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Girl’s parents’ choice of prayer of medicine proves fatal for girl

This story has been all over the news for the past two days. A young girl, 11 years old, has died because her parents chose to pray rather than take her to the hospital. She ultimately died of ketoacidosis (diabetes), and her death would have easily been prevented by a treatment of insulin and basic medical care. The girl’s family “believe in the Bible and that healing comes from God, but that they do not belong to an organized religion or faith, are not fanatics and have nothing against doctors.”

The controversy comes from their choices once they noticed something was wrong:

“We just noticed a tiredness within the past two weeks,” she said Wednesday. “And then just the day before and that day (she died), it suddenly just went to a more serious situation. We stayed fast in prayer then. We believed that she would recover. We saw signs that to us, it looked like she was recovering.”

The question, then, is whether or not it is bad parenting to deny / avoid medical care when something is clearly not right.

(More discussion after the jump)

Read the rest of this entry »

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 29th, 2008 at 6:20 am and is filed under National News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Book Review: The Haggis-on-Whey World of Unbelievable Brilliance (vols. 1-3)

The Haggis-On-Whey World of Unbelievable Brilliance volumes 1-3 are sheer, glorious nonsense. Done in the style of retro textbooks that echo the art of the trustworthy school books such as the How and Why series of the fifties and sixties, but without a leg of fact to stand on.

Read the rest of this entry »

This entry was posted on Friday, March 21st, 2008 at 9:04 am and is filed under Book Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Book Review: The Tree of Life

Peter Sis, the same author/illustrator who inspired us with the history of Galileo in Starry Messenger has done it again. This time he has made the life of Darwin come alive in the pages of The Tree of Life. Sis continues with his cherished theme of nonconformity for kids (and grown-ups too!).

Read the rest of this entry »

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 18th, 2008 at 9:01 am and is filed under Book Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Book Review: The Starry Messenger

Peter Sis’ superbly illustrated Starry Messenger takes its title from the published observations of the famous Galileo Galilei. Sis relates the story of Galileo’s life in sixteenth century Italy in child friendly faery tale prose. Italic factoids dance around the pages noting important accomplishments or milestones in Galileo’s life.

Read the rest of this entry »

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 15th, 2008 at 8:59 am and is filed under Book Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Book Review: [*] A Short History of Nearly Everything

Bryson is neither Scientist nor Historian, which gives him a perspective on both topics to which most of us can relate. In this book, he takes us on a journey starting at the inception of the universe (the inaccurately named “big bang”), and on through to the 20th and 21st centuries. He covers many of the natural sciences, such as Geology, Astronomy, Biology, and Chemistry, but does so in a way that makes sense to someone who is an expert in none of them, peppering it with candid humor.

Read the rest of this entry »

This entry was posted on Monday, March 10th, 2008 at 8:43 am and is filed under Book Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Book Review: Survival of the Sickest

Disease is commonly thought to be a strictly bad phenomenon. Even the word itself has an “icky” sound to it. In this book, Moalem presents an alternate view: that today’s diseases were yesterday’s cures. Covering a variety of ailments that range from internally rusting to death (hemochromatosis) to diabetes to parasitic infections, the author synthesizes the work of researchers and scientists throughout history to support his thesis: surviving long enough to reproduce is key to the longevity of our species, even if our individual longevity suffers.

Read the rest of this entry »

This entry was posted on Monday, March 10th, 2008 at 8:00 am and is filed under Book Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Book Review: Parenting Beyond Belief

Is it good to tell your kids the Santa myth? The Easter Bunny myth? How about religious mythology? In Parenting Beyond Belief, McGowan presents a collection essays from many different sources (including Dan Barker, Julia Sweeney, Penn Jillette, Richard Dawkins, Margaret Downey, McGowan himself, and many others) discussing the virtues and the importance of encouraging freethinking children. The book itself does not give definitive answers, but rather illustrates the experiences of many other secular and freethinking families, so that the reader may decide what is best for their own family.

Read the rest of this entry »

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 9th, 2008 at 8:56 am and is filed under Book Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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            [post_content] => This story has been all over the news for the past two days. A young girl, 11 years old, has died because her parents chose to pray rather than take her to the hospital. She ultimately died of ketoacidosis (diabetes), and her death would have easily been prevented by a treatment of insulin and basic medical care. The girl's family "believe in the Bible and that healing comes from God, but that they do not belong to an organized religion or faith, are not fanatics and have nothing against doctors."

The controversy comes from their choices once they noticed something was wrong:
"We just noticed a tiredness within the past two weeks," she said Wednesday. "And then just the day before and that day (she died), it suddenly just went to a more serious situation. We stayed fast in prayer then. We believed that she would recover. We saw signs that to us, it looked like she was recovering."
The question, then, is whether or not it is bad parenting to deny / avoid medical care when something is clearly not right.

(More discussion after the jump)

The role that religion plays in this issue is easily substituted by any number of things: Homeopathy, quackery, pseudoscience, general negligence, cult beliefs, etc. It's not that religion deserves to be singled out in this case, it was just its turn in the spotlight.

As a relatively new parent, I feel I have some additional perspectives on this issue: After my initial disbelief about the story, I found myself thinking "Well, no one in the family was a Doctor, so how would they know something  was that wrong? Would I know to take my son to the hospital if I was faced with the same circumstances?"

It's very easy to judge the family and say "oh, they're religious nut-jobs ignorant of modern medicine" which may or may not a be true (albeit harsh) assessment. In retrospect, of course they should have taken her into the hospital, right? Hindsight is 20/20. Perhaps it just snuck up on them; They did say in the police report that she had only been severely ill for a couple days, when they began praying in earnest; and the young girl had apparently only had "some tiredness" for a week or two before she finally died. The Doctors say that someone in her condition should have had a full month of nausea, vomiting, excessive thirst, loss of appetite, weakness, and other unpleasantness. The family says none of that happened, and I'd like to think that they're being truthful about that. So no obvious foul play there.

But reading further:

The mother's sister (in California) called the authorities and said: "My sister-in-law, she's very religious, she believes in faith instead of doctors ...,  and she called my mother-in-law today ... and she explained to us that she believes her daughter's in a coma now and she's relying on faith." When questioned about whether or not they should send an ambulance, the Aunt replied "Please, I mean, she's refusing. She's going to fight it. ... We've been trying to get her to take her to the hospital for a week, a few days now."

The ambulances arrived on the scene within minutes and carted Madeline off to the hospital. Within an hour she was declared dead; it had been too late.

Reading on another AP article, we see the Everest Metro Police Chief Dan Vergin's conclusion was that "[t]here is no intent. They didn't want their child to die. They thought what they were doing was the right thing, They believed up to the time she stopped breathing she was going to get better. They just thought it was a spiritual attack. They believed if they prayed enough she would get through it."

According to ABC News, the Neumann family is loosely affiliated with the Unleavened Bread Ministries group, " a little-known church that shuns modern medicine in favor of prayer." When asked what they did when Madeline's condition worsened, the mother said "We stayed fast in prayer. We believed that she would recover. We saw signs that - to us - it looked like she was recovering."

So is it neglect? Abuse? Did their religious beliefs indirectly cause the child to die?

The parents knowingly avoided medical treatment, even when the girl lapsed into a coma. It is pretty clear that nothing short of a severed limb or broken bone was going to get them to go to a Doctor. If it hadn't been for the girl's aunt, she likely would have died in her own house.

Not being Doctors, would they have known how serious it was? I think it's pretty reasonable that they didn't go to the hospital right away. If I were in those parents' shoes, I can't say that I would immediately run to the hospital or even a Doctor's office after the first weak of tiredness. But you can be sure that the moment the condition worsened, a Doctor's checkup would be scheduled ASAP, and the moment she slipped into a coma, we would be en route to a hospital.

What do you think about it?

*UPDATE*

	
Recently, on MSNBC, a similar story has happened involving an infection in a 15-month old girl.
	
The parents have been charged with reckless homicide (2nd degree)

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                    [post_content] => This story has been all over the news for the past two days. A young girl, 11 years old, has died because her parents chose to pray rather than take her to the hospital. She ultimately died of ketoacidosis (diabetes), and her death would have easily been prevented by a treatment of insulin and basic medical care. The girl's family "believe in the Bible and that healing comes from God, but that they do not belong to an organized religion or faith, are not fanatics and have nothing against doctors."

The controversy comes from their choices once they noticed something was wrong:
"We just noticed a tiredness within the past two weeks," she said Wednesday. "And then just the day before and that day (she died), it suddenly just went to a more serious situation. We stayed fast in prayer then. We believed that she would recover. We saw signs that to us, it looked like she was recovering."
The question, then, is whether or not it is bad parenting to deny / avoid medical care when something is clearly not right.

(More discussion after the jump)

The role that religion plays in this issue is easily substituted by any number of things: Homeopathy, quackery, pseudoscience, general negligence, cult beliefs, etc. It's not that religion deserves to be singled out in this case, it was just its turn in the spotlight.

As a relatively new parent, I feel I have some additional perspectives on this issue: After my initial disbelief about the story, I found myself thinking "Well, no one in the family was a Doctor, so how would they know something  was that wrong? Would I know to take my son to the hospital if I was faced with the same circumstances?"

It's very easy to judge the family and say "oh, they're religious nut-jobs ignorant of modern medicine" which may or may not a be true (albeit harsh) assessment. In retrospect, of course they should have taken her into the hospital, right? Hindsight is 20/20. Perhaps it just snuck up on them; They did say in the police report that she had only been severely ill for a couple days, when they began praying in earnest; and the young girl had apparently only had "some tiredness" for a week or two before she finally died. The Doctors say that someone in her condition should have had a full month of nausea, vomiting, excessive thirst, loss of appetite, weakness, and other unpleasantness. The family says none of that happened, and I'd like to think that they're being truthful about that. So no obvious foul play there.

But reading further:

The mother's sister (in California) called the authorities and said: "My sister-in-law, she's very religious, she believes in faith instead of doctors ...,  and she called my mother-in-law today ... and she explained to us that she believes her daughter's in a coma now and she's relying on faith." When questioned about whether or not they should send an ambulance, the Aunt replied "Please, I mean, she's refusing. She's going to fight it. ... We've been trying to get her to take her to the hospital for a week, a few days now."

The ambulances arrived on the scene within minutes and carted Madeline off to the hospital. Within an hour she was declared dead; it had been too late.

Reading on another AP article, we see the Everest Metro Police Chief Dan Vergin's conclusion was that "[t]here is no intent. They didn't want their child to die. They thought what they were doing was the right thing, They believed up to the time she stopped breathing she was going to get better. They just thought it was a spiritual attack. They believed if they prayed enough she would get through it."

According to ABC News, the Neumann family is loosely affiliated with the Unleavened Bread Ministries group, " a little-known church that shuns modern medicine in favor of prayer." When asked what they did when Madeline's condition worsened, the mother said "We stayed fast in prayer. We believed that she would recover. We saw signs that - to us - it looked like she was recovering."

So is it neglect? Abuse? Did their religious beliefs indirectly cause the child to die?

The parents knowingly avoided medical treatment, even when the girl lapsed into a coma. It is pretty clear that nothing short of a severed limb or broken bone was going to get them to go to a Doctor. If it hadn't been for the girl's aunt, she likely would have died in her own house.

Not being Doctors, would they have known how serious it was? I think it's pretty reasonable that they didn't go to the hospital right away. If I were in those parents' shoes, I can't say that I would immediately run to the hospital or even a Doctor's office after the first weak of tiredness. But you can be sure that the moment the condition worsened, a Doctor's checkup would be scheduled ASAP, and the moment she slipped into a coma, we would be en route to a hospital.

What do you think about it?

*UPDATE*

	
Recently, on MSNBC, a similar story has happened involving an infection in a 15-month old girl.
	
The parents have been charged with reckless homicide (2nd degree)

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                    [post_content] => 

The Haggis-On-Whey World of Unbelievable Brilliance volumes 1-3 are sheer, glorious nonsense. Done in the style of retro textbooks that echo the art of the trustworthy school books such as the How and Why series of the fifties and sixties, but without a leg of fact to stand on.I get the feeling that perhaps without trying, Dr. Doris and Benny (the eccentric couple/authors of this set) offer a valuable lesson in healthy skepticism for the younger set. Each page chock full of cheeky lies of all sorts and kinds that may dupe the young and gullible for a split second, till they can scratch their heads and go on to revel in the silliness. Did you know giraffes came to earth on a conveyor belt? Did you know the Meatus is the best part of your disgusting head? Are you being eaten? The Squid installment offers a helpful questionnaire to help you determine whether or not you are, in fact, being eaten. It’s right next to the page on Squid History.

These books are in excellent style. They impart the wisdom of skepticism in a light hearted way. Teach your children not to believe everything they see or read, even if it looks slightly historical. I would recommend these books to anyone, even my grandmother. However, they are astonishingly popular among twelve year-old boys.

Authors: Dr. Doris Haggis-on-Whey and Benny Haggis-on-Whey

(This three volume set includes  Giraffes? Giraffes!, Your Disgusting Head, and Animals of the Ocean, in Particular the Giant Squid. --Ed.)
                    [post_title] => Book Review: The Haggis-on-Whey World of Unbelievable Brilliance (vols. 1-3)
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                    [post_content] => Peter Sis, the same author/illustrator who inspired us with the history of Galileo in Starry Messenger has done it again. This time he has made the life of Darwin come alive in the pages of The Tree of Life. Sis continues with his cherished theme of nonconformity for kids (and grown-ups too!).

Darwin’s life, an incredible adventure, is presented in this volume almost as a discovery awaiting your very eyes. The pages are densely packed with Charles’ life story with side story and mini story and oh so many sketches jumbled together probably in much the way the most famous naturalist in history took his observations down in a notebook so long ago. As with Starry Messenger, the illustrations are mysterious and eye gobbling good. This book is also a Caldecott winner.

I have purchased both of Peter Sis’ books for my family. This book is bit more complicated than the simple story of Starry Messenger. It is good to flip through more than once so you don’t miss any of the fun mini stories in italics!

Author: Peter Sis
                    [post_title] => Book Review: The Tree of Life
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                    [post_content] => Peter Sis’ superbly illustrated Starry Messenger takes its title from the published observations of the famous Galileo Galilei. Sis relates the story of Galileo’s life in sixteenth century Italy in child friendly faery tale prose. Italic factoids dance around the pages noting important accomplishments or milestones in Galileo’s life. Also noted are several brilliant quotes direct from the hero of the book himself i.e.
“I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with senses, reason, and intellect has intended to forgo their use… He would not require us to deny sense and reason on physical matters which are set before our eyes and minds by direct experience or necessary demonstrations.”
All through out Galileo’s brave devotion to observation, reason and truth in spite of great persecution is championed.

I sincerely enjoy this book. The illustrations are worth mentioning again, as the book is a Caldecott Honour award winner. They are drawn in a fitting Renaissance-scientific style with old world lunar diagrams, maps, and mythic illustrations. The book is recommendable to both elementary school age children and anyone beyond.

Author: Peter Sis
                    [post_title] => Book Review: The Starry Messenger
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                    [post_content] => Bryson is neither Scientist nor Historian, which gives him a perspective on both topics to which most of us can relate. In this book, he takes us on a journey starting at the inception of the universe (the inaccurately named “big bang”), and on through to the 20th and 21st centuries. He covers many of the natural sciences, such as Geology, Astronomy, Biology, and Chemistry, but does so in a way that makes sense to someone who is an expert in none of them, peppering it with candid humor.

If you’ve ever wondered how much (or more accurately: how little) we know about life, Earth, and the universe at large, and how that’s changed over time, this book is a perfect fit. Bryson pulls no punches, and is very clear that there are quite a number of areas in science where we still have a lot to learn, but contrasts this criticism by pointing out the amazing discoveries we have already made.

At times, Bryson drags on a little bit with the politics and drama between Scientists, and I wished the coverage was a little bit more in depth in certain areas; Then again, the brevity and broad basis is one reason the book is so readable.

Rating: 4/5
                    [post_title] => Book Review: [*] A Short History of Nearly Everything
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                    [post_date] => 2008-03-10 08:00:25
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                    [post_content] => Disease is commonly thought to be a strictly bad phenomenon. Even the word itself has an “icky” sound to it. In this book, Moalem presents an alternate view: that today’s diseases were yesterday’s cures. Covering a variety of ailments that range from internally rusting to death (hemochromatosis) to diabetes to parasitic infections, the author synthesizes the work of researchers and scientists throughout history to support his thesis: surviving long enough to reproduce is key to the longevity of our species, even if our individual longevity suffers. This book presents some terrific examples of evolution via natural selection at work, but is written candidly so that those of us with merely a passing interest in natural science can read it without difficulty.

Rating: 4.5  of 5
Author: Sharon Moalem
                    [post_title] => Book Review: Survival of the Sickest
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                    [post_date] => 2008-03-09 08:56:20
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                    [post_content] => Is it good to tell your kids the Santa myth? The Easter Bunny myth? How about religious mythology? In Parenting Beyond Belief, McGowan presents a collection essays from many different sources (including Dan Barker, Julia Sweeney, Penn Jillette, Richard Dawkins, Margaret Downey, McGowan himself, and many others) discussing the virtues and the importance of encouraging freethinking children. The book itself does not give definitive answers, but rather illustrates the experiences of many other secular and freethinking families, so that the reader may decide what is best for their own family.

This book is absolutely wonderful. It’s well-assembled and the essays are well-written. My own family and I have been trying to decide on which holidays to celebrate and how to celebrate them, and Parenting Beyond Belief provided some great ideas and insight. I highly recommend this book for all parents.

Rating: 5/5
Author: Dale McGowan (and others)



                    [post_title] => Book Review: Parenting Beyond Belief
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