Chemo Boy Will Go Home

May 13, 2008 permalink

There was a three-hour court hearing in the case we are calling chemo boy. The boy will be allowed to go home to his parents following completion of his current round of treatment, probably this week. The parents are permitted to seek a second opinion from the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and even a third opinion from an international expert. The case will be back in court in a month for more oversight. We include below a text report from CHCH and a grass-roots report from Mary Janiga. Here is a video link (Internet Explorer only).

The judge advised the family against continued demonstrations such as those outside the hospital yesterday, though it was only grass-roots action that led to the events freeing the boy from children's aid. Parents assume it is their natural right to seek a second opinion on their child's treatment, yet in Canada that right can be exercised only with the specific consent of a court. In the video you can hear CAS lawyer David Felicient say: "The Society obviously is going to continue to monitor the situation and cooperate with the family". This is an example of a pattern in another childhood cancer case, that of Kathie Wernecke: The child protectors tell the press the exact opposite of what they do in the secrecy of the court. The entire controversy occurred because the Society has not been cooperating with the family.

CPS lied to the public and the press. CPS lied to the press and television crews stating that they wanted to keep the lines of communication open with the parents and Katie. Meanwhile in the court room, CPS was requesting to take away Katie's cell phone and computer and phone access and wanted to shut off all communication and visits with her parents. CPS said publicly and repeatedly that all they wanted was to get Katie the cancer treatments and get her well and return her back to her parents. That was a lie. According to my attorney Luis Corona, at our next to the last court hearing, CPS had filed for termination of our parental rights over Katie. They never had any intention of returning her to her parents. CPS filed to terminate our parental rights and to take Katie into permanent CPS custody until she could be adopted out.

Father Edward Wernecke writing on Kathie Wernecke.

Later in the video, you can hear Lisa Diamond recount how her daughter Tayler's life was saved by taking her out of chemo therapy at McMaster and transferring her to Toronto's Sick Kids.

expand

collapse

Family of cancer-stricken boy regain custody

Vows to continue fight for rights

Al Sweeney, Canwest News Service, Published: Tuesday, May 13, 2008

HAMILTON - The parents of a cancer-stricken boy forced to undergo chemotherapy, say they're very pleased to have reached an agreement Tuesday with the Children's Aid Society whereby the 11 year old will continue his treatments and will be placed in his father's custody.

"We're happy with the way this decision is," said the boy's mother, who cannot be named because that would identify the child. "When this round of treatment is over, our son comes home. That's what we wanted and that's what he wanted."

The parents also will be allowed to secure a second opinion on the boy's health, and potentially a third - possibly a world-class diagnosis from abroad -and they will be free to explore the possibility of alternative therapy.

"We will continue to fight for our rights and for our son's rights" the boy's mother said outside the courthouse.

The child's parents appeared before an Ontario Superior Court judge Tuesday afternoon, asking to regain custody of their son and to uphold his right to refuse chemotherapy.

The boy has an aggressive form of leukemia and has undergone chemotherapy before. His parents say he suffered through it, and they decided as a family to stop the treatments. He says he is taking natural medication and does not want the chemotherapy treatment.

Last Thursday, when the family brought the boy to a Hamilton hospital for routine tests, the CAS seized him.

When his father protested, he was handcuffed and evicted from the premises.

The case has sparked national debate over the right to seek alternative therapies for chronic illnesses.

The family and about a dozen supporters protested Monday outside Hamilton's McMaster Children's Hospital saying the CAS is wrong to order the child to endure chemotherapy when he says he doesn't want it.

"I feel very happy. I'm very excited that I'm going to be able to go visit my son whenever I please," said his father, following Tuesday's three-hour hearing. "And when this treatment is over, I'm going to be able to hold him." he said.

During the hearing, the judge said it is paramount the boy's mental and physical health is respected as the first consideration and that means keeping him away from the media glare and the protests over his ordeal.

"It's understood the child is going to stay in hospital for some time, having his treatment," said CAS lawyer David Feliciant. "The Society, obviously, is going to continue to monitor the situation and co-operate with the family."

The boy is undergoing the first of 22 months of chemotherapy. The case is to be reviewed in one month, the judge ruled.

Source: CHCH News

---

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Children's Aid Society Protest (part 4)

We started our support for the family from John and King Street, handing out flyers, talking to complete strangers at approximately 1pm today. We got alot of support and people discussed their issues with us in regards to their Children's Aid Society experiences. We arrived at the Family Court house pictured and had alot of support and turn out. Even a nurse stopped her car, parked and held a sign in support of our cause. We had people from all walks of life with their own stories of the horrors about the Children's Aid. One of our supporters from our organization Child Assist Services, was instrumental in raising the issues of corruption of the family court system, the judges, the lawyers etc... We kept chanting from 2pm until 4pm FREE "D".

As this is a child protection issue names of the parties cannot be identified but definitely our voices were heard.

The power of three people made a difference when strangers and people off the street gave their time and support to our cause. We ended up with approximately 20 supporters and people that truly heard the plight of this child and the issues surrounding the case.

We waited until 5pm when the family court shut down for the day, and the mother and father arrived outside the court house elated. They had won custody back of their son, but the Children's Aid Society still retained control of his medical and chemotherapy needs. The child would be returned to his parents once the last round of chemotherapy was finished.

However, in order to show the corruption of the family court as it stands today, the Family Court judge in charge of this decision (I will post the name once I do some further investigation) stated that the child's emotional and physical health are an issue and the amount of media coverage and the use of a bull horn and protests at McMaster Medical Center are detrimental to the child.

As stated by Al Sweeney of CHCH News Hamilton on television at 6pm on May 13, 2008, and on Live at 5:30pm with Mark and Donna. This is definitely an issue that has to be dealt with immediately in regards to freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and association as determined by our own Constititution and democratic rights as citizens of Canada. I will continue to support families in need and will continue to voice my concerns about the corruption and outright falsified statements and innuendos perpetrated by the Children's Aid Societies of this world. We have the right to be heard. This is not an isolated case and we have to stand together. This blog has just sprung into hyper mode for the Children's Aid issue. I hope that you see the coverage Vinny and Paige and I never forgot you for one minute during this whole ordeal. We all tend to get caught up in the moment and not for one second were you on the backburner of my mind. You were always close to my heart and I shed a tear today for every child and family hurt by the corruption of Children's Aid Society.

Posted by maryjaniga at 8:35 PM

Source: blog of Mary Janiga for May 13, 2008