Police search for cancer patient after parents take her from hospital

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Omaha World Herald-AP

PHOENIX — Authorities in Arizona are looking for an 11-year-old girl with leukemia who is at risk of a deadly infection after her parents inexplicably took her out of a Phoenix hospital last week.

The girl, Emily, had been receiving chemotherapy at Phoenix Children's Hospital for about a month, Phoenix police Sgt. Steve Martos said Monday.

An infection forced doctors to amputate her right arm. The girl's mother removed a tube that delivered medication to the girl's heart, changed her clothes, and walked her out of the hospital Wednesday night.

"If she contracts an infection, it really could just be a matter of days that could result in the young girl's death," Martos said. "It's pretty serious."

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://www.omaha.com/article/20121204/LIVEWELL01/121209839/1685#police-search-for-cancer-patient-after-parents-take-her-from-hospital

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Photo: http://www.omaha.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=OW&Date=20121204&Category=LIVEWELL01&ArtNo=121209839&Ref=AR&maxw=745&maxh=400


THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

In this hospital surveillance photo released by the Phoenix Police Department on Monday, Dec. 3, 2012, a woman is seen with her 11-year-old daughter, a leukemia patient who had her arm amputated and a heart catheter inserted due to an infection.

[RKP5637]

1. If she dies, I hope the parents are tried for first degree murder. n/t

[jtuck004]

2. Maybe she was gonna die anyway, and now she can do it around friends and

Last edited Wed Dec 5, 2012, 12:06 AM - Edit history (1)

family instead of in some profit-seeking hospital.

Or maybe the family thought the doctors sucked in Arizona. I have to wonder if their hospitals are worth flip, given the knuckleheads that run the state with the consent of the governed.

[JI7]

4. aren't doctors making decisions here, also couldn't they move her to a different hospital ?

i don't get your position.

[jtuck004]

7. Maybe the doctors aren't the important one here. Maybe it's the patient. Btw, Dad

is Mexican citizen. Maybe they decided to go to a civilized country where the medical is just as good but won't bankrupt the family or be determined based on the profit to a managed health care provider.

[JI7]

8. couldn't they do that without removing her in this way, plus don't doctors

need to get in contact to see what treatment and other things have been done with her so far ?

[jtuck004]

10. They can email her records. And we don't know how she was treated b4 this, though

looking like a Latino can't be good for your survival in Ari-KKK-zona.

[PavePusher]

34. That's a very fucked up accusation against Arizona medical care. Citations needed. n/t

[jtuck004]

37. No they aren't. Racists are everywhere, and I don't need a citation for that,

If someone were to say they aren't, I would bet they have a privilege that exempts them from seeing it. And that's all the evidence one needs.

And it's no more fucked up than any assertion that the parents did anything but the best for the kid.

[PavePusher]

38. You made a claim that Arizona hospitals are providing care levels based on race.

Cite or retract.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

14. The doctors have not filed any papers to take legal custody away from the parents.

Their medical expertise and personal feelings do not give them superior authority over that of the parents.

[JI7]

24. i'm referring to comments about the people who run the state

it's the doctors making decisions about care given to the girl not the idiots who run the state .

[RKP5637]

5. Good point!!! n/t

[TheDebbieDee]

16. I agree. I think that's exactly what her parents are thinking about - the quality

of her last few days on Earth.

This girl can be close to those who love her and care about her or this girl can live her last few days adhering to visitor's rules and diets and hourly temperature readings by nurses........

I hope her passing is a peaceful one and I hope her loved ones can show her they love her.

[FreedomRain]

26. PCH is a not for profit hospital

As is the one I work at, a competitor.

Our CEO recently blasted (in a LTTE to Arizona Republic newspaper) the State Legislature over slashing the once exemplary Arizona Healthcare cost containment system, directly mocking "those who call themselves job creators."

During the healthcare debates, he also sent out a letter, that while carefully non-political, was very supportive of the plan.

Of those cars in the employee lot that have political bumper stickers, slightly more than half are liberal.

I have heard nothing bad about PCH.

..

Now, other than the broad brush attacks, the scenario you paint of not wanting the hospital atmosphere, or perhaps blaming them rightly or wrongly for an error that resulted in this infection, is possible anywhere.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

28. The phrase "not-for-profit" is a technical one. It does not mean that the hospital does not

make a profit and/or that it does not intend to make a profit.

A not-for-profit hospital is one that is not owned by shareholders.

[jtuck004]

29. Bumper stickers notwithstanding, there are a lot of proud racists in Arizona.

I wouldn't want my kid dying there, hateful bastards. And with brown skin, I suspect the chances are higher, and only the most naive person would think otherwise. Kind of like people ignore the beat downs and prison we subject black people to at a far higher rate for people with black skin in many other places.

But what caught my attention was this immediate rush to judgement against the parents, as if people in authority always know what's best - like Congress. That's a broad brush attack as well, without anyone knowing the circumstances. I tend to give parents more leeway than the people around them, just because they had more college or better opportunities or something, people who have their own agenda to protect. Especially with a kid that sick.

I look at the debate over abortion, with all the people thinking they know better than a woman, who is undergoing a horrendous internal issue, an issue they feel the person obviously can't handle without them sticking their nose in it and making it worse. Here we have parents with a gravely ill daughter - I suspect they didn't come to this decision lightly, and I am not all that sure they were incorrect..

And, just because the hospital is a nonprofit doesn't mean they won't ruin the finances of people who show up there - Mexico might well be a far better option for them, given they are more humane about health care in my experience.

But I don't know, not there, was just throwing out potential scenarios other than the one where the parents are wrong - there's enough of that already, it seems.

[PavePusher]

35. If you have information showing racism in Arizona medical care, please show it here.

Otherwise, please retract your insinuations as being irrelevent to a childs tragedy.

[jtuck004]

36. Here's an idea. No. Unless you have evidence indicating it wasn't.

Racism is all around us, (even though many white people deny it, lying bastards) and it's certainly a plausible scenario, especially in a state where they live by SB 1070. And whether they work in a hospital, a church, a school, or a court, racists don't leave those thoughts behind when they work. Our whole country is fairly steeped in racism - hell, part of it is built on it - so to say it isn't everywhere you go is just naive. I am of the opinion that Arizona, given the amount of press coverage and the personal experience of a couple of friends seems, as a state policy, prouder of it than most.

And like I won't say again, people were automatically indicting the parents, and I pointed out other scenarios in which a completely reasonable person would remove their kid from such care. Having worked in the medical field, I have seen several instances in which people would have been better off under the care of someone else. So, as, as opinion, and given the history of a state which wanted to molest American citizens for the color of their skin because it seemed to look like the same that an undocumented person might have, I think it's not an unreasonable opinion.


.

[PavePusher]

39. You made a specific assertion/insinuation.

Support it or retract it.

[jtuck004]

40. This country manufactured racism. It pervades the whole place with a stench.

Whatever assertion pains you it is my opinion, and I never waste time with fools or collaborators supporting it. Because they are my opponents, no matter what I do it will never be enough, until they sap all the strength away. That is not how I deal with them.

I'm going to treat this relatively unimportant request the same way, because racism in Arizona is as common as burnt wood in my fireplace, not necessarily more so than the rest of the country. (My friend's experience who was pulled over, with his wife, who is from Mexico but grew up in freakin' Montana, apparently for Driving While American, was illuminating, and apparently there are a lot more). it could easily have been a possible cause of the parents leaving with their kid, among other reasons such as not liking the care or possibly having their care based on profit and having an alternative country that is more humane to go to.

I've lived a long time without caring about silly requests form the cheap seats, however. Think I will continue.

I won't see any answer, but if it soothes an ego, it's as good a way to waste time as any I suppose.

[LanternWaste]

42. Post hoc ergo prompter hoc.

Post hoc ergo prompter hoc.


A convenient form to rationalize an unsupported faith.

[jtuck004]

43. Nice wiki entry. Wrong site? n/t

Last edited Thu Dec 6, 2012, 09:39 PM - Edit history (1)

[McCamy Taylor]

3. Maybe they blame the hospital for the infection that cost her an arm.

Maybe the girl begged to be taken out of there before they chop off her other arm.

[jeff47]

6. Because there's only one hospital in AZ. (nt)

[JI7]

9. do we know if these parents are religious in any way ?

and their religion or whatever they believe makes them oppose certain treatment ?

[TwilightGardener]

11. Sounds like they're concerned about the bill. Maybe

Last edited Tue Dec 4, 2012, 10:23 PM - Edit history (1)

they went to Mexico for treatment and are skipping out on paying here. Not sure I blame them entirely, but the little girl is immunosuppressed and has to be in pain if her surgery was recent--she might need stump dressing changes, fluids, antibiotics, or other meds related to the effects of the chemo. Her port/central line may need sterile dressing changes. It is concerning.

[JI7]

18. but couldn't they do that without walking out the way they did ?

[TwilightGardener]

20. It's the wrong way to go, obviously. This child had an infection

so serious it resulted in amputation, which in itself is major life-changing surgery and needs post-op care, pain meds, etc.--add to that the leukemia and the chemo...yikes. Even if the infection (I'm assuming it was down to bone, and guessing it might have come from an old IV or PICC line site gone bad) was the fault of the hospital and not just from her compromised immune state, it's still pretty unreasonable to flee with the child when she needs possibly A LOT of supportive care, protection from further infection, and of course her treatment's been interrupted. It's an unwise move. The parents should have discussed moving her first, so that they could receive the most information possible and cause their daughter the least amount of pain and discomfort.

[Chemisse]

12. Maybe the child is dying anyway

and the parents would prefer to have her die with the remainder of her limbs intact.

Sometimes medical treatment just snowballs. Surely the infection problem is from the chemotherapy. If her disease is advanced, the parents may want to put a halt to the chemo and all its effects, and the hospital won't let them pursue that option.

[lunasun]

19. if this is the case I understand the action

I know someone's parent that signed themselves out -just wanted to stop -knew they were dying and wanted to die at home...lasted 3 months away from all the tubes and machines
had a hospice nurse come to visit at home but no more treatment

Doctors / hospital not happy but the family was OK with it and understood the situation
I dunno different with a child though I suppose -who is advoocate etc.

[Hekate]

23. That was my first thought

She's been in the hospital for a month receiving chemo, which is pretty brutal. Now she's got a raging infection and has had a limb amputated.

Sometimes kids in these situations -- some of them having fought cancer for months or years -- actually ask to be let go, because staying alive with so much debilitation is hardly living any more. They should be listened to and respected. Instead often doctors want to keep battling, and parents don't want to give up hope.

If I were the mother in that situation, watching my child die by inches, I might actually ask: "Do you want to continue, honey? Or would you like to come home?" By that time they know what that means.

And if my child said she wanted to go home, I wouldn't stick around to fight with the doctors.

I wish that family all the best. They are traveling a hard road.

Hekate

[Dawson Leery]

13. I know of several cases where parents have removed their children

to go to other facilities due to lack of proper care.
The police are wrong.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

15. The story is only that the police are looking for her and her parents. The police are not wrong

in making the effort to find her.

No charges are pending.

If anyone is wrong, it is those who are demanding that the parents be charged as criminals.

Others who are wrong are those who believe that the parents, instead of acting in the child's best interest and bringing her closer to family members, are trying to skip out on doctors' bills which they probably wouldn't pay for anyway.

[Ash_F]

17. Probably seeing the arm amputated was very traumatizing for the mother.

Maybe she didn't understand the necessity.



I'm not making excuses, just thinking about what may have been going through her head.

[ChazII]

21. The mother and daughter are in Mexico.

The father was interviewed tonight on Channel 12 news here in Phx.

[JI7]

25. did they say anything about why they left ?

i feel really bad for the girl.

[ChazII]

32. There were a couple of reasons

according to the father. First, he said the family was being pressured regarding bills for the treatments and second, they were concerned with Emily losing part of her arm. The father insists that his daughter is getting cared for in Mexico. That is what we are hearing on our local news.

[DeSwiss]

22. Maybe.....

...they got a second (better) opinion.

[Vinca]

27. I just saw this on the news and I agree with the mother.

The kid gets such a bad infection in the hospital her arm has to be amputated and the father says they're hounding him for insurance and medical bills. She's probably getting perfectly fine care in Mexico.

[Zoeisright]

30. Uh huh. Sure.

Peach pits perhaps?

[Vinca]

31. I don't find it terribly amusing.

[davsand]

33. What if...?

Maybe that family has made the decision to try an alternative treatment for that child. Maybe that treatment is available in Mexico and not here in the US. Would that be "acceptable" behavior?

I totally "get" that the parents pulled the child out of the hospital against medical advice (clearly...) What I'm wondering, however, is what rights DO they have in a case like this? They just watched that poor kid lose an ARM due to some kind of infection that turned up while she's being treated with some form of chemo. Dunno the cause of the infection, but they do know for sure it happened while she's being treated by those docs with that particular protocol. Maybe they really honestly feel that the child needs to be treated with some other type of therapy. Maybe they are just trying to save their kid...

What rights to they have at this point?

As a parent, if I honestly thought my kid was gonna be better off someplace else, you can BET that I'd move the earth itself to get her moved. If it meant breaking the law, I'm pretty sure that would be low on my list of concerns if I truly thought it was gonna save my daughter's life.

I read the article, and I still don't feel like I have any clear understanding of what exactly happened there. What I do know, however, is that I can't judge anybody without a whole lot more information than I have at hand because I'm sitting here asking "What if...?"

I feel for everybody involved in this case.




Laura

[Posteritatis]

41. Love how most of the responses have just made up their own narratives to run with.

Usual reaction in stories like these - lots of "what if..?" that really translate to "I have decided that my scenario is actually what happened."