By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 10:12 EST, 2 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 12:29 EST, 2 April 2013 . The family of a four-month-old boy who tested positive for HIV after he was born are battling county officials in a bid to keep him off the medications treating his condition. John Martinez and Lindsey Nagel, as well as Nagel's parents Cheryl and Steve Nagel, believe that the drugs could actually stop their baby, Rico Nagel Martinez, from living a healthy life. Lindsey, from Brownsdale, Minnesota, had HIV when she was adopted by the Nagels from Romania as a child, and the couple believes that taking her off the medication saved her life. Following a hearing this week, a judge will decide whether the . county should get custody of Rico and supervise his medical treatments, . or whether they will trust the parents to administer them correctly. Battle: John Martinez and Lindsey Nagel are fighting the courts to oversee HIV treatment for their son . Adored: Martinez and Nagel greet their four-month-old son after being in court all day on Monday . The family said that they will continue to administer the drugs because they do not want to harm Rico and want to keep custody of him, but that they are searching for second opinions. 'Right now, we're following the plan,' Rico's grandmother Cheryl Nagel told the Minnesota Star-Tribune after the hearing. 'But we're legally going to try to . get him off the medications if we can. Because we know they'll kill him . eventually.' Rico's father John added to KTSP: 'We know we're not . doctors. We wouldn't just stop giving him the drugs, we're not willing . to risk that. But we were in search of someone who would say okay Rico . doesn't need to be on these drugs.' Cheryl Nagel said that if she allows Mower County officials to win custody of Rico, she worries he might suffer as her daughter did as a girl. History: Lindsey also has HIV; she had the illness when she was adopted from Romania as a child, right . Determined: But Lindsey was taken off medication when she became sick and wants the same for her son . 'My goal is to have a healthy, thriving grandson,' she testified, reported. 'We're complying now because I’d like to keep my grandson here. It . makes [my daughter] very happy to have him home, and she wants to raise . him herself.' Lindsey, who is now 22, underwent two years of . treatments when she was young but her parents decided to stop them . because she became so ill and weak that they worried she might die. Her parents added that she has been . healthy since stopping the medications. KTSP reported that, despite this, . her condition has transitioned from HIV to AIDS. Rico tested positive for HIV after he . was born on December 19; his parents said they knew this would be the . case but maintained Lindsey has lived a healthy life despite her . condition. Support: Lindsey's parents, Steve and Cheryl, also want Rico to stop receiving the treatment . Deja vu: The couple was also in the news in 1994 when they wanted to stop Lindsey's treatment . The baby was put on medication two . weeks after he was born, even though his parents had initially refused . the treatment, the Minnesota Star-Tribune reported. Loved: The parents have agreed to administer the drugs until the court's decision . But in mid-January, his parents missed a doctor's appointment about his care. They say they were driving towards Seattle to get a second opinion, but later learned that doctor was not a pediatrician. Child protection officials claimed Rico was being 'medically neglected' by his family and removed him. He was kept at hospital under county supervision for seven weeks, where he was given the drugs. But on March 8 he was returned to his parents until the outcome of the hearing. At the hearing, a social worker . testified at the hearing that the couple has not missed a single . treatment, and that she even suggested reducing the number of visits by . the county. But the couple . declined as they did not want to take the chance that officials thought . they had missed an appointment, the social worker testified. Lindsay Brekke, a Mower County Health . and Human Services supervisor, said she had concerns about the treatment . due to the Nagels' statements about how Lindsey's health had . deteriorated. But Aaron Jones, an assistant county . attorney, argued at the hearing on Monday that the county should retain . custody of the boy to ensure he receives the treatments. Fears: Doctors worry that Rico will develop AIDS, as Lindsey has, if he does not continue the treatment . He argued that Lindsey had initially failed to divulge her HIV status and had refused to take treatments that could have reduced the likelihood of Rico becoming infected. Dr. W. Charles Huskins, a Mayo Clinic expert in pediatric infectious disease, added that if Rico needs to continue the medication, so 'he will grow and thrive and develop.' If he does not continue the medication, doctors say he could develop AIDS. The hearing continues on Tuesday.
Lindsey Nagel, 22, does not want her son Rico to receive the drugs as she became sickly when she took similar treatments as a child .
Her parents stopped giving her the drugs, fearing she would die .
This week a judge will decided whether the county should get custody of Rico or whether family can be trusted to administer treatments .
Family said they will wait for medical opinions before stopping the drugs .
By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 10:12 EST, 2 April 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 12:29 EST, 2 April 2013 . The family of a four-month-old boy who tested positive for HIV after he was born are battling county officials in a bid to keep him off the medications treating his condition. John Martinez and Lindsey Nagel, as well as Nagel's parents Cheryl and Steve Nagel, believe that the drugs could actually stop their baby, Rico Nagel Martinez, from living a healthy life. Lindsey, from Brownsdale, Minnesota, had HIV when she was adopted by the Nagels from Romania as a child, and the couple believes that taking her off the medication saved her life. Following a hearing this week, a judge will decide whether the . county should get custody of Rico and supervise his medical treatments, . or whether they will trust the parents to administer them correctly. Battle: John Martinez and Lindsey Nagel are fighting the courts to oversee HIV treatment for their son . Adored: Martinez and Nagel greet their four-month-old son after being in court all day on Monday . The family said that they will continue to administer the drugs because they do not want to harm Rico and want to keep custody of him, but that they are searching for second opinions. 'Right now, we're following the plan,' Rico's grandmother Cheryl Nagel told the Minnesota Star-Tribune after the hearing. 'But we're legally going to try to . get him off the medications if we can. Because we know they'll kill him . eventually.' Rico's father John added to KTSP: 'We know we're not . doctors. We wouldn't just stop giving him the drugs, we're not willing . to risk that. But we were in search of someone who would say okay Rico . doesn't need to be on these drugs.' Cheryl Nagel said that if she allows Mower County officials to win custody of Rico, she worries he might suffer as her daughter did as a girl. History: Lindsey also has HIV; she had the illness when she was adopted from Romania as a child, right . Determined: But Lindsey was taken off medication when she became sick and wants the same for her son . 'My goal is to have a healthy, thriving grandson,' she testified, reported. 'We're complying now because I’d like to keep my grandson here. It . makes [my daughter] very happy to have him home, and she wants to raise . him herself.' Lindsey, who is now 22, underwent two years of . treatments when she was young but her parents decided to stop them . because she became so ill and weak that they worried she might die. Her parents added that she has been . healthy since stopping the medications. KTSP reported that, despite this, . her condition has transitioned from HIV to AIDS. Rico tested positive for HIV after he . was born on December 19; his parents said they knew this would be the . case but maintained Lindsey has lived a healthy life despite her . condition. Support: Lindsey's parents, Steve and Cheryl, also want Rico to stop receiving the treatment . Deja vu: The couple was also in the news in 1994 when they wanted to stop Lindsey's treatment . The baby was put on medication two . weeks after he was born, even though his parents had initially refused . the treatment, the Minnesota Star-Tribune reported. Loved: The parents have agreed to administer the drugs until the court's decision . But in mid-January, his parents missed a doctor's appointment about his care. They say they were driving towards Seattle to get a second opinion, but later learned that doctor was not a pediatrician. Child protection officials claimed Rico was being 'medically neglected' by his family and removed him. He was kept at hospital under county supervision for seven weeks, where he was given the drugs. But on March 8 he was returned to his parents until the outcome of the hearing. At the hearing, a social worker . testified at the hearing that the couple has not missed a single . treatment, and that she even suggested reducing the number of visits by . the county. But the couple . declined as they did not want to take the chance that officials thought . they had missed an appointment, the social worker testified. Lindsay Brekke, a Mower County Health . and Human Services supervisor, said she had concerns about the treatment . due to the Nagels' statements about how Lindsey's health had . deteriorated. But Aaron Jones, an assistant county . attorney, argued at the hearing on Monday that the county should retain . custody of the boy to ensure he receives the treatments. Fears: Doctors worry that Rico will develop AIDS, as Lindsey has, if he does not continue the treatment . He argued that Lindsey had initially failed to divulge her HIV status and had refused to take treatments that could have reduced the likelihood of Rico becoming infected. Dr. W. Charles Huskins, a Mayo Clinic expert in pediatric infectious disease, added that if Rico needs to continue the medication, so 'he will grow and thrive and develop.' If he does not continue the medication, doctors say he could develop AIDS. The hearing continues on Tuesday.
this week, a judge will decide whether the . county should get custody of Rico and supervise his medical treatments, . or whether they will continue to administer the drugs because they do not want to harm Rico and want to keep custody of from Romania as a child, right . Determined: But Lindsey was taken off medication when she became sick and wants the same for her son . 'My goal is they worried she might die. Her parents added