Riley undergoes surgery at Children's

Saturday, July 1, 2006

Riley undergoes surgery at Children's
Baby doing well, on road to dialysis

Despite his mother's tearful courtroom objections, Riley Rogers had surgery Friday afternoon, paving the way for dialysis to treat his underfunctioning kidneys.

The 9-month-old child had been the subject of a manhunt and Amber Alert last week, after his mother, Tina Carlsen, spirited him out of Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center because she wanted to explore naturopathic treatments for his condition.


	Riley

After police apprehended her in Yelm, Carlsen spent five days in jail and was charged with kidnapping.

On Friday, a Pierce County Superior Court judge ordered that Riley undergo surgery, siding with doctors and social workers from Child Protective Services, which took custody of the boy after a physician alleged that he was suffering medical neglect under his parents' holistically based care.

After an hourlong process to insert a shunt in the child's abdomen, Dr. Bruder Stapleton, pediatrician in chief at Children's, reported that Riley was awake, stable and in no pain. His mother, the doctor added, was in the hospital after winning permission for a supervised visit with her baby.

"He's come through the surgery very well," Stapleton said, adding that although the procedure had not been an emergency, without it Riley's kidney function would have continued to degenerate, weakening his bones and stunting his growth.

It is unclear where Riley will live -- in foster care or with relatives -- after his recuperation and release from the hospital. The child's father, Todd Rogers, said he has petitioned for custody and remains angry with state officials for forcing his partner, Carlsen, into taking such desperate action.

"I am still not happy with the doctors at Children's, particularly the nephrologists," he said. "They don't tell you any of the things that might go wrong, just, 'This is what we're doing and if you don't like it, it's we'll call CPS.' If you don't cooperate, the state just takes control."

This report includes information from The Associated Press. P-I reporter Claudia Rowe can be reached at 206-448-8320 or claudiarowe@seattlepi.com.

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