Posted on 07/27/2023 9:32:42 AM PDT by Responsibility2nd
A judge recently ruled that McKena Peck and Hunter Verm were medically neglectful when they declined additional chemo treatment for their 5-year-old son, Keaton.
THORNTON, Texas (KWTX) - A Central Texas couple has been stuck in Minnesota for over six months now, fighting to regain their rights to their child’s medical decisions after opting to discontinue chemotherapy treatment for their five-year-old son.
Thornton-native McKena Beck and her family were visiting Minnesota for the holidays when their son, Keaton, fell seriously ill, and an emergency hospital visit to Children’s Minnesota in Minneapolis confirmed he had leukemia.
After a round of emergency chemotherapy, no cancer was detected in Keaton’s body, but doctors wanted to continue treatment for another two to five years while Keaton was in remission.
Peck and Hunter Verm, Keaton’s father, did not want to continue chemotherapy, however. After refusing the hospital’s recommendations, Children’s Minnesota reported the couple to child protection services, ultimately stripping them of medical custody.
“The parents have been court ordered that they can be present at the hospital, but they can’t interfere with medical decisions or treatment in any way,” Christina Zauhar, the Peck and Verm family’s attorney, told KWTX.
Peck says that she prefers to use natural remedies instead, especially after seeing how the chemo impacted her son.
“There’s been several times he’s told me he wants to go to bed and never wake up,” McKena Peck, Keaton’s mother, said. “He’s been going through treatments since December, so he’s been poked hundreds of times and it just never stops.”
Most recently, their case went to trial in June, but the judge ruled in favor of keeping all medical decisions with Wright County.
“The judge ruled that Keaton is, in fact, in need of child protection services because he is medically neglected, is the finding that was made,” Zauhar said.
The family has faced various challenges throughout all of this, including Verm having to return to work back in Oklahoma to support his family.
“Three boys need their dad,” Peck said. “A kid going through chemotherapy wants him around, needs him around.”
But Peck says she won’t quit. She’s now fighting to get Keaton transferred to another hospital near family in ether Texas or Oklahoma, and eventually hopes to have the case appealed.
“I’m not gonna stop until there’s justice,” Peck said. “My kid deserves more than what he’s getting right now. If other children are allowed to stop treatments, mine should be allowed to stop treatments and not risk his life.”
In a statement, Children’s Minnesota said “Children’s Minnesota is committed to the health, safety and privacy of our patients and their families. As such, Children’s Minnesota does not comment on specific patients in compliance with federal health care privacy laws. our organization is committed to putting kids first, and working with their family to develop an effective care plan.”
Or do we have moron parents clearly endangering the life of their child?
Discuss amongst yourselves.
In this case, moron parents. The state stepping in in this case, is entirely appropriate just as it is with Jehavoh Witness parents refusing transfusions for their children. Childhood leukemia that is properly treated has an extremely high success rate.
>>After refusing the hospital’s recommendations, Children’s Minnesota reported the couple to child protection services, ultimately stripping them of medical custody.
“Do as we say or we take your kid”. There’s big money in Chemo; the hospital didn’t want to give up that revenue stream.
I think they should have kept their mouths shut on treatment, transferred their son to a hospital in Texas they trust, then fought their battle there.
The lesson is never give your health care providers more information than they need. Same as to any government official.
“Peck says that she prefers to use natural remedies instead”
In general, natural remedies are a death sentence. I have seen that numerous times. Steve Jobs was the most famous. Thought a cauliflower diet would cure pancreatic cancer. Then had a friends wife head to Mexico for Laetrile... also died. Then two different coworkers.
By contrast, my German Shepherd got chemo for lymphoma and it went into remission. In this case the state is correct. Denying proven medical treatment because it is rough, in favor of a poultice is child abuse.
Lesson learned: NEVER visit, or even drive through, a leftist slave state.
Another way in which governments and schools are treating children as their property.
Chemo is rough. Been there done that.
But these parents are nuts if they think “natural remedies” can replace it.
Sounds like good advice. Also, don’t mention “natural remedies”, just in case the doctor is a stickler for not at least adding them into the treatment plan.
I was reading about some cancer patients still being told by their doctors to keep getting chemo when they’re in remission, even over a long time period. But others were allowed to take a break or even stop. One person said his doctor wanted to keep him on chemo for years and then got cancer himself. That doctor no longer brings up endless chemo.
Children belong to their parents, they are not state property. Comrade...
I agree-Say thank you, ask for a referral to an oncologist in their home state of Texas, since they live and work there, keep mouth shut and run not walk for home. Once there, go to the doc of their choice who deals with childhood leukemia and get a treatment plan that they feel is acceptable for their child and go from there. The child belongs to the parents, who are obviously just trying to have the best treatment without what amounts to torture-a 5 year old is not an adult-or a teen-who comprehends why chemotherapy makes them so ill they want to sleep forever-and kids don’t belong to the med establishment or anyone else...
Back in the USSR.
Steve Jobs had neuroendocrine cancer of the pancreas, a bit different from pancreatic cancer, but still serious. If he had gone with the standard treatment from the beginning, he would likely still be alive today. I know a guy (discovered him online during my own neuroendocrine cancer fight) that has incurable neuroendocrine cancer, but it’s treatable with surgery and medication and he’s still going strong 10+ years after diagnosis. Not all cancer fights are winnable, but they’re increasingly becoming so.
Hard for me to side with the hospital. The parents had the right to go home and consult with other medical opinions.
A friend of mine has been a snowbird for a couple of years-spends the Winter here and Summer with her family in rural Oregon-but that is still a blue state. She is in remission, off chemo, but the doc there wants her on everlasting chemo-which she is not interested in-she is currently trying to to get a referral to a doc here in the nearby city-one of several who are into conservative treatments for those in remission. She will be returning here in Oct, so I hope she gets her referral without a fuss-the doc in Oregon doesn’t want to see the end of those payments for chemo, apparently...
If someone wants to kill themselves with fake medical scams then go for it, but I have a hard time with allowing a child that could be cured of a disease being given a death sentence because the parents are stupid enough to fall for some herbal rememdy scam.
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