Posted on 03/26/2008 12:05:07 PM PDT by FewsOrange
An 11-year-old girl died after her parents prayed for healing rather than seek medical help for a treatable form of diabetes, police said Tuesday. Everest Metro Police Chief Dan Vergin said Madeline Neumann died Sunday. "She got sicker and sicker until she was dead," he said. Vergin said an autopsy determined the girl died from diabetic ketoacidosis, an ailment that left her with too little insulin in her body, and she had probably been ill for about 30 days, suffering symptoms like nausea, vomiting, excessive thirst, loss of appetite and weakness.
The girl's parents, Dale and Leilani Neumann, attributed the death to "apparently they didn't have enough faith," the police chief said. They believed the key to healing "was it was better to keep praying. Call more people to help pray," he said.
The mother believes the girl could still be resurrected, the police chief said. Telephone messages left at the Neumann home by The Associated Press were not immediately returned. The family does not attend an organized church or participate in an organized religion, Vergin said. "They have a little Bible study of a few people."
The parents told investigators their daughter last saw a doctor when she was 3 to get some shots, Vergin said. The girl had attended public school during the first semester but didn't return for the second semester. Officers went to the home after one of the girl's relatives in California called police to check on her, Vergin said. She was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead. The relative was fearful the girl was "extremely ill, dire," Vergin said. The girl has three siblings, ranging in age from 13 to 16, the police chief said. "They are still in the home," he said. "There is no reason to remove them. ....
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
And to us, with our son. DKA is a VERY frightening thing.... Nothing worse than hearing that Kussmaul breathing.
Should the state have taken the child from the parents for medical care? I think not.
These parents are idiots, but what punishment can be justified?
Exactly.
St. Paul, in the Bible, counsels the use of means other than “faith” for dealing with ailments...
“No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.”
-1 Timothy 5:23
Sad.
Should the state have taken the child from the parents for medical care? I think not.
The state—or even concerned friends and neighbors—ought to stand in loco parentis if the parents are non compos mentis (which these parents appear to be). If not, who will save the child?
And the idea that the remaining children in the home are not in danger is ludicrous.
I had a 2nd cousin years ago...at age 19...married some guy who was like these parents. The cousin had a very similar condition as this young girl in the story. The husband, his family and the local church all got involved. They spent six months convincing the cousin to lay off the meds (this was around 1980). So the day came when my cousin quit the meds to make the husband happy. After ten days...she had issues. By the 20th day...she was having major issues. Someone in her family happened to come along...noted the health situation...and physically took her to the emergency room. The husband and his family were furious at the interference and violating “God’s will”. My cousin’s dad got involved and kinda laid out the situation...threatening action by the local county sheriff. The marriage ended a month or two later. This was in Alabama.
My guess...across the US on any given month...at least three hundred people die from this “God’s will” bunch. In most caes...its not obvious and no one says much about it.
“They were on the right path.”
????
HUH???
Pride you took
Pride you feel
Pride that you felt when youd kneel
Not the word
Not the love
Not what you thought from above
It feeds
It grows
It clouds all that you will know
Deceit
Deceive
Decide just what you believe
I see faith in your eyes
Never you hear the discouraging lies
I hear faith in your cries
Broken is the promise, betrayal
The healing hand held back by the deepened nail
Follow the God that failed
Find your peace
Find your say
Find the smooth road in your way
Trust you gave
A child to save
Left you cold and him in grave
It feeds
It grows
It clouds all that you will know
Deceit
Deceive
Decide just what you believe
I see faith in your eyes
Never you hear the discouraging lies
I hear faith in your cries
Broken is the promise, betrayal
The healing hand held back by the deepened nail
Follow the God that failed
I see faith in your eyes
Broken is the promise, betrayal
The healing hand held back by the deepened nail
Follow the God that failed
Pride you took
Pride you feel
Pride that you felt when youd kneel
Trust you gave
A child to save
Left you cold and him in grave
I see faith in your eyes
Never you hear the discouraging lies
I hear faith in your cries
Broken is the promise, betrayal
The healing hand held back by deepened nail
Follow the God that failed
It’s sickening and sad quite honestly.
We have Free Will. We are taught to Help Ourselves.
Do whatever it takes to help those who are sick. It’s no different than trying to save someone who is about to be shot in the head.
You could do nothing and just claim “it’s God’s Will”.
The man explains, "I believe in God. I am sure he will protect me from danger."
The policeman shrugs his shoulders and leaves.
As the man is watching the rising water getting closer and closer to his house, there is a second knock, this time a State Trooper. The trooper says, "We are evacuating the area as the flood is getting serious and you are in jeopardy." Again the man explains, "I believe in God. I am sure he will protect me from danger. I am staying."
Well, the water continues to rise, until the man is forced to stay on the second floor. He hears some yelling and looks up to see two firemen in a rowboat right outside his second floor window.
One of the firemen calls, "Get in the boat, the rains are not letting up! It's getting serious."
"I believe in God. He will protect me from danger. I'll stay."
The firemen, fearing for their own safety, row on.
As the flood rises, the man is forced to climb out onto his roof, just as a helicopter is flying over. The helicopter drops a rope ladder and a voice calls down, "We're coming to get you!"
"No, no.... God will protect me. You go on."
Well, needless to say, the water continues to rise and the man drowns. When he gets to Heaven, he is really upset. "I must see God," says the man. "Please take me to God." He is granted an audience with God.
"Lord," says the man, "after a lifetime of devotion to you, why would you forsake me in my moment of need?"
God says, "I sent two cops, a rowboat full of firemen, and a helicopter...."
A farmer is in Iowa during a flood. The river is overflowing, with water surrounding the farmer's home up to his front porch. As he is standing there, a boat comes up, The man in the boat says "Jump in, I'll take you to safety."
The farmer crosses his arms and says stubbornly, "Nope, I put my trust in God."
The boat goes away. The water rises to the second floor. Another boat comes up, the man says to the farmer who is now in the second story window, "Jump in, I'll save you."
The farmer again says, "Nope, I put my trust in God."
The boat goes away. Now the water is up to the roof. As The farmer stands on the roof, a helicopter comes over, and drops a ladder. The pilot yells down to the farmer "I'll save you, climb the ladder."
The farmer says "Nope, I put my trust in God."
The helicopter goes away. The water continues to rise and sweeps the farmer off the roof. He drowns.
The farmer goes to heaven. God sees him and says "What are you doing here?"
The farmer says "I put my trust in you and you let me down."
God says, "What do you mean, let you down? I sent you two boats and a helicopter!!!"
I guess both stories have the same point: we have God's help available when we need it - we merely need to look and understand that it may not exactly be what we are expecting!
It can now be easily demonstrated that the remaining children are in real danger.
Giving the state the kind of power to remove the child before this girls death is risky. They should have to meet a very high standard.
Interesting story behind that Metallica song.
It’s in the Catholic and Orthodox Bibles, not in Protestant ones.
I reckon that James growing up with Christian Scientist parents saw a thing or two.
Giving the state the kind of power to remove the child before this girls death is risky. They should have to meet a very high standard.
We agree there. Fortunately, parents who do this sort of thing are rare.
Even if a friend, neighbor, someone from the public school she had attended, stepped in and the girl received emergency care, would the subsequent diabetes treatments (meds) have been followed when she had been returned back to her parents. Or would the parents have renounced the 'state's treatment' and not given the meds (causing the same outcome). So not knowing if the parents would adminster treatment, would it be safe to say that the child should have been taken into custody by the state. But then child protection authorities would be made out to be overstepping their bounds by taking the child out of a prayerful home. When infact, state intervetnion would have saved her life. I can see how that scenario could have been played out. Sadly, though, no one outside of the family knew of her detriorating condition and help was called too late.
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