Justina Pelletier

[yumyumtree]

Pardon me if this has been brought up on another thread and I didnt see it, but was curious to know what others thought about it, or if CtoC hosts had discussed it at all. I first heard of it on Glenn Beck, it's all over the news now, including more mainstream sources like the Boston Globe and HuffPo.

A little over a year ago, a teenage girl named Justina Pelletier was treated for a rare disease that can cause many problems, in her case, mostly in the alimentary canal. She had some surgery(at Tufts, I think) and medication, but a year later when she needed medical attention at Boston Childrens', they took a completely different tack, deciding that her parents and previous providers were guilty of medical child abuse and that her problems were actually psychiatric. So they limited her contact with her parents, put her in a series of places, the latest a foster home, I guess. She has 4 older sisters and I guess that one has the same rare disease, whose name Ive forgotten. Her parents claim that her condition has worsened over the past year. Boston Childrens' doesn't agree.

[yumyumtree]

Mitochondrial disease is what Tufts treated her for. Somataform disorder is what Boston Childrens' diagnosed.

[onan]

It is quite possible both conditions exist.

Somataform disorder isn't a condition that would cause a custody battle unless there are extenuating circumstances.

I have no idea what those circumstances might be.

[yumyumtree]

Neither do I. Because of medical privacy, not a lot is known about the hospitals side of the story.

[yumyumtree]

Justina was allowed home for an 8 hour visit with her family on Fathers' day. Earlier thus spring she had a surprise birthday party with some girlfriends.

She has a tube in her abdomen. The Tufts doctor is back on the case.

[yumyumtree]

Justina is going home.

Glenn Beck talking about this now. Regardless of what you think of him, I think he's done a service bringing this case to public attention.