical treatment, until he is 18 and can make his own choices, follow the doctors orders, especially in a life threatening situation.

2 words: medical neglect.

I do think parents should have some rights when deciding how to best parent their children. But I think it's also important that we think of our children's rights. They are not our property. A thirteen year old deserves the opportunity to have the chance to hear about treatment options and have input in those decisions. It doesn't sound like these parents did that.

Finally the 'drug' world terrorised the poor mother to make her son take the drugs/ Acids/ X rays. I am not sure if the same guys will take any responsibility if he dies of the after effects/ poisoning..

I was once upon (12 years back)in the same situation where I was terrorised & know pretty much the dilemma...My wife was diagnosed with ovarian cancer & was asked to take Chemo & remove ovaries as the remedy. (what a wonderful thought process!!!)

Thank God...I didn't go for the wrong advices & went ahead with Siddha & Ayurveda (the real medicines...I don't want to call them alternative)...we are subsequently rewarded with healthy strong two kids 8 year girl & 2 year old Boy) now....Of course they never visited any 'drug prescriptioners' so far...

I believe he should get treated is what MRS. MEISTER said. The gov't rules all even FMS.

What I find absolutely disgusting is that this mother is getting away with breaking the law. She kidnapped (yes, that's exactly what she did) her son and planned to leave the country in order to avoid court-ordered medical treatment.

What I find even more disgusting is that this mother put her cancer-stricken son in a position where he had to bargain with the police to keep his mother out of jail. That was said on CNN this afternoon.

If he dies and his death is in any way related to his mother's refusal to have him undergo chemotherapy or if this little stunt she pulled contributes to his death, is she going to be charged with his death?

My sister was 29 when she died from uterine cancer that spread to her lungs. She didn't even get a chance to undergo treatment because 1) she had no symptoms of being ill until a month and a half before she died, and 2) she was misdiagnosed several times. She died the day after she was correctly diagnosed. If given the chance to undergo chemo to possibly save her life, she would have done it no matter what.

This child is 13. He should be fighting to live, not waiting to die. And if he and his parents won't fight to save his life, someone has to even if that someone is a judge.

What if the parents cant afford the medical treatment?  Does that come into play?  I mean - how many children arent getting medical care NOW because their parents dont have insurance and/or cant afford it.  Is the same court system going to chase them down?  

Chemotherapy must be a choice and not something forceful. I hope he proves his cause to all those opposing him.

He has a 90 percent chance of survival with chemotherapy.  He has less than a five percent chance of living without it.  There's really no question about what should be done here, and I'm grateful the court agrees.

Knitty - there should always be a question of what should be done. That's why there are opinions and percentages.  Forcing medical treatment on one but allowing thousands to go without medical care?  Look at the bigger picture.  

I am a Christian and I still believe that God preforms miracles! I cannot say what I would do in their situation. I DO however know the HORRIBLE effects of chemo on the patient and the things they go thru are truly "near death experiences" and then you have to account that chemo does not always work! and it can kill you! so really who are any of us to tell this poor family how to handle this situation? I did not think that in a free country such as ours that you could be forced to seek the type of care that traditional medicine says he requires especially when there are so many proven alternatives.

fear americans, fear the law and judges! fear because you do not have any rights, any power, any freedom. they want to prove thay have the power and that you should fear and not resist. if there is public support and out cry, they put gag order on such cases. i pray for severe God's punishment for every individual, who does harm to others. i pray for God's miracles and protection for this boy and his parents.