source: www.wacotrib.com (published 12/12/2003)
Care of premature infant transfers to Houston hospital
By MIKE ANDERSON Tribune-Herald staff writer
A 15-week premature Waco infant at the center of a case where his parent's faith conflicted with state child welfare laws was flown Thursday to a Houston hospital that offers specialized treatment.
Conner Castillo was transferred from Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center to Texas Children's Hospital Thursday night after a doctor at the Houston hospital agreed to take the child as a patient. Conner's parents, Shawn and Alicia Castillo, had sought to move him to another hospital after an agreement last week had given them joint custody with Child Protective Services.
State CPS officials took custody of Conner soon after his Nov. 16 birth when his parents would not consent to doctors' giving him blood transfusions. Weighing 1 pound, 9 ounces at birth, doctors said Conner was too small to produce blood and that he could need as many as a dozen transfusions for a chance of survival.
Conner's parents, both Jehovah's Witnesses, said their beliefs prevent them from allowing the transfusions. Jehovah's Witnesses believe the Bible prohibits any medical practice that gives a patient blood.
The Castillos said they wanted Conner transferred to a hospital where doctors are trained in "alternate methods" of treatment that could reduce the need for transfusions. Both parents have said the desire to move Conner is not a slight at the quality of treatment he received at Hillcrest.
Last week's agreement between attorneys representing both CPS and the Castillos limited CPS authority over the child to giving permission for transfusions. In all other matters, such as where and by whom Conner is treated, the Castillos have the final word.
Alicia Castillo said that since the agreement was finalized, she and her husband have worked on the transfer. Initially the couple had hoped Conner would be accepted at Fort Worth's Cook Children's Medical Center, but early Thursday they learned that fell through, she said.
"(Hillcrest doctors) started checking into the Houston hospital, and then we just waited all day," Alicia Castillo said. "Then late in the afternoon, a nurse called us and said a team from Houston would arrive in 10 minutes to begin getting ready to move him.
"We just started throwing clothes into a suitcase and drove to the hospital."
The Castillos, other relatives and Conner's two brothers, 19-month-old Aaron and 14-year-old Ryan, waited outside Hillcrest's neonatal intensive care unit as the transfer team prepared Conner for the trip.
Shawn Castillo said everyone was relieved at the chance for the specialized treatment, but nervous about the transfer.
"My wife said it feels like something has been lifted off of her," he said. "We are blessed. He has been making progress. He gained back the weight he lost after he was born, and now he has gained a little more. As for Ryan, you can see that emotionally this has taken its toll. When people ask him, he says he is strong in his faith. But he's worried about his little brother. He doesn't like to see his brother in the hospital hooked up to all those tubes."
Medical workers took Conner to the airport by ambulance. The family followed, with plans to drive to Houston once the plane was in the air. Alicia Castillo said she will stay with friends in Houston, while her husband will go down on the weekends when work lets out.
The rest of the family will have to drive down to see him when they can.
"I'm torn," said his grandmother, Sinda Castillo. "He's going somewhere where hopefully some good things are going to happen for him. But its such a long way away from his grandmother. It's hard."
Mike Anderson can be reached at [email protected] or at 757-5755.