I've blogged before about the fatal consequences of people who put their fate into the hands of fate, while eschewing medicine. But this is a really gut wrenching story. A young girl died recently when her family prayed for her instead of taking her for medical treatment. From what I could glean, it seems like she had type I diabetes melitus (I do not claim the ability to diagnose from a distance, least of all from a news article, I'm just making an observation). It is not a pleasant disease but it is treatable. People with DM 1 live long lives, when managed by simple medication. This girl didn't get medicine, she was kept at home and prayed for. It didn't work. Imagine my surprise.
What really gets me is how she died. Ketoacidosis is a complication that takes a long time to develop in uncontrolled cases. I have no doubt that this eleven year old child died a needless, excruciating, and drawn out death. A complication that could have been reversed by medication and proper attention.
Where were the parents? Praying over her! What is the state of education in this country, how foolish can people be to watch their child die and do nothing? Why not at least pray over her at a hospital, you lunatics! Then you could have thanked god for saving her and ignored the doctors and nurses and techs who did the heavy lifting.
Alas, reason and logic do not have fatalities. Faith does.
This is the outcome of "putting it in God's hands". For all you Egyptians out there, this is the outcome of inshaallah. True, most sane religious people would have prayed over her in a hospital, ignored the docs (and students, et al) and thanked god for the miracle.
This child, living in the richest country in the history of the world, needed help that has been available for to people in every nation decades, her parents didn't see it that way, and in doing so, they denied her her life.
They sought a modern miracle. And when their daughter died, they thought it was because they didn't have enough faith! It seems to me to be complete madness. It seems to me to be negligence, perhaps murder of this innocent child. Of course, the local authorities don't see it that way. Otherwise they wouldn't have left these two awful excuses for parents retain custody of their three other children.
I sincerely hope none of them get sick.
[Update: So, about 2 minutes after I published this post, I found a relevant article on one of my favorite blogs, Skepchick. I only mention it because Elyse actually knows the name of the young girl who died. This fatality of faith was Madeline Neumann.]
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Another Fatality of Faith
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2 comments:
I sincerely doubt you were ever a devout Coptic Orthodox Christian. This made my blood pressure boil as much as yours because this is something a majority of Christians would disagree with. You are making a generalization on religion based on an isolated incident that doesn't conform to mainstream belief. If you really believe this is how Christianity operates then theres nothing for you to worry about. All the stubborn and closed-minded Christians will die young because non will go see doctors. So please, don't stoop down and misrepresent beliefs in order to riducle.
Hello anonymous,
I was very much a devout Copt, if you doubt that is your own business.
Now, on to business.
Of course most sane people, of any or no religion, would be revolted at the subject of this article.
My point is only that such a tragedy cannot happen in any context other than a religious one. Unless one includes cults and general parental insanity.
If any person inferred from this post that I was discussing mainstream religion, that was not my intent.
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