The following commentary appeared in the Contra Costa Times on 9/12/95.
---Contra Costa County, CA
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           Doctor's orders may be prescription for disaster
                          By John Marvel
Zero Chance.
   That's what doctors at Children's Hospital Oakland believe the 
prognosis is for 6-year-old Adrian Chavez.  Adrian has leukemia.  It was 
discovered four years ago, but was thought to be in remission.  A test in 
late July proved otherwise.  If chemotherapy isn't started now, doctors at 
Children's Hospital believe Adrian, who lives in Byron, will die.
   Elena Duarte isn't so sure.
   Adrian's 27-year-old mother wants to take her son to an herbalist for 
treatment.  She doesn't want her only child to suffer through chemo, a
painful prescription that seems to suck the life out of patients.  In many
cases, the therapy is actually much worse than the terrible diseases it
attempts to destroy.  Nausea, weight loss, no appetite, exhaustion.
   Picture being slammed with a 2-by-4 for several hours.  Combine that 
with the worst flu you've ever had and throw it on top of three days 
without sleep.  Think of that and you'll still not even begin to 
understand the process of chemo.
The Best Medicine?
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   Duarte doesn't want Adrian to go through this again.  She doesn't want
to hear, Please mommy, make them stop.  The doctors had their chance.  In
her mind, it didn't work and there might be other options.
   Contra Costa County child welfare officials disagree.  They took Adrian
from his home on Aug. 31 and checked him into Children's Hospital.  He had
a spinal tap on Sept. 1 -- another experience that's about as pleasant as
a shovel to the backside of the head -- and he has been hospitalized 
since.  A juvenile court judge ruled in favor of the county on Wednesday, 
giving Children's Hospital doctors the opportunity to begin chemo 
treatments a day later.
   Simple matter of life and death?  According to the doctors, yes.  
According to Duarte, absolutely not.
   This is where the debate gets sobering real fast.  County authorities
walked into Duarte's home and took her son.  In their opinion, his life is
in danger.  In their opinion, his mother isn't considering his best
interests.
   Their opinion is wrong.
   Duarte isn't some quack.  She isn't relying on the moon's alignment 
with the stars to save Adrian.  She isn't lighting up a marijuana joint 
for Adrian to inhale.  She isn't humming the greatest hits of 17th-century
Salem, while making wolfsbane stew for dinner.
   She is simply considering other alternatives for her son, whom she 
loves more than anything else in the world.  The herbal therapy in Modesto 
was one alternative.  A second doctor's opinion is another that Duarte has
requested.  The doctors at Children's insist Adrian will die without
immediate chemo, a conclusion that surely would be duplicated by another
physician if it's as difinitive as we're being led to believe.
   Duarte should be allowed to consider all options.  Instead, she's 
wondering if her son will ever again be allowed to live under her roof.
A court hearing on Sept. 18 could place Adrian into a foster home if the
judge believes it's in the best interests of the child.  If that happens,
the effect of the order might be worse than the disease itself.
   Is an Hispanic single parent being given the same benefit of doubt as 
an upper middle-class family in Livermore or a wealthy family in 
Blackhawk?  Would Adrian be home if Mom could afford a high-powered San 
Francisco law firm instead of settling for a court-appointed attorney?
Mother Knows Best
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   This is not a case of neglect or abuse.  This is a county agency 
storming into a home because officials believe they know the clear 
difference between right and wrong.  It's easy to understand the position 
of Children's Hospital because doctors there have a sworn oath to save 
lives.
   But why take the child from his mother via the courts?
   Imagine your own home.  Imagine your children being taken away against 
their will.  Imagine the feeling.  It's not a particularly pleasant
sensation.
   Now think what must be going through the mind of Adrian Chavez.  You're
fighting for your life.  You're taken away, clearly against your wishes
and the wishes of your family.  After being whipped up by chemo for a
week, you must consider the chance you won't be returning to your mom when
you're released from the hospital.
   What chance, then, would you have toward gaining the best attitude 
possible in a battle with leukemia?
   Zero chance.
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--- Mankind = One Family
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