Doctors at the Medical Center may be just hours away from beginning treatment for 10-year-old Rachel Stout, who arrived at the Medical Center Sunday to have a final evaluation of her case of severe ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory disease of the colon of unknown cause. Exactly what that treatment will be, however, remains unclear.
Robin Kinder, a spokesperson for Child Protective Services-a Dallas organization that now holds joint custody of Rachel-said Dr. William Treem, director of the division of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition, had issued a recommendation Wednesday after more than two days of tests and evaluations. Due to the wishes of Rachel's parents, however, Kinder said she could not say exactly what course of action Dr. Treem had recommended.
Kinder added that under the terms of a joint custody agreement between CPS and Rachel's parents, CPS would use its authority to consent to the prescribed treatment if the parents failed to do so within the 48-hour grace period. Kinder estimated that the deadline would fall sometime late Friday morning.
Rachel, who is from Fort Worth, Texas, first became the focus of a custody battle Sept. 1, when her father, Steve Stout, removed her from the Children's Medical Center in Dallas against medical orders. Steve refused to allow his daughter to undergo the surgical procedure prescribed by Dr. Robert Squires, Rachel's pediatric gastroenterologist.
After attempting to seek alternative treatment for his daughter at the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children, Steve was forced to return to Texas, where CPS officials had gone to court and obtained custody of Rachel, thereby gaining the authority to make medical decisions on her behalf.
Last week, Rachel's parents and CPS officials came to an agreement to share custody of the child. Both parties agreed that this evaluation of Rachel's condition would be final.
Dallas attorney Richard Gladstone, Rachel's court-appointed representative, said he thinks Dr. Treem recommended that Rachel undergo surgery to remove her diseased colon.
That recommendation, however, was questioned by Marlene Mitchell, a spokesperson for Rachel's parents. "CPS is so quick to want to have Rachel have surgery that it's hard to believe," she said. She added that what the Stouts have been told is different from what CPS has been told. Mitchell said that a meeting had been scheduled between Lawrence Friedman, the Stouts' attorney, and Dr. Treem Thursday afternoon to clarify the situation.
As of press time, however, it was unclear as to whether the meeting took place.
Nancy Jensen, director of the Medical Center news office, said that neither she nor anyone in the Medical Center can comment on the exact nature of Dr. Treem's recommendation until the Stouts give them permission to release that information.
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