The Childrenâs Aid Society says a 10-year-old Ontario girl with leukemia who quit chemotherapy treatments in favour of traditional First Nations medicine will not be removed from her family or forced to resume chemo.
Makayla Saultâs parents met Tuesday with executives from the Childrenâs Aid Society of Brant, who said that Makayla is not in need of protection and would not be apprehended.
âIt was very emotional,â Nahnda Garlow, a journalist and friend of the Sault family who attended the meeting, told CTVNews.ca. âThe family was in tears.â
Sally Rivers, the director of aboriginal services for the Brant CAS, told CTV Kitchener that she and her colleagues âdid not feel it was ⌠our job to force Makayla to do treatment she and her family felt was not being of benefit to her.â
Rivers also said removing Makayla from her home âwould cause her great harm.â
Makayla, who is from the New Credit First Nation near Caledonia, Ont., was receiving chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia at the McMaster Childrenâs Hospital in Hamilton.
Suffering from severe side effects, she decided to quit chemo and turn to traditional aboriginal medicine.
âThis chemo that I am on is killing my body and I cannot take it anymore,â she said in a video posted to YouTube last week. âI have asked my mom and dad to take me off the treatment because I donât want to go this way anymore.â
When Makaylaâs parents told her doctors that she would be seeking alternative treatments, they referred the case to the Childrenâs Aid Society.
The McMaster Childrenâs Hospital said last week that it had a legal obligation to notify child welfare authorities when a childâs parent âis unable, does not or refuses to consentâ to necessary medical treatments.
In a statement to CTVNews.ca Tuesday, a spokesperson said the hospital respects the CASâs decision in Makaylaâs case.
âWe feel very much for Makaylaâs family and the heartbreaking circumstance they are in. McMaster Childrenâs Hospital respects the decision of the Childrenâs Aid Society of Brant,â the statement said.
âIt is the role of the Childrenâs Aid Society to weigh circumstances and make the difficult decisions they do about protecting children and preserving families. It is our role at McMaster Childrenâs Hospital to provide the best care possible for children, using the best medical evidence. We want to say that our door is always open to providing care to Makayla and her family.â