The newspaper had far more to say about this than this shortened version. For instance, the little boy begged his parents to go to the doctor. Shortly before he died, he was at a family graduation party and the aunt said he was not moving and cried and complained about pain in his stomach and legs. The aunt tried to help the boy but the parents refused; she finally called the Children's Services. In the meantime, the parents even gave the kid laxatives when his digestive system broke down.
He suffered in an agonizing way for a year before he died. Although he died a year ago, I think this is worth posting since the parents have been indicted.
I read where the parents are still in denial ....
I was going to show support for the family on this until I read the story...lol. They need to end up in jail...a dog over their own kid???? What is wrong with them?????
Yeah, it is very sad. But, when medicine becomes socialized and a kid isn’t treated because a government bureaucrats’ committee has decided it isn’t cost-effective, you’ll have the same situation but no headlines. There won’t be any individual to pin the blame on.
The "loving" parents could make $$$ off the pit bull.
The little boy cost them $$$.
An easy decision for monsters.
Parents indicted in death of boy with cancer
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2205078/posts
JETT Travolta ?
In April, a Juvenile Court judge found Robinson and Hussing guilty of medical and educational neglect. But he allowed the other children to remain in the home while the Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services monitored them.
The parents underwent grief counseling, received drug treatment for marijuana abuse, and took parenting classes, court records show. Neither has a job. They have remained drug-free, however, and are complying with the court’s orders.
People, get real.
$87 for a flea dip vs $100’s of thousands and perhaps millions for this child..as if the two were comparable and/or it was either one or the other. Gimme a break. They may have saved the lad years of tortuous treatment at the hands of an establishment that gets paid to “drag it out” as long as they can...or at least bill as much as they can.
I went to the Hospital over 2 years ago for gall bladder infection. In and out in 3 hours. Doctors that I never saw are still billing, today, for treatments that I certainly dont recall receiving. Total bill for 3 hrs? over $12K.
I can never understand how a human being could do this to an innocent.
Wihtout knowing every detail of the story here are my thoughts.
1. There’s a big difference in the cost of treating cancer and paying for a flea treatment.
2. If they couldn’t afford insurance for their boy, who should pay for his medical treatment? Are we advocating socialized medicine in this case because of the age of the cancer victim as opposed to if it had been his father who wasn’t treated?
3. I’m sure there is financial help/donations/free or low cost clinics for a family facing this kind of thing. Did they try to find it?
I don’t believe they chose the dog over their own son, they chose THEMSELVES over the boy. Ever had a flea infestation? The bite EVERYONE, not just the dog. If nothing else, take the kids to a Shriner’s Hospital. They NEVER turn ANY child away for ANY reason. And 100% of the money they collect goes to the hospital. I always give at least $20 to them.
I don’t see the relevance of the pit bull. Cancer treatment is a bit more than $87, so the analogy falls flat. You don’t need weak analogies to point out obvious idiots.
I work in LE and 95 percent of the time if a criminal has a dog it’s a pit bull.
This is COMPLETELY outrageous!!!
That is missing the point: the dog was important enough to seek treatment for; the child wasn't.
It isn't a money dichotomy; it is a priorities issue.
Sorry, the pit bull bill was $87.
When I went through chemotherapy, my bill total came up $1 short of $1 million.
They might not have been able to afford it and were too stupid to ask for help, or just in sheer denial.
When I was sick, I spent six weeks in bed unable to move. My parents didn’t know what was wrong with me, so they took me to an urgent care center where the “doctor” proclaimed that I had a hernia and needed bedrest.
They went on vacation, and my grandparents came to stay for a week. My parents told them no matter what I said, I just needed bedrest and not to go to the doctor.
My sister showed up one day and saw me. She dragged me out of bed, down the hallway and with my grandmother screaming at her, out to the car and finally, my grandmother said if I was going to the doctor, she was going with me.
We got to the only doctor I knew. An orthopedic specialist. He took a look at me, saw the lump on my shoulder up to my earlobe (the one the “doctor” said was a “Nice lump” then told me to turn my head and cough), and told me he was sending me to an ENT. I told him I’d make an appointment, and he then told me he was making it, and I was to go straight there. There would be no waiting. I then was taken to the ENT who told me he wanted to take me to the hospital. Right then. My parents were interrupted from their vacation, and walked in and my father started yelling at my sister. My mom started yelling at me to get out of the hospital bed, and we were leaving. The doctor walked in, and pulled them out in the hallway for about 3 minutes.
They came walking back in, thanked my sister profusely, and told me that we were going to work together to beat this.
Denial comes in all stages.
14 months of chemo, and 39 trips to the hospital, and I can tell you, there were some who denied repeatedly, even when the children passed that they were even sick.
The “pit bull” piece of the story is to invoke outrage. These parents didn’t have a clue. And frankly, they probably haven’t accepted that their son is dead yet. And when they do, the self-loathing that will come will be much worse than ANY condemnation you can give them. The police are piling on.
The son should have been taken by child protective services to the hospital and they should have been faced with the reality of what they were doing. But, since that didn’t happen, then they shouldn’t be made to suffer man-made pain since the pain and grief they’ve already brought to themselves is probably going to kill both of them.
Cancer care is expensive. I could pay for my dog to get some pet grooming but my mother stayed at Memorial Sloan Cancer Center for nine days, including one in ICU. The bill for the blood transfusion alone was a thousand dollars :(