Chesley Cruz was taken from her Mother after they decided they could not tolerate the medications and treatments for lupus.
This is not the first case of this I've heard of, but when i read about it yesterday on the web I was outraged. Our government strongarms people, esp. those with children into doing horrible medical procedures/ drugs. that is not the land of the free. that is a police state.
when i decided i didn't want to do chemo anymore, I just quit. i did not announce it to my doctors, or the clinic. i just quit going. i have lupus. i wonder if they would have been so non-chalant if i had cancer? I heard some cancer patients getting in battles and also having their child taken away because they want to quit chemo. of course, Chelsey had lupus, no cancer. I guess the difference is she was a kid, so she had no rights. They even put an armed guard at her hospital room to keep them from leaving! Something is very wrong with this picture. No one noticed when i quit going. maybe because i was an indigent (no money) patient? sometimes it pays to be invisible!
i've had this disease for 16 years and have learned there is no point in arguing with the doctors sometimes. so if i have a real hardass who won't listen to reason, i just say OK then i do what i want to do anyway. I learned that from watching my little sister. Mom would tell her to do something then she'd say OK and never do it. It was a much easier for for her than me- I always argued with my Mom then did it anyway. The whole passive aggressive thing is so much easier (and you get your way!).
this girl wanted to quit the meds (understandable- i hate them too- i think we all do) and go to dr fuhrman, who does natural healing through diet. i have his book and plan to see him myself. but it is not an either/ or situation. in fact, he carefully weans you off the pills while doing the diet.
if i had the opportunity to get in a time machine and advise this girl adn her poor family i would say continue going to the regular doc, but *also* go to dr fuhrman. when the doc hands you prescriptions, say thank you, see you next month, take them, give them a chance to supporess the disease, then let dr fuhrman (who is an MD) help you decide when you can taper off the drugs. I would also tell the Mom do some reading and talking to others who have lupus- these horrible side effects are normal but necessary to get the disease under control. Give them a chance to work, to get the disease under control, then try the natural stuff so she can get back to being her old self in time. It sounds like they did a horrible job of explaining things to Chelsey and her mom, and instead just tried to get them to follow orders (which of course is just going to make them dig their heels in- that's how any normal person reacts to such behavior)- while the poor mom watched her daughter appear to just get sicker. They switched treatments so many times none of them had a chance to work.
if you suddenly stop taking prednisone or any of the drugs used to control lupus, you will get very very sick. you have to taper.
i think it's wrong what they did to Chelsey and her family, and other families who do not wish to take toxic drugs and go through horrible procedures- taking the child away. I'm just saying there are ways to work around the system. It's like dealing with an unfair work or parental situation. You don't go at them head-on. You work around them. You may be right, but trying to prove your point to them isn't worth the abuse you'll take. Or losing your life.
This was a tragic and unnecessary chain of events.
http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-lupusgirl0312.artmar12,0,3182716.story
Chelsey's letter to the judge:
http://www.courant.com/news/health/hc-cruzletter,0,5299403.story
interview with mom
http://www.courant.com/news/health/hc-lupusmom0315.artmar15,0,4161167.story
