Starchild Abraham Cherrix III

I was going to let this story rest until there was anything else of substance to report but I have one more post before I move along.

I have done quite a bit of reading over the past couple of days about this case, and I want to make sure that I have explained my position.

I do not believe that the state has the right to make Abraham Cherrix take Chemo. I am not a lawyer, and don't know if that belief could stand in a court of law. It is what I feel. At his age and with his life experiences, I think Abraham probably has earned the right to make this decision for himself. If he were eight years old, I would feel differently.

I also don't believe that Abraham has made a good decision if he is truly willing to do anything to be cured, but nobody asked my opinion. I don't believe in alternative medicine. I don't go to the chiropractor, use acupuncture, or believe that my grandmother's arthritis will be healed by eating gin soaked raisins. That stuff just isn't my thing. I'm not a doctor, so I usually don't dispense that type of advice. For a very (I mean very) thorough discussion on the treatment that the Cherrix family has chosen go to Respectful Insolence where the author actually is a doctor and blogs for the express purpose of dispensing that type of advice. He has written quite a bit on the case and has many links to detailed descriptions of the treatment.

When I say that I don't think he has made a good decision, I am saying that I don't think this treatment is going to work. The decision not to take chemo is one that I will not pretend to be able to judge. I have seen what chemo does to an otherwise health person. Not wanting to do it twice is understandable.

With those two things said, there is something this hospice guy has dealt with before that may shed some light on the whole story. Very few children are put on hospice. When it is your son or daughter, you just don't ever get to the point where quality of life is an acceptable goal. Your children are supposed to live longer than you. That's just how it is. Those who are on hospice are usually there "until they are strong enough to take treatment again". Nobody is willing to admit that this is the final decision and only time and God are in control. It is totally possible that this mindset is in play in the Cherrix family. They may not believe in this alternative medicine as much as they want you to think. Again, I don't know them, but that wouldn't surprise me in the least.

If chemo isn't an option for a child (no matter what the reason), then most doctors and parents search for another option. You will comb the world for something to believe in, because you must believe that there is hope. This treatment may well be the best hope for a family who does not view chemo as an option. I have seen this mindset many times and almost always see it in parents of children with a terminal illness. Before we all go pile on about how crazy this treatment he is seeking in Mexico is, keep in mind that you could be taking hope away from a family who desperately needs some.

Why chemo isn't their hope isn't my concern. Hope is important, and we shouldn't be so quick to take it from someone.

All of this said, my summary of this story must be this: Starchild Abraham Cherrix should be allowed to make this decision himself. I don't think the state should make the decision. If that is how this whole thing plays out, then I think the rest of the world should shut up about the treatments they will seek in Mexico. Of course many of us don't think it will work, but do you really want to be the person who tells that to a dying teenager and their parents. "Hey gang, I know you are hanging onto the only hope you can find, but I just wanted you to know that you are fooling yourselves. Why don't you go back to the states and wait to see exactly how the cancer is going to finish it's job." There are times in life where putting your arm around someone's shoulder and saying nothing is the best course of action. This is one of those times.