Here’s a little tip for these people who chose prayer over seeking medical attention and now have to bury their 11 year old daughter who died from a perfectly treatable form of diabetes:
You can use BOTH!
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 the family believes in the Bible and that healing comes from God, but she said they do not belong to an organized religion or faith, are not fanatics and have nothing against doctors.
We don’t run to the doctor for every little thing, but when someone is ill for that long, simple common sense will tell you that it needs to be investigated. And while symptoms may seem minor to begin with, surely after several weeks of vomiting and loss of appetite, this child was dehydrated, listless and weak? She was ill enough that other people noticed and tried to intervene:
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 if 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.”
If this is true, then these parents need to do some jail time, or at least some psych unit time. This is the part that drives me up a wall:
“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, middle-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 driveway.
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.
Yes, our lives are in God’s hands. And when we’ve had serious illness to deal with – like my husband’s cancer and health problems I’ve had to deal with – we pray for healing. And there have been times that God has miraculously provided it. God has also graciously and mercifully given us medical technology as an avenue to healing, and it’s no lack of faith to use it.
Some fatalists would prefer to remain outside staring at a closed door, praying for God miraculously to open it instead of turning the handle themselves.
Russian proverb: “Trust in God, but keep rowing for shore.”