Posted on 06/10/2005 4:17:36 PM PDT by freepatriot32
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas Medical tests today showed that cancer has returned to a 12-year-old girl whose parents were in court to fight radiation treatment because they believed her illness was in remission.
The new tests were revealed by state attorneys during a hearing that was supposed to determine whether treatment for Katie Wernecke was necessary in the days leading up to a custody hearing next Wednesday.
Texas Child Protective Services removed the girl and her siblings from the home of Michele and Edward Wernecke last week after doctors said discontinued treatment could be life-threatening.
Katie was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease in January, when her parents brought her to the hospital for pneumonia treatment.
The parents had insisted the four rounds of chemotherapy Katie received killed the cancer and that the recommended radiation therapy would only harm a healthy girl.
But Friday's results, "changes everything," said Daniel Horne, an attorney for the parents.
The judge decided that the girl, who was not present for the hearing, would remain in state custody.
He recommended that the girl's treatment begin tomorrow, her 13th birthday. The judge did not immediately address how involved he would let the parents be.
Similar issue would be residents; some people don't want to be treated by a resident. My take on that (I work in a residency-based practice): there is always a staff doc supervising, so you have 2 docs supervising your care, a resident is up on the latest treatments/trends, as opposed to the doc who is not working in a teaching institution, and by seeing a different doctor, you get a fresh perspective (in our practice, we have residents see our patients for acute visits; oftentimes, it's not their regular doctor). Whenever we bring my son to the doctor, he oftentimes will see a resident, and I have no problem with that.
I am still angry. They are idiots. And shame on those FReepers who bashed the CPS for taking her. M.D. Anderson Cancer Center is the best on the planet, bar none (US News #1 for years, etc). How disgusting to put your child at risk when the finest cancer doctors in the world tell you that your daughter has cancer. Days can be critical when dealing with conditions as this. They are no better than those "religious" maniacs who refuse medical treatment.
I agree that the state officials should and had to intervene. The parents may be idiots.But they also may be in shock at the situation. That doesn't excuse stupidity. I'd like to know more about this situation and it is tragic that for whatever reason her parents had done this, the child is seperated from her parents.
***Um... so you don't care that in fact, the gov't and doctors had CAUSE to force continued treatment despite the parent's unfounded beliefs in their child's health?
The system worked and *hopefully* the girl will recover.
My problem with it is "why take the other 3 kids?" There was no reason, IMO, to do so.
Well said. Every now and then, government intervention is a good thing.
As I noted in my Post 47, the Government had a compelling interest to step in and save that child's life.
Be that as it may, taking the other 3 kids away when they were not in any immediate danger is stepping over the line.
If the parent's lack of belief in 21st Century medicine was felt to be a risk to the other three children, the Courts could have ordered periodic medical evaluations without breaking up the family.
Amazing that the state will not tolerate hurting a child for his mental well-being but tortures children trying to save their physical well-being and tears children away from their families, destroying them emotionally all in the name of "erring on the side of the child."
right, children aren't stolen, they are kidnapped
Protocols are not equal to a law.
There are many variations from different researchers and how they are applied is wide open.
Different treatments are available in other countries too. Will our government now tell a parent those are not an option?
As to the transfusions issue, I as a Christian don't believe blocking them is biblical.
As to the "chemo", my son has taken a year and 1/2 worth and is playing baseball , so you see where I stand on it. IE. HE IS ALIVE!
No, but they are well researched guidelines that offer a better chance at treating the cancer as opposed to "hit or miss".
Different treatments are available in other countries too. Will our government now tell a parent those are not an option?
Good point.
As to the transfusions issue, I as a Christian don't believe blocking them is biblical.
Yes, but what are your thoughts on OTHER parents who would block their leukemic child from getting transfusions?
As to the "chemo", my son has taken a year and 1/2 worth and is playing baseball , so you see where I stand on it. IE. HE IS ALIVE!
Fantastic!
bump
My wife died of cancer. For 7 years she went through probably a total of 40-50 separate chemo treatments and as many radiation sessions. Radiation is nothing compared to chemo. It's like a tanning salon compared to chemo. It's true that radiation will deplete your energy and the burns are like a moderate sunburn. No one would choose radiation as recreation but I'd go through a hundred of them to save my life. And a thousand to save my kids life
There are some many of those "guidelines" it makes for choices. As a parent I want to be able to choose.
Yes, but what are your thoughts on OTHER parents who would block their leukemic child from getting transfusions?
In this case it was the mother who gave the transfusions. Through my sons expereinece that would not have worked because he received more than than a person could give safely. He received "platelets" several weeks in a row. One person could not have provide that much.
Also there is an issue of the mother blood products being the best for treatment. There are now issues being raised that non family members blood products are "better" (for a lack of a better word)
Since the little girl is a little girl (a minor) we substitute a judicial authority for the parents when they are clearly acting in other than her interest, and we aren't even speaking of "best interest" here, just "interest". After all, if you're dead, you have no "interest" at all.
You don't want to do that do you?
Short of a broken-bone, most of the anti-doctor groups who use the same Bible verses this family shows on its website, do not use any medicine at all ~ don't even suck on birch twigs, or make herbal teas.
In fact, with a number of them "herbs" are restricted for church services where the menfolk retire to a nearby hillside after the last service on Saturday (or maybe Sunday), and ingest herbs they believe to assist them in "finding God".
In my experience, these guys use Christianity as a smokescreen for their shamanism.
I never seen 'legal due process' in family court. just kangaroos
no, I don't want the child to die, but the courts are NOT better parents.
Occasionally the courts step in to assist.
Sorry to hear about your bad experience. Might be interesting to see what the courts did to you.
things got worse after that.....
This was from some time ago, yet I received many responses I was unable to respond to on this and another thread
(http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1419663/posts?page=1 ).I’ve since found the time to write a bit about this story and incorporate some of the new developments. Thought some might be interested in this. Apologies for the delayed response.
http://www.neoperspectives.com/katie_wernecke.htm
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