Okay, so this story will more than likely be known more locally than nationally, but is still important.
First off, here's the news story, courtesy of Theron and AP:
WESTON -- 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. There is no abuse or signs of abuse that we can see."
The girl's death remains under investigation and the findings will be forwarded to the district attorney to review for possible charges, the chief said.
The family operates a coffee shop in Weston, which is a suburb of Wausau, Vergin said.
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Now, here's my take on all this:
I understand the freedom of religion. I fully support it. Just because I identify more closely with Buddhism than any other religion does not mean it is right for everyone, nor does it mean that I need to shove it down people's throats. Freedom of religion is one of the unalienable rights that we all are entitled too, and anything hindering that is a hate crime...
unless it hurts somebody.
I'm sorry, but unless you know how to take care of your child medically, you should take them to the doctor. Having grown up not going to the doctor really at all but having a condition which almost requires at the very least a semi-annual checkup, I have great disdain for people who do not seek the proper care for their children. If you have the money and insurance to do it (and maybe not even the money - honestly, what's more important to you?), your children should go to the doctor when they need to. There is not excuse for a lack of care when you have the means, because there are families all over the world whose children are dying because they don't even have the means to eat, let alone visit the doctor when they need to.
I am so ready for us to become like Canada already, but maybe minus Ellen Page as my competition for Theron.
Yes, there are certain religions which do not allow their followers to go to the doctor, let alone get blood work and proper care. And I will not denounce them. However, I think it is stupid and reckless to not make sure that you and your family are healthy. Even if I did join one of those religions, I would not follow that ideal. I'm sure that any loving and good God that might exist would permit me that one "sin."
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Unfortunately, I have to wait unti October this year to get insurance back, and even that'll be through work, so who knows what it'll cover for sure. For now, I will have to settle with going to the free clinic downtown and getting a checkup sometime in the near future. I'm also gonna try to get my sister in as well. Who knows when I'll be able to get in though. Hopefully relatively soon, because I'm not feeling at that well lately.
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In other news, I'm going to the Islamic Society of Milwaukee Mosque on Sunday. It's in Milwaukee, obviously, so it'll be fun driving there, but I'm not that worried about it now. I'm more excited. I just wish that work had given me the time I asked for off, so that I could be done with the paper for it already. Although I function well with writing papers in a crunch, I really would prefer some extra time to get it done, instead of having to write it all right after my visit. Oh well, it'll be fresh in my mind at least.
Oh, and Easter was a blast. The Body Works exhibit at the museum is pretty awesome. Anyone who's interested in bodies and how they work should go... unless you have a weak stomach of course. :)
