In a sad turn of events, a seven-year-old boy lost his life because his parents thought that prayers would heal him, instead of taking him to a hospital.
As the story goes, Seth was suffering from acute pancreatitis, a condition that needs immediate treatment. Instead, his adoptive parents, Timothy and Sarah Johnson from Minnesota, USA, diagnosed him with Post traumatic stress disorder and decided to treat him themselves. According to their statement, they had an issue with taking Seth to the doctor as he would then be medicated. They ignored the symptoms till it was too late. When they finally called an ambulance, the paramedics found Seth in a pool of vomit and his father trying to perform a CPR on him. He was declared dead then.
According to the complaint filed by the state of Minnesota, Seth was a foster child who was later adopted by the family. He was thriving when he was adopted. However, when the paramedics found him, he was small for his age, apparently starved and probably neglected. He had bruises over his legs and back. In the complaint, the father has been accused of wilfully depriving the child with food, clothing, and shelter, and that it may have harmed the child physically, mentally, and emotionally.
As told to the authorities, Seth had started acting differently a week prior to his death. He would not sleep, would shake, and would end up harming himself. He developed blisters on his legs and dependant ulcers on his feet. And yet, the family did not seek medical attention. Instead, they went to attend a wedding over a weekend, leaving Seth in the company of his 16-year-old elder brother.
The elder son called them, stating that Seth would not talk or eat. They decided to head back, but cancelled after coming to know that he had eaten some cereal. When they came back, he was found on the floor, barely responsive. Instead of calling the doctor, they decided to ‘pray’ for his recovery, made him sit at the dinner table and put a few pieces of pizza in his mouth. He slept alone that night.
They woke up to a noise, only to find Seth covered in vomit and not responding to anything. They called the ambulance while the father tried to resuscitate him. A boy lost his life due to lack of prompt medical attention.
How to be sure what your baby is suffering from? Read on to find out.
Dangers of self-diagnosis
We all have searched our symptoms on the internet and have reached a diagnosis on our own. While it may be alright for something mild, it causes a lot of harm to people worldwide, just due to a lack of proper medical attention. If it were so easy to diagnose something without any medical tests, doctors would not spend years in training and mastering the science of diagnosis.
If you feel an urge to google the symptoms, or just ask around, do so. But do not take any action without consulting a doctor. Here are the things you should do when it comes to a child.
- Ask a doctor. If you feel that your bub is unwell, just go and consult a doctor. Even though your friend’s child may have had a similar looking rash a few days back, remember that not all rashes are same. In all probability, you will end up harming the baby more than helping him, if you ask around and treat him yourself.
- Look out for red flags. As your baby grows, he is going to reach some developmental milestones. However, there are also some red flags that you should look into. These are early warning signals that the baby is having some difficulty, and if addressed early, the development can come back on the track.
- Vaccinate the child as recommended. A fraudulent study by a doctor led the whole world to believe that vaccines cause autism in children. It is been disproved, the doctor discredited, but the doubt still lingers. This has lead to deaths of children by diseases that are totally preventable. Vaccines are safe. Don’t harm your child just because you believe in a fraudulent theory.
- Not all natural things are safe. Many times, the herbal supplements may not contain calibrated amount of the ingredients. This makes them unsafe for children. Feed your child fruits and vegetables instead of capsules that contain fruit extracts. Be very careful about what you are giving your baby. Remember, Bella donna, an ingredient found in berries of nightshade, and also used in teething tablets, has a potential to induce hallucinations if taken in a larger dose. Get all the medicines ratified by your doctor.
Stay safe mums and dads, and keep your children safe.
Story and image source: NY Post, CBS News.
Republished with permission from: theAsianParent Singapore
READ: Is your behavior causing your child to fall sick more often?
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