I just knew when I first heard about this story, I was afraid you'd find the mention of homeschooling in there somewhere. Sure enough, its there.
To all non-homeschooling people, I want to say- We are not all like this! I take my children to the doctor every year for wellness checkups. When they show signs of illness, I take them to the doctor. As a Christian I do pray for them, but I also believe God blesses us with talented doctors and life saving medicines!
The fact this girl was homeschooled has nothing to do with her death. If she would have been attending school, I'm sure her parents would have called in sick for her.
The overwhelming majority of homeschoolers are not hiding their children away, abusing and neglecting them! The media just loves to point fingers when an alternative family has a tragedy.
I'm praying for this family and I hope you do too. I just have to wonder if they were in denial she was that ill.
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8 comments:
Sad story no matter what the circumstances.
How sad.
I saw that story a couple days ago. Very sad. :( I was so focused on the parents unwillingness to seek medical treatment that I didn't even realize she was home educated. While this certainly doesn't put a positive light on homeschooling, I think most will feel more negativity toward the parents handling of the situation rather than homeschooling.
You wondered if the parents realized she were that ill. I would have to say they did, but for whatever reason they decided to rely only on prayer instead of seeking help from physicians, who (as you said) have talents given by God. I just saw on the news where the parents clain no certain religion or belief. Hmmmmmmmm..........
The child lay there 30 days with her health going down daily. I don't see how they could NOT see that and realize something needed to be done. If my daughter were ill and showing no signs of improving, you'd better bet your sweet bippy that I'd be at the doctor's office. I'm sure the majority also feels the same.
This family definitely needs prayer. The state of Wisconsin has a law which protects families with a religious belief, but since the family claims no affiliation with an organized religion this statute may not work for them when charges are filed.
Sad story, Religion is important but it shouldn't come to this. If you child is showing signs of a serious illness or injury than you need to trust in the medical community
Very sad.
I think that story is SO sad...but I have to think what would I have done in the same circumstance. My nephew (who has just been diagnosed with diabetes) was losing weight and feeling bad for a while before they finally took him to the doctor, and no one realized what it was. He was in seizures when they finally took him to the hospital. If he had (God forbid) died, the same sorts of things would have been said about his family, except instead of "praying for healing" it would say "too stupid to be homeschooling".
I honestly don't know if *I* would recognize when symptoms were bad enough to take my kids...in the article they said she didn't have a fever. That's something I'd be looking for, too.
It doesn't mention if they had insurance for her or not, but if they didn't that may have been a big part of it...
And, then, what if the child was always saying she felt sick, whether or not she did? (My sister was (is) like that, and my brother's oldest dd.) I feel SO sorry for this family, quite a bit because I can *see* it being me. : (
If we can take anything away from this story and apply it our lives, it's that we should pay close attention to those who are sick in our families. Watch symptoms and be sure to find a physician when symptoms persist so that a diagnosis can be made and care can begin. Someone else may have pulled something else from this story to make their own life better.
That being said:
I think there is a noticeable difference in the appearance of someone who was pretending to be sick and someone who was really sick. (color of skin, energy level, etc) I would venture to guess this young girl was very pale, tired and lacking energy among other things during her illness.
I guess we all have our ideas of when is the right time to take someone to the doctor. Some go to doctors all the time for something as simple as a cough and runny nose while others will wait a week or so while watching for improvement of symptoms.
In this particular case with the dying girl, I took from the article I read that she was miserable with deteriorating health for thirty days. Even without insurance coverage, this girl should have been cared for by a physician. :( While I understand the fears that come with no insurance and medical visits, there comes a time (especially with our children) that we need to be proactive with their health.
*Sidenote- Medicaid is available for children and hospitals will work with families without medical insurance.
Bottom line is, this family lost their child. It is something they will live with everyday of their lives. :( I'm guessing they are doing as I would and second guessing everything they did and didn't do. :( It's a very very sad situation and I hope others learn from this so it doesn't happen again to another family.
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