You may remember this story from last month. An 11 year-old girl died following the complications of untreated diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). Now, DKA is a serious condition and strikes fear in anyone who has diabetes. However, if recognized early, this is a treatable. And, for the most part, DKA has a good recovery rate.
The parents of this child did not see it necessary to seek medical attention for their daughter. Instead, they felt that faith alone along with prayer would be enough to heal their daughter. This Associated Press story continues:
Madeline Neumann died March 23 -- Easter Sunday -- at her family's rural Weston home. Her parents were told the body would be taken to Madison for an autopsy the next day. "They responded, 'You won't need to do that. She will be alive by then,"' the medical examiner wrote in a report.The story states that each parent may face as many as 25 years in prison. What's unfortunate is that I don't think that these people really care about that. They probably still feel (and will always feel) that they did the right thing in not seeking medical attention. I do not see any remorse in these parent's future.Family and friends had urged Dale and Leilani Neumann to get help for their daughter, but the father considered the illness "a test of faith" and the mother never considered taking the girl to the doctor because she thought her daughter was under a "spiritual attack," the criminal complaint said.
Now, I consider myself a spiritual-type person. But, as I read story after story after story of what people do in the name of some higher power somewhere - it really frightens me. For the most part, I still believe that there is more good in this world. But, even my faith gets tested sometimes. And, this story is one of those times....