Charges mulled in missing sick girl case

Hospital surveillance photo released by Phoenix police on Dec. 3, 2012 shows woman with her 11-year-old daughter, a leukemia patient who had her arm amputated and a heart catheter inserted due to an infection / AP

NEW YORK Emily has leukemia. She just underwent a month of chemotherapy and had her right arm amputated after suffering complications. Doctors say she is at risk of dying from an infection.

But the sick 11-year-old isn't in a hospital.

Her mother last week inexplicably unhooked a tube that had been carrying vital medication through the girl's heart, got her out of bed and changed her clothes. Then she did something police say is even more baffling -- she walked the child out of the hospital, the tiny tube still protruding from her chest.

Doctors say the device, if left unattended, could allow bacteria to quickly enter her body, leading to a potentially deadly infection.

Phoenix police are now on a desperate search for the mother and daughter, last seen Wednesday night on surveillance video leaving Phoenix Children's Hospital, the mother pushing an IV stand, the small child with a bandaged arm amputated above the elbow walking beside her.

• Search continues for girl with leukemia taken by mother from hospital
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Authorities have no explanation for why the child's mother -- 35-year-old Norma Bracamontes -- removed the girl from the hospital before her treatment was complete, but they say it's imperative she return her immediately.

They're even considering criminal charges.

"Certainly, from our standpoint, we are looking at it thinking, is this negligence in failing to provide Emily the proper medical care that she requires?" Phoenix police Sgt. Steve Martos said Tuesday. "They should know by now what is required, what Emily needs, so it baffles us that anyone, any parent with a child like this, with leukemia and an amputated arm, and now you put them in this situation where it's potentially fatal, we just don't understand why they would not seek medical treatment."

Authorities speculate the mother might have been concerned with paying the child's hospital bill, but her motivation remains a mystery.

The family lives a "nomadic" life without a permanent residence, but they have relatives in Arizona, California and Mexico, none of whom have been able to provide police with information about their whereabouts, Martos said.

U.S. Border Patrol agents stopped the girl's father, Luis Bracamontes, 46, as he crossed into Arizona from Mexico over the weekend, but the man denied any involvement in removing his daughter from the hospital and said he didn't know where she was.

Martos said doctors, who can't discuss Emily's case publicly due to privacy laws, told authorities that when Emily's mother removed the tubing, she failed to put a cap on the open line leading into the girl's body. That's left the young girl susceptible to a potentially deadly infection.

The cap was found in the girl's hospital bathroom.

Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said Emily's immune system is already compromised from the cancer and chemotherapy.

"If bacteria get into the blood stream that can cause a serious infection," Schaffner said.

The open catheter could serve as a pathway for bacteria, he said, adding that an infection is not only possible, but likely.

"These are life-threatening infections, particularly in young children who've had leukemia and chemotherapy," Schaffner said.

And the longer the girl is away from medical care, the greater the risk of contamination.

If infection does set in, he said, the girl could die "in a few days or worse, hours."

[Pamelahaley]

My Grandmother landed in the hospital with an aortic aneurysm having lost so much blood she was 50/50 and died briefly on the operating table but was revived. She spent 4 weeks in the hospital recovering then she was sent to a nursing home by the hospital for further care. Four weeks later she returned to the hospital for pneumonia. The home did not bathe her, neglected her bedpan, feeding her, giving her basic medication and getting her out of bed to walk or turn over. She had bed sores. My mother had to go perform these things for the orderly out of their neglect. She spent 2 more weeks in the hospital mildly recovering to the point of being sent back to the home. Keep in mind she had not walked without aid in almost 3 months. She was also being given different medications depending on the Doctor working that shift. Medications for diabetics for one and, she is not diabetic. My mother pulled her from the hospital and took her home rather than back to the nursing home. They considered her kidnapped until they came to find her and she told the police to shove it. Living at home and being in the care of our family had her out of bed and walking again and bathing herself within the month. She has been receiving alternative healing from a cousin in the form of acupuncture, massage and healthy foods. 1 Year later she is healthier and happier, more active... even a better person than she was before this episode. The only complication she has had is a hernia due to sub par stitching after surgery. Apparently they decide how worth the rest of your life is in the hospital. Moral, Hospitals kill people too. This girl was probably in such a state that she would die in weeks anyways... She had an arm amputated due to an infection she received while in the hospital. It's called a staph infection and it's more likely get in a hospital than anywhere else because of all the antibiotics they use making the bacteria resistant.

[FormerUSMCSergeant]

peacefulperson replies: Moms aren't stupid, they are loving and I'll bet anything this mom did is out of love, not negligence.
---
The girl was hospitalized, twit, because what? BECAUSE SHE NEEDED TREATMENT.
Smart moms don't deny their children medical care when they require it.
I sincerely hope you have no offspring yourself.

[jchip44]

The family lives a "nomadic" life without a permanent residence, but they have relatives in Arizona, California and Mexico. What is this drivel...some kind of liberal code for "illegal aliens"

[gmcken]

yes

[stopkillingourwilderness]

the fascist conditions in arizona are so awful for human beings like this family, they probably feared arrest and imprisonment for being in a hospital, so the "culture of life" drove them out so she could die in the streets. that's what you want, right?

[margroks]

Whoa. Before you start blaming this hospital and its staff for a problem you have no idea was actually happened just slow down. Having an open port is a very serious problem and this mother did an unconscionable thing to remove her daughter from treatment in this way. My own husband is undergoing chemo after having major cancer surgery in which there was a port which went in and on top of his heart. When the nurses came in to do anything with it she and everyone else nearby HAD to be masked due to the danger of infection. This girl is in real danger due to a very stupid move on her mother's part. She should be charged with child endangerment when found.

[peacefulperson]

Perhaps this family took their daughter to another hospital. If they felt they weren't being heard or weren't allowed to participate in health care decisions, or perhaps they couldn't afford to keep her at this particular hospital, or maybe they even doubted the diagnosis and the "medical machine" won't let them get a trusted second opinion, and if they were refused the right to take their daughter elsewhere, then I can see why they did the things they did. Emily is THEIR daughter, not the hospital's daughter. The family undoubtedly wants what's best for her, not necessarily what the hospital is doing.

[bustogusto]

Maybe the mother is stupid and is truly risking the child's life.

[dman6015]

Another hospital? Don't you think they'd ask some questions, then contact authorities when the story hit the media? Yes, she is their daughter, but that doesn't mean you, as a parent, are allowed to do dangerous acts. Your rights as a parent NEVER extend that far.

[djseavy]

Sure - the way to cure the problem is to bring criminal charges. Sounds about normal with many officials' twisted thinking. If they have no permanent home, how are they paying for treatment? Is it possible the diagnosis is very poor, and the mom wants to spare her daughter more agony? And what about families who have no access to healthcare? Do we thrown them in jail too? Of course doctors will push the panic button; their income relies on putting people through treatments that end up killing patients faster than the disease itself. These questions are more philosophical than about law. We can't solve every problem through the criminal justice system. Rather than try to strong-arm the mom, how about taking a rather empathetic approach? She's watched her daughter lose an arm due to complications of treatment, and she's probably afraid more amputations are on the horizon. She's scared, probably in a moment of panic, and whether we agree with her actions, some understanding and compassion is in order. Lock-em up justice is great for murders, etc., but not for a parent whose watching her child die a slow and agonizing death.

[FormerUSMCSergeant]

I could not disagree with you more. If the girl dies as a direct result of this woman's stupidity, the mother should face charges of criminal negligence at a minimum.

[jsg72]

I am really hoping you typed all of that wanting to get a rise out of people. I had a niece with luekemia that went through almost the same issues as this poor girl. I will tell you that within days of the diagnosis, much less treatment, hospitals have a coordinator to help the parent. One nurse told us that no matter what, the hospital treats - between Medicaid, emergency programs, grants, and waivers of fees - the child is taken care of.
The port issue is very serious. They are inplanted to help give drugs and sometimes nutrition the the child and not have to have a several IVs in their arms. It is much less painful. However, they can get infections very easily.
She may have had a fungal or secondary infection that cause the removal of the arm. That would take very specific drugs in IV form to treat.

I pray she is healthy and Mom will bring her to a hospital soon.