The Orange County Criminal Lawyer Blog
The Oregon mother of a 13-year-old girl with cancer is struggling to fight the state for charges against her, and for placing her daughter in the foster system, for deciding to treat the disease homeopathically after she believed traditional medical treatment nearly killed the teen.
Kylee Dixon is the now 13-year-old daughter of Christina Dixon.
In February 2018, Kylee, who was then 11, complained of horrible stomach pain and she was taken to the emergency room for assessment.
The medical staff at Providence Medical Center in Portland determined that the young girl’s liver contained a mass that had ruptured and caused internal bleeding.
Oregon Health and Science University took over Kylee’s treatment and testing and revealed that the child had Undifferentiated Embryonal Sarcoma. This type of cancer of the liver is reportedly rare, and it is predominately seen in children.
Christina Dixon agreed to the aggressive chemotherapy that was recommended to her by the professionals as the best option to try to treat her daughter’s cancer.
The treatments lasted for 6-months, and Christina reported that she watched her daughter suffer until it became unbearable for both her and her child.
In June 2018, Christina decided to have Kylee discharged from the hospital in lieu of continuing with more chemotherapy. She believed that the treatments were failing to help Kylee, and instead further harming her.
When she was interviewed by Portland’s KWG, an NBC affiliate, Christina tried to express her feelings about the situation by stating, “The best way I can describe it is like my kid was on death row.”
Kylee returned home with her mother, who had lost her business due to the amount of time she spent by her daughter’s side during her half-year of treatments. After Christina researched avenues of treatment in alternative medicine she decided she would administer a regimen of vitamins and herbal supplements, in addition to pure CBD oil, to try to fight Kylee’s cancer.
Christina continued giving Kylee the treatments at home, and after 11-months she reported that the tumor had significantly decreased in size and the cancer had not spread.
At the end of March 2019, a dependency petition was filed against Christina in an effort to remove Kylee from her custody and suspend her right to decide what medical treatment her daughter should receive. It was purported that she was neglectful and that she put her daughter at risk by refusing to follow the status quo medical procedures currently used to battle the type of cancer Kylee has. Since CBD oil is not recognized by doctors as proper cancer treatment it was assumed that the teen would not benefit in any way, and she would eventually die from the cancer.
The court issued an order giving the Wilsonville Police Department instruction to take Kylee from Christina’s custody and bring her to DHS, but when they tried to retrieve the teenager she and her mother were not able to be reached. The authorities believed Christina had purposely taken her daughter to prevent them from following through with the order, and the Sheriff’s Office posted a missing/endangered juvenile alert asking the public to call 911 if they saw the pair.
A few days later on June 13, the Nevada police were notified by the FBI and informed that Christina and Kylee were suspected to be staying at the Long Horn Casino & Hotel in Las Vegas. Officers located the girl and her mother and removed Kylee from Christina’s care while preparing to send her back to Oregon.
When Christina returned home the pending case against her had been transferred to Oregon, and a warrant for her arrest was put in place for suspicion of first-degree criminal mistreatment, and custodial interference.
At the beginning of August, Christina turned herself in for the allegations.
A hearing took place on August 19, and the judge decided to strip Christina of her right to decide what medical treatment her daughter should receive for the cancer. DHS was instructed to try to put Kylee in the custody of a family member, but the judge assigned to the case rejected two of the girl’s aunts who stepped forward trying to assume the role of her temporary caregiver. Kylee has remained in the foster care system.
A second hearing regarding Kylee’s medical treatment is scheduled in September, and her mother said she will ask for an emergency hearing if a surgical intervention is planned on her daughter before the next court date.
Local public response has taken the form of some groups of people calling the state’s actions “medical kidnapping.” Protests in Salem and Portland have taken place in support of returning Kylee to her mother’s care and restoring Christina’s right to choose her child’s medical treatment.
No information has been released regarding Kylee’s condition since medical information is not given to the general public.
Kylee has strongly and emotionally expressed her desire to return to her mother and is vehemently against having surgery and additional chemotherapy, but the judge has declared that the doctors will be given permission to carry out whatever procedures they deem necessary to help with Kylee’s cancer.
Christina is scheduled for her first appearance for the criminal charges on September 22.
If you or someone you love is suspected of a domestic violence crime, contact Orange County criminal defense lawyer Staycie R. Sena at (949) 477-8088 for a consultation now.