I just got finished reading a most disturbing story of a teen who had lupus and died. She disagreed with the doctors treatment and wanted to go off of her meds because she felt the complications were ultimately hurting her worse than the disease. She wanted to look into other holistic options. DFC charged the mother with neglect and removed Chelsea from the home placing her with her grandfather. They even placed an armed guard at her door in the hospital so her mother could not remove her from the hospital. Chelsea wrote a letter to the Superior Court Judge, link here, asking for the right to choose her therapy and to be able to go home to her mother. I have a whirlwind of feeling flowing through me right now, anger, sorrow, outrage.

An excerpt from the letter:

“I have already tried what the doctors consider to be the standard of care for the past five years. I have experienced the horrifying side effects of them and realized that they have not helped me in any way. In fact, I feel I have gotten worse and now require dialysis,” Chelsey wrote. “In light of this, I no longer want to use them.”

This is a heartbreaking story of a teen that didn’t want the treatment that her doctor’s thought was best for her. It resulted in her being taken away from her mother, her losing the right to choose her treatment, and ultimately she died while still in the custody of her grandparent and away from her mother. I am so outraged right now.

Have you ever tried a drug that did more harm than good for you? I have. And no one told me I could not stop taking it, or took away my right to choose which direction I wanted my treatment to go. I’m crying for Chelsea’s mom right now, and for Chelsea who was not heard.

Links to the story

Girl in Medical Dispute Dies

Cruz Letter

Mother’s Rage Lives On

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