On Monday, a judge in Florida ruled against two parents seeking to regain custody of their 4-year-old, Noah McAdams, who has leukemia. Noah was taken from his parents, Taylor Bland and Joshua McAdams, in April after the couple intentionally skipped his chemotherapy session and crossed state lines in search of alternative treatments. Ever since, their battle to regain custody — and win the right to choose their son's method of medical treatment — has sparked a heated debate over the extent of parental rights.
The story first made headlines in May, when the parents from Tampa, Florida, first headed to court.
There, a Hillsborough County judge ruledĀ that Noah would continue to stay in the care of his maternal grandma, where he had been since being separated from his parents.
The judge also ruled that the primary form of treatment for their son's cancer should be chemotherapy, as doctors had recommended — and the parents were ordered to get him started on it within the next 28 days.
Bland and McAdams initially requested to treat their son's cancer with a more homeopathic approach, involving CBD oil, alkaline water, mushroom tea, herbal extracts, and dietary changes, which they claimed to have already started and seen success with.
āWeāre not trying to refuse any kind of treatment,ā Bland told reporters in May. āThey think weāre refusing treatment all around, putting him in danger, trying to kill him. But not at all. Weāre trying to save him.ā
Still, the judge wasn't having it.
The parents are still allowed to visit their son and attend doctor's appointments, but only under supervision.
Their lawyer, Brooke Elvington, said the couple is "obviously devastated" by the verdict.
"Noah is going through an absolutely traumatic medical experience and he is doing so without his parents," Elvington told CNN.
That's precisely what led Bland to take to Instagram on Tuesday, issuing a heart-wrenching open letter to the judge who made the ruling.
"Honorable Thomas Palermo," it begins. "Hi there. You ruled against sending my son home yesterday. I have a couple questions."
Bland then launches into a list of things she wonders if Judge Palermo has considered, after taking a 4-year-old away from his mama while going through something as exhausting and emotional and physically grueling as chemotherapy.
"Are you going to be there rubbing his back at 2 a.m. when heās up crying his belly hurts and puking?" she asks. "Are you going to explain to him why his beautiful long hair is coming out in chunks?Ā Are you going to hold him and make him smoothies and juices when his mouth hurts so bad from methotrexate sores, he can barely eat? Are you going to lay with him when heās too tired to get out of bed? Are you going to rub his little perfect feet when heās experiencing neuropathy?"
Bland adds that she knows she'll never get an answer to any of these questions, but still, she feels compelled to ask them.
"I hope this sits with you in the darkest hours on the latest nights, like the many dark and lonely nights I have sat through without my child for 133 lonely nights, while you have yours," she wrote. "I hope you remember the face of a mother that loves her baby, since you wouldnāt even look at me yesterday."
Supporters quickly flooded the comments to offer the anguished mom some words of comfort.
"Heartbreaking!" wrote one Instagram user. "Your family doesnāt deserve this. I will pray for all of you."
Others couldn't believe that the judge had ruled as he had.Ā
"I can believe how cruel that judge is, he is punishing your baby," wrote one woman. "I can't imagine his pain being so sick and not being able to be with his mommy and daddy. That is unethical and inhumane."
And then there were those who argued that while the judge's ruling may feel harsh, it is ultimately in the best interest of the child.
"Just a question but if theyād let him come home would you let him get the chemo?" asked one woman. "I have a friends daughter who is free of brain cancer right now because of chemo."
As for whether the judge will respond to Bland's post? Not likely.
"The judges are precluded from commenting by their canon of ethics," spokesman Mike Moore told CNN this week. "He issues his ruling. That is the judge's comment on cases."
"All parents have a constitutional, and even scared right, to parent their child,ā Judge Palermo said on Monday. āBut with that right comes equally powerful duties and responsibilities.ā He argued that both parents neglected to do so, and that their explanations as to why in the courtroom "were not credible."
For now, Noah's parents can take some solace in the fact that he is being cared for his maternal grandma.
Also,Ā he has been receiving THC and CBD oil treatments for about a month, CNN reports, but it is done in conjunction with his chemo regimen.
The parents do have a path to regaining custody. But as Judge Palermo ruled on Monday, it requires Bland and McAdams to undergo psychological evaluations as a part of the process. A hearing to discuss the Child Protective Services case plan for family reunification is scheduled for October 1, according to the couple's lawyer.
