Makayla Sault, an 11-year-old First Nation girl, dies after abandoning chemo in favour of traditional, alternative treatments

Makayla Sault, the 11-year-old Ontario First Nation girl who refused chemotherapy to pursue traditional indigenous medicine and other alternative treatments, has died.

The girl died Monday after suffering a stroke Sunday.

"Surrounded by the love and support of her family, her community and her nation … Makayla completed her course. She is now safely in the arms of Jesus," her family said in a statement published by the Two Row Times.

The girl’s case made national headlines and ignited a debate about the validity of indigenous medicine and the rights of children to choose their own treatment. The Saults are from the New Credit First Nation near Caledonia, Ont.

Makayla was given a 75 per cent chance of survival when she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in March. She underwent 11 weeks of chemotherapy at McMaster Children’s Hospital in Hamilton.

Her mother, Sonya Sault, said Makayla experienced severe side-effects and at one point ended up in intensive care.

After Makayla said she had a vision of Jesus in the hospital, she wrote a letter to her doctors asking to stop treatment.

"I am writing this letter to tell you that this chemo is killing my body and I cannot take it anymore."

She left chemotherapy treatment while in remission to pursue alternative and traditional indigenous medicine.

"Makayla was on her way to wellness, bravely fighting toward holistic well-being after the harsh side-effects that 12 weeks of chemotherapy inflicted on her body," the family statement read. "Chemotherapy did irreversible damage to her heart and major organs. This was the cause of the stroke."

Makayla exercised her rights, says children's aid society

Although her family claims her death was due to chemotherapy, in September, a McMaster oncologist testified at a hearing on a similar case of a First Nations girl refusing cancer treatment that Makayla had suffered a relapse. The doctor also testified that there are no known cases of survival of this type of leukemia without a full course of chemotherapy treatment.

When asked to comment on Makayla's death Tuesday, Ontario Minister of Children and Youth Services Tracy MacCharles​ said she learned of the girl's death "with great sadness."

"Her precocious joy and optimism left a compelling impression on all she touched," MacCharles said in a statement.

While she would not address the specifics of Makayla's case or the question of whether the ministry failed in its responsibility to protect the child, MacCharles said that "all children in Ontario have the same right to protection and access to health care."

"There are times when parents' or guardians' wishes for treatment conflict with those of doctors," she said. "In these cases, we rely on the expertise of the local children's aid societies to investigate concerns and determine if intervention is needed."

The children's aid society that handled Makayla's case, Brant Family and Children's Services, issued its own statement Tuesday.

"Makayla was a wonderful, loving child who eloquently exercised her indigenous rights as a First Nations person and those legal rights provided to her under Ontario's Health Care Consent Act," said executive director Andrew Koster. "The parents are a caring couple who loved their daughter deeply."

A visitation for Makayla will be held at New Credit Fellowship Centre on Thursday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. A celebration of life service will be held Friday at 11 a.m. at the Six Nations Community Hall. There will also be two evening services for Makayla at the New Credit Fellowship Centre, where her parents are pastors, on Wednesday and Thursday at 7p.m.

Attended 'life transformation program'

When Makayla decided against continuing chemotherapy, the hospital referred her case to Brant Family and Children's Services. After a brief investigation, it decided Makayla was not a child in need of protection and that it would not apprehend her to return her to treatment.

In an interview with CBC News in May, before the agency closed its investigation, Koster said, "For us to take her away, to apprehend and place in a home with strangers, if that's the case, if there aren't any relatives, when she's very, very ill — I can't see how that would be helpful."

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