Amish parents will be forced to give their daughter chemotherapy, court rules after hospital makes legal challenge to block their herbal remedy approach Sarah Hershberger, 10, has leukemia and doctors say she will die unless she receives chemotherapy Her Amish parents initially allowed her to receive chemotherapy- and her visible tumors disappeared- but they stopped the treatment because she said she was in too much pain If she has the procedure, her chance of survival is 85% and if she doesn't, doctors say she will die within one year Hoping to help: The hospital's attorney Maria Schimer, who is also a registered nurse, would be granted the right to make Sarah Hershberger's medical decisions if the appeal is granted An appeals court in Ohio has sided with a hospital that's seeking to force a 10-year-old Amish girl to resume chemotherapy after her parents decided to stop the treatments. The decision issued Tuesday sends the case back to a county judge and says he must give more consideration to the request by Akron Children's Hospital. The judge had ruled in July that parents Andy and Anna Hershberger had the right to make medical decisions for their daughter Sarah, who has leukemia. The hospital wants registered nurse Maria Schimer, who is also an attorney, to take over limited guardianship and make medical decisions for the girl. The hospital says the girl will die without chemotherapy. The girl's parents say that the chemotherapy's effects were terrible and that they're now using 'natural' medicines, such as herbs and vitamins, and consulting with another doctor. Sarah's parents brought her to Akron Children's Hospital in Ohio to treat the tumors on her kidney, neck and chest - a number of which were visible to the naked eye. Her parents initially said that she could be treated with the necessary chemotherapy and she underwent some rounds of the procedure but not enough to completely eradicate the cancer. But they soon changed their minds, saying that they want to use natural medicine like vitamins and herbs to solve the problem. Akron Children's Hospital has already petitioned once to be granted guardianship of the girl but that initial request was rejected, and now they are re-applying to a different judge The Medina Gazette reported early in August that the hospital already applied to take over legal guardianship of Sarah but were rejected by one Ohio judge who has since retired. 'The court cannot deprive these parents of their right to make medical decisions for their daughter because there is not a scintilla of evidence showing the parents are unfit,' Judge John Lohn wrote in his decision before retiring earlier this month. He added that the girl's parents were 'caring, attentive, protective and concerned'. It is unclear how long Sarah underwent chemotherapy, but apparently long enough for the visible tumors on her neck and chest to disappear, as court records say that they went away but she did not go into remission. Sarah begged her parents to stop the treatments. Anna said she and Andy could not stand to watch what was happening to their daughter,' Judge Lohn wrote. Traditions: Sarah Hershberger (who is not pictured) and her family are Amish, and their beliefs force them to shun technology and in turn, some forms of modern medicine Sarah apparently complained about feeling sick and she didn't want to become infertile. Nausea, organ damage and infertility are all common side effects of chemotherapy, but in this case, doctors say that 'the question of Sarah's treatment is life and death'. Mrs Hershberger 'prayed for wisdom to discern God's plan for Sarah' and believed that the therapy was killing her. Nurse and attorney Maria Schimer is appealing the decision and hopes to be granted limited guardianship so that she is in charge of making medical decisions for Sarah. 'The plan presented by Sarah's parents is almost certain to lead to Sarah's death,' she wrote in a letter to the court. 'Every day that goes by without treatment, Sarah's chance of surviving her cancer is diminished.' With chemotherapy, her chances of survival increase to 85 per cent.