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> Thaxton Case > Press Release
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Falsely Diagnosed as Malnutrition from Vegan Diet
State of Utah dragging its feet in acknowledging error; not vindicating parents wrongfully accused. The child is in process of being returned but under conditions of close DCFS supervision and nutritional monitoring.
Update (Feb. 14, 2004)
State of Utah dragging its feet in acknowledging error; not vindicating parents wrongfully accused. The child was finally returned on Feb. 3, 2004, but the state still insists on nutritional monitoring.
For Immediate Release
Click on images for higher resolution, larger images.
Page shortcut: http://tinyurl.com/z01m
by Bradley Jordan
Greater Things News Service
Dec. 12, 2003
BOUNTIFUL, UT USA
The mystery of one child's death and another child's illness have recently been solved as a clear
case of carbon monoxide poisoning. Meanwhile, the previous diagnosis of malnutrition by Vegan
diet continues to prevail with the state of Utah and its Division of Child and Family Services
(DCFS).
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The exhaust vent in the Thaxton home is situated twelve inches away from the intake vent; and the
evening breezes that come out of the canyon waft the exhaust into the intake. As the Thaxtons
have replaced their windows and tightened the home over the past three years, they also have
unwittingly turned their home into a carbon monoxide trap.
The adults and older children were not as effected as the infants, who do not get as much time
outside to replenish their body with oxygen. Also, the little bodies of infants have a much
higher metabolism than older children and adults.
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Little Dan Thaxton Jr. died unexpectedly on Oct. 2, 2001. Matthew Thaxton was exposed in
utero at that same period of time, and then began getting ill in the winter of 2001-2002 when the
furnace season began again. During the many times he was taken to the hospital, he would
recover; but each time he returned home, he became ill again.
It all makes so much sense now -- after the true cause has been identified; and after the state of
Utah has already issued its verdict against the Thaxtons: neglect by vegan diet.
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Thousands of children, including the Thaxton's two older children, live healthy lives on a vegan
diet, abstaining from meat and dairy products.
Yet as the death of Dan Jr., and the other illnesses began to occur, and the cause was not yet
identified, at least one person close to the Thaxton family decided that the illness was a clear
result of the vegan diet, of which they did not approve; and began to put pressure on the state to
intercede.
When Dan Jr. died unexpectedly, the first report by the medical examiner did not list anything as
being out of the ordinary, except perhaps myocardia (a slightly enlarged heart).
But then a couple of months later, the medical examiner changed the report and listed
"malnutrition" as the cause.
At a court hearing on the matter, the Thaxton's judge was going to dismiss the case saying there was
not ample evidence to support the charges of physical neglect, medical neglect, and nutritional
neglect (tantamount to negligent homicide). However, the DCFS asked for a lesser charge of
"substantive neglect," and rather than fight that charge as well, the Thaxton's attorney
advised them to accept it, which they did, thus having that entered on their record.
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Matthew, who was born on May 22, 2002, began to grow very ill and began a series of
hospitalizations beginning in January, 2003. The winter season had been relatively mild up
until that time. The first diagnosis given was "pallor and low blood counts,"
followed by a diagnosis of Leukemia, followed by a diagnosis of a rare "Intrinsic
Disease." By June he was given a hefty dose of Insulin and then fed and medicated through
a tube in his neck because the doctors thought he might be Diabetic. In January and June 2003,
Matthew underwent extensive blood tests, two blood transfusions, a bone marrow biopsy, a B12 shot in
the leg.
The battery of tests did not include a simple carboxy hemoglobin test, which would have pinpointed
the culprit.
Meanwhile, as low levels of B12 levels were assessed to be a driving cause, the vegan diet became
the de facto culprit, and on June 9, 2003, Matthew was taken away from the Thaxtons by the state of
Utah.
According to Thomas L. Rodgers, the best medical literature states that, "Carbon monoxide
inhibits the uptake of B12, which likewise inhibits the assimilation of other essential
nutrients." He also has documented that B12 can be obtained dietarily from a wide array
of non-meat and dairy sources.
 Video still of footage taken on an extremely cold day on August 30, 2003 shows furnace exhaust wafting into intake vent. The lawyers and the state and the hospital have ignored this evidence. 
video clip: shows
fumes wafting into intake
video clip: shows
volume of air coming in |
It was also Rodgers who identified the carbon monoxide poisoning as the smoking gun in this
situation. After hearing the Thaxtons give a detailed account of what had transpired in their
life, including the improvements they had made on their home over the past three years, replacing
the new windows, and of their mild headaches, he suspected carbon monoxide poisoning. Then
upon visiting their home he immediately spotted the culprit. Rodgers was able to record video
tape footage of the exhaust being pressed by the breeze against the house and into the intake vent.
His assessment was verified by professionals both in home heating as well as physiologists, who
corroborated that the symptoms that all of them had been having, including Dan Jr. and Matthew, were
wholly consistent with carbon monoxide poisoning.
Meanwhile, Utah's DCFS has gotten a strong toehold into the Thaxtons life, and the lawyers that the
Thaxtons have been hiring (they've gone through three) seem beholden to the state agencies, who
provide a primary source of their income as family practice attorneys. None of the lawyers the
Thaxtons have approached are willing to take up the carbon monoxide poisoning matter as a cause for
acquittal.
Those with an anti-vegetarian bias seem to have gotten the taste of blood, and they won't let
off. A proposed "dispositional dependency" order issued on August 13, 2002 did not
mention the return of Matthew, and calls for the "Parents to develop a
written nutritional plan for all of their children, to include written menu planning and schedules
with caloric and nutritional tracking, and … all necessary supplementation, be it multivitamin,
B12 injections, or animal products."
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It also brings the parent's mental stability into question by requiring
that, "The parents will each obtain a psychological evaluation." It also requires
that "the parents will commit to perpetually give their children a multivitamin which contains
B12 and other essential nutrients which would not be provided by a vegan diet." The
disposition concludes: "In the event that the parents fail to properly supplement their
children's diets as memorialized in the final stipulated agreement, this will constitute grounds for
removal of all the children as a significant risk to their health."
The parents cooperated, albeit reluctantly, with all orders of the court of which they were
apprised, but say they were accused by DCFS of never cooperating. Subsequently, they were not
invited to the early intervention therapy training for the child's swallowing disorder and motor
dysfunction, including seizures, that had not become apparent until the child began being treated
for diabetes -- a misdiagnosis. Their non invitation indicates that the DCFS is preparing the
child for adoption by another family.
The Thaxton's local church authorities vouch for their stability as responsible members of the
church and community. The mother, Carolee Thaxton, is the daughter of Clay Christiansen,
organist for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
The Thaxtons have decided to go public with their plight, and seek to gain the understanding of the
citizenry to help bring justice in the case, as well as to bring additional awareness about the
subtlety of Carbon Monoxide poisoning, to both to parents as well as health care practitioners.
According to Dr. David Penny, Wayne State University, Michigan, thousands of babies die yearly from CO poisoning, but the cause is listed as unknown or is misdiagnosed as something else such as SIDS or even medical or nutritional neglect of parents.
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Action:
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Sign Petition > Return Matthew Thaxton to Parents and Restore Family to Whole |
Resources:
Thomas Rodger's Coverage of the Thaxton Situation
http://www.lifesave.org/FamilyVsState.htm
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning (and nutritional uptake, including B12) - Dr. David Penny, Wayne
State University, Michigan.
Vitamin B12 -- source and uptake.
http://www.lifesave.org/VitaminB12.htm
Images of the HVAC set-up at the Thaxton home:
http://www.lifesave.org/HVAC.htm
Foster Care proving to be more dangerous than homes from which children are being taken
(LA Daily News; Dec. 10, 2003)
http://tinyurl.com/z3uf
See also
- Petition Demands Restoration of Child to Vegan Parents Wrongfully Charged - Petitioners say carbon monoxide poisoning is the obvious cause of the symptoms that were misdiagnosed as 'malnutrition' via vegan diet, leading to DCFS taking the Thaxton's child from them. They demand that the state return child and apologize or be charged with aggravated kidnapping.
- Thaxton Case (index)
- The above press release as found at PRWeb.com
- Google news > matthew+thaxton
- Parental Rights (main index)
Contacts:
Thomas L. Rodgers <LifeSave@LifeSave.org>
http://www.lifesave.org
PO Box 304, Bountiful Utah 84011-0304
801-298-9095 (24/7 home or cell)
Where next:
Page posted by SDA, Dec. 12, 2003.
Last updated February 14, 2004
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