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Parents
pick prayer over docs; girl dies
who was advocating belief in God in a thread titled "Praise Jehova": > By the way, here is the POWER OF THE PRAYER THAT > YOU SO BELIEVE IN: > Parents pick prayer over docs; girl dies > http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2008/03/28/diabetes-death.html Little girl dies after parent's refuse treating her > WESTON, Wis. - Police are investigating an 11-year-old girl's > death from an undiagnosed, treatable form of diabetes after her > parents chose to pray for her rather than take her to a doctor. > An autopsy showed Madeline Neumann died Sunday of diabetic > ketoacidosis, a condition that left too little insulin in her body, > Everest Metro Police Chief Dan Vergin said. > She had probably been ill for about a month, suffering symptoms > such as nausea, vomiting, excessive thirst, loss of appetite and > weakness, the chief said Wednesday, noting that he expects to > complete the investigation by Friday and forward the results to > the district attorney. > The girl's mother, Leilani Neumann, said that she and her 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 fan- > atics and have nothing against doctors. > She insisted her youngest child, a wiry girl known to wear her > straight brown hair in a ponytail, was in good health until recently. > "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." > Her daughter -- who hadn't seen a doctor since she got some > shots as a 3-year-old, according to Vergin -- had no fever and > there was warmth in her body, she said. > The girl's father, Dale Neumann, a former police officer, said he > started CPR "as soon as the breath of life left" his daughter's body. > Family members elsewhere called authorities to seek help for the > girl. > "My sister-in-law, she's very religious, she believes in faith instead > of doctors ...," the girl's aunt told a sheriff's dispatcher Sunday > afternoon in a call from California. "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." > The dispatcher got more information from the caller and asked whe- > ther an ambulance should be sent. > "Please," the woman replied. "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." Religion is Harmless... Right? > The aunt called back with more information on the family's loca- > tion, emergency logs show. Family friends also made a 911 call > from the home. Police and paramedics arrived within minutes and > immediately called for an ambulance that took her to a hospital. > But less than an hour after authorities reached the home, Madeline > -- a bright student who left public school for home schooling this > semester -- was declared dead. > She is survived by her parents and three older siblings. > "We are remaining strong for our children," Leilani Neumann said. > "Only our faith in God is giving us strength at this time." > The Neumanns said they moved from California to a modern, mid- > dle-class home in woodsy Weston, just outside Wassau in central > Wisconsin, about two years ago to open a coffee shop and be > closer to other relatives. A basketball hoop is set up in the drive- > way. > Leilani Neumann said she and her husband are not worried about > the investigation because "our lives are in God's hands. We know > we did not do anything criminal. We know we did the best for our > daughter we knew how to do." Tragic. I was diagnosed as type 1 dia- betic (at age 5) thanks to my parents (my Dad is a preacher, Southern Baptist, and my mom directed the choir in my church when I was growing up) taking me to a doctor. Their religious faith and prayers never kept them from utilizing medical help when needed, or from recognizing that insulin is required to stay alive (albeit the risk of insulin reactions & uncon- sciousness goes with it). They must have realized that prayers were ineffective when it came to type 1 diabetes. At one time, I was sick, and they thought that cutting back on insulin was appropriate 'cause I wasn't eating. Unfortunately, they cut back too much, and I ended up in a coma, but fortunately, they took me to a hospital and I recovered. Fortunately, most religious people don't use their religion in place of doctors. It's extremely sad that the impact of religion was the death of the 11-year-old girl in the story you conveyed. - - - Follow-up (052509) Leilani Neumann Found Guilty - - - |
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