Jensens, state strike deal

An unnamed doctor at an unnamed out-of-state hospital will decide the treatment regimen for a Sandy boy who has been diagnosed with cancer.

The fate of Parker Jensen's parents will also hinge on the physician's decision, which was permitted by Juvenile Court Judge Robert Yeates in a Wednesday hearing.

Daren and Barbara Jensen have been charged with kidnapping for leaving the state because they didn't want their son to receive chemotherapy. Nearly a yearlong treatment plan was prescribed by Primary Children's Medical Center and ordered by the boy's court-appointed guardian, who wants to take him into state custody to make sure he gets it.

Getting an additional diagnosis as well as wanting to look into alternative forms of treatment was the reason the family left town. The parents, who are staying with family in Pocatello, are not convinced a tumor removed in May from their son's mouth was cancerous or that he has Ewing's sarcoma, diagnosed by doctors in Utah and two other hospitals.

A deal similar to Wednesday's fell through in July. The Jensens said they would abide by a diagnosis and treatment recommendation by Los Angeles Children's Hospital but ultimately didn't, claiming the doctor involved hadn't even read the test results before concurring with doctors in Salt Lake City.

A proposal by the Jensens submitted at 4 p.m. Wednesday — an hour before warrants for their arrests were to be reactivated — was agreed to by Yeates, the Salt Lake County district attorney and the state Division of Child and Family Services. It commits the family to some kind of treatment, although chemotherapy was reportedly not specified nor ruled out.

The family's attorney and state officials, who agreed to suspend warrants to arrest the Jensens and to take the boy into state child protective custody, will meet again Friday at 4 p.m. to finalize the proposed settlement. Yeates also ruled Wednesday that the Jensens must turn in their son's passport to authorities.

"We don't know what the recommended treatment will be," said Mollie McDonald, a court-appointed guardian for the boy. "But the doctor is a pediatric oncologist in a recognized facility."

McDonald added that her only reservation so far is the proposal contains no assurance that once the treatment is started it be continued as prescribed.

Angela F. Micklos, deputy district attorney handling the criminal charges against the parents, said careful review of the proposed settlement will take place between now and 4 p.m. Friday.