Chierey Hupp of Gresham, Oregon, told KPTV she took her son Marlon to Legacy Mount Hood Hospital on Aug. 12 to be treated for a burn to his hand and a rash covering his torso.
Hupp said her son's condition prompted hospital staff to call the Department of Human Services. Doctors ordered Marlon to be transferred to Randall Children's Hospital in Portland for further treatment. He was diagnosed with hand, foot and mouth disease and an accidental burn.
During Marlon’s treatment, Hupp said, a nurse told her she would be testing his urine to determine hydration levels.
“Thirty minutes before they were to release me, they said that I couldn't take my kids, that DHS was on their way because he tested positive for methamphetamines,” Hupp told KPTV.
Hupp said her two children were taken into protective custody, and she was asked to undergo a urine analysis herself.
Two days later, Hupp said, she got a call from the hospital saying an error had been made.
Her children were returned to her, but Hupp was angry.
"It was pretty humiliating. In front of my whole family, saying that I gave my kid meth," Hupp told KPTV.
On a GoFundMe page she created on Sept. 15 to help raise money to pay Marlon's medical bills. Hupp said that Aug. 12-16 "were the worst days I have lived in my life.
“Due to this mess I lost my job."
A spokesman for Randall Children's Hospital told KPTV the hospital could not answer specific questions about Marlon’s treatment, even though Hupp had given the hospital permission.
In a statement, the hospital said that occasionally, tests like urine analysis “reveal preliminary information that requires additional testing for confirmation, due to the possibility the test may represent a false positive result. During that time, decisions may need to be made on the preliminary result that are focused on the health and safety of the child.”
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