Judge: Boy will stay with grandparents while being treated by doctors

TAMPA, Fla. (FOX 13) - A Hillsborough County judge ruled Thursday that 3-year-old Noah McAdams will not be returned to his mom and dad - at least right now.

He’ll stay with his grandparents for the time being.

“We do not believe this is a fair or a just resolution but we do have the ability to fight,” said attorney Michael Minardi.

“It has been awful, I haven’t been able to sleep or eat at all, I’ve been a nervous wreck,” said the boy’s mother, Taylor Bland-Ball.

The family is wrapped up in a legal fight following a frantic multi-state search for the boy and his parents earlier this week. 

Their son was diagnosed with leukemia. After two rounds of chemotherapy, doctors said Noah was technically cancer-free. However, doctors wanted to continue treatment. 

Noah's parents disagreed with doctors on what should be done. Ultimately, a judge issued a court order for Noah to be treated and an appointment was set for April 22. 

Instead of going to the court-ordered appointment, Noah’s parents took him to Kentucky in search of alternative treatments.

“Seeing that he had no cancer cells in his body, we said we gotta find a different treatment one that wouldn’t hurt so much,” said Bland-Ball.

“We have to get over that fallacy that chemo is the only treatment for people with cancer at this point, especially in Florida we have medical cannabis CBD, both of those are viable options,” Minardi said.

The parents will be allowed visitation, both at the grandparents’ house and in the hospital where they are planning to see Noah Thursday night. Going forward, they know their legal fight is still far from over.

“We're definitely pushing for more a lot more to get our baby back,” said Bland-Ball.