Instinct and Medical Care

A family in Phoenix is watching an 11 year old girl suffer with leukemia.  This poor girl had to have one of her arms amputated after she contracted a bacterial infection that was resistant to antibiotics (gee, I have absolutely no idea what that's like).  When the father of the girl was asked about his insurance coverage and how they would pay the ever escalating bills for her care, the father became concerned.  What does a family do when faced with this situation?

They sneaked the girl out of the hospital and took her back to family in Mexico.  While both parents are legal citizens here, they thought this little one would be safer in another country.

Normally this wouldn't be news and no one would even notice it had happened.  But this time, the police in Phoenix brought the father in for questioning when he came into the US from Mexico and ordered the mother (who is still out of the country with the daughter) to bring her back to the hospital they had taken her from for further treatment immediately.

I don't know about you, but I know my child.  I know when he's not quite right and when he needs to see the doctor.  I know when he's seriously ill and needs an emergency room instead of a doctor.  I know when an injury is a big deal and when it isn't.  I think I'm a very good judge of my son's well being.  If my child were in the same situation, I would've taken him from the hospital too.  The police department has absolutely no say in where my child receives medical care and if he receives care at all.

Now there are people in society today who think that what these parents did was tantamount to child abuse. I disagree.  The little girl is receiving medical care, it just isn't at the hospital she was being treated at previously.  The only thing her parents did was take her to a hospital that would provide better care in their opinion.  When did that become child abuse?

Last week I waited for two hours in my underwear and t-shirt for a doctor to look at an area on my body that I suspected was infected with MRSA yet again.  After two hours, I simply got up, dressed, and left untreated. That spot is indeed infected with MRSA, had to be opened and drained, and probably wouldn't be as bad today if it had been treated when I went in the first time.  If my son were in a similar situation and I decided to take him home or to go to the ER for care or another doctor's office, would I be committing child abuse?  No.  In fact, the healthcare professionals I've spoken with have told me that the way I was treated was unacceptable and that they all would've lost their jobs had they treated me in that way.

This story out of Phoenix comes down to the parents and whether or not they were comfortable with their child's care.  They decided they were no longer happy with the way their child was being treated and wanted to seek help somewhere else.  If I had been questioned about my insurance and the bill while my child is still being treated, I think I would've been uncomfortable with that too.

It's a very scary thing to think that the government and local police are now trying to take charge of a child's medical care when her parents are both mentally capable and alive.  I don't think it's the business of anyone but my husband and I as to what kind of treatment our son receives if he receives any treatment at all.