On-the-run mother brings cancer boy home

A 13-year-old cancer sufferer and his mother who fled Minnesota to avoid court-ordered chemotherapy have returned home, the family’s lawyer said.

Daniel Hauser was “immediately checked over medically” when he and his mother arrived on a charter flight early yesterday, Brown County Sheriff Rich Hoffmann said.

He did not say where the pair, from New Ulm, had been since they missed a court hearing last Tuesday, or whether Daniel received medical treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma while they were gone.

“It is a good day as Daniel and Colleen Hauser have been safely returned to Minnesota,” Sheriff Hoffmann said.

Daniel underwent one round of chemotherapy in February, but stopped after that single treatment, citing religious beliefs.

The family opted instead for natural healing practices inspired by American Indians.

Because Mrs Hauser returned voluntarily, a warrant for her arrest was lifted. Sheriff Hoffmann said he could not comment on possible charges against her.

Daniel was being evaluated at a hospital in Minneapolis-St Paul yesterday, according to Tom Hagen, a lawyer representing Daniel’s parents.

Dr Bruce Bostrom, paediatric oncologist at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota who diagnosed Daniel’s cancer in January, said: “I’m delighted.

“I’ve been so worried that he was going to die in Mexico. I’ve been praying for his safe return, so I think my prayers will be answered.”

Hodgkin’s lymphoma has a 90% cure rate in children if treated with chemotherapy and radiation, but doctors say Daniel has only a 5% chance of survival without those treatments.

A judge ruled that the parents medically neglected Daniel and ordered them to get him an updated chest X-ray as well as select an oncologist for a re-evaluation.

After the X-ray showed a tumour in Daniel’s chest has grown, mother and son left town.

The FBI said the pair flew to Los Angeles. Investigators suspected they might have been heading to one of a number of alternative cancer clinics in northern Mexico.

Last Thursday, Daniel’s father Anthony made a televised asking his wife to call him and to come home. “If you’re out there, please bring Danny home so we can decide as a family what Danny’s treatment should be,” he said.

The FBI’s affidavit in support of an arrest warrant for Mrs Hauser said she fled the state to avoid being prosecuted on two state counts of depriving another of custodial or parental rights in Brown County.

The “parental rights” refer to those of Brown County family services, which was granted custody of Daniel to get him to a specialist.

Sheriff Hoffmann promised last week to arrange a safe return for Mrs Hauser without an enforcement action if she showed “a good faith effort to come back”.