teen injures spine

Spexxvet · 02-09-2011, 10:51 AM

Boy injures spine, mom has a mail order degree from a natural healing degree. Mom wants to treat boy at home. Doctors don't agree, judge sides with doctors.

Should the government intervene?

Quote:

PHILADELPHIA A judge on Monday refused to let the parents of a hospitalized Chichester High School wrestler treat his spinal injuries at home with alternative medicine but left unresolved the battle between his family and doctors over his care.

Quote:

The case underscores the long-standing clash between medical professionals and parents who eschew, for religious or other reasons, mainstream medical treatment. Some experts say the new flood of information - and misinformation - from the Internet only heightens the debate.

Quote:

Vermell Mitchell says she is acting as she does not for religious reasons, but rather out of her long-standing aversion to conventional medicine. She said she holds a degree in naturopathy from the Trinity School of Natural Healing, a nondenominational Christian school in Indiana that allows students to earn degrees by mail.

Read more: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011...#ixzz1DTtIfZUb

Trilby · 02-09-2011, 11:08 AM

I say if the mom wants to be nutty let her be nutty with her own health.

The boy needs real care/intervention. If the mother is standing in the way , the gov't should butt in.

wolf · 02-09-2011, 11:13 AM

Mom can do Reiki and give the kid Bach Flower Remedies while a real doctor works on his physical healing.

glatt · 02-09-2011, 11:21 AM

There is plenty of precedent that if a parent endangers their own child, the government can come in and take the child away. I didn't bother to read the link, so I don't know the details here, but if the real doctors can offer real healing, and the parent's treatment would injure the child, then the government has every right to step in.

However, if the real doctors are just going to poke and prod the kid, and still be unable to heal him, and the mom is going to do something to make him more comfortable and not harm him, then the mom should be able to be a mom.

It really depends. I have to assume the judge looked at the facts and looked out for the kid's best interests.

wolf · 02-09-2011, 11:23 AM

Proof that mom is insane ... the child's name is "Mazeratti Mitchell"

Trilby · 02-09-2011, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolf

Proof that mom is insane ... the child's name is "Mazeratti Mitchell"

still better than tara gabriel gramophone galaxy getty.

Shawnee123 · 02-09-2011, 11:29 AM

A misspelling of a sports car? Seems unseemly for a hippy type.

Here, meet my son Lambert Genie, and his sister Far Aerie.

Stupid.

SamIam · 02-09-2011, 12:25 PM

Family members shouldn't be allowed to do whatever they please to a child or a relative who is helpless. I just found out that an aquaintance of mine marched over to the hospital and disconnected his brother-in-law's oxygen supply because "it was time for him to die." Well, the BIL was not a vegetable on life support or something. He suffers from COPD and had a bad bout of bronchitis so he had to go on O2 for a while.

There are a lot of flakey if not downright crazy people out there, and most of them have families. Family members should get the same protection as anyone else would.

Sheldonrs · 02-10-2011, 09:04 AM

I'm fine with the parents doing whatever they want so long as the child is OK with it.

BUT! They all have to sign a waiver stating that when the child is crippled for life because of the parent's stupidity, they agree to NEVER ask for, or accept, any gov't. money in any way to assist in future medical care costs.

glatt · 02-10-2011, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sheldonrs

I'm fine with the parents doing whatever they want so long as the child is OK with it.

Sure, but can minors give consent? A parent has a lot of influence with a child, and can convince them to consent to something that's not in their best interest. We don't let minors consent to sex, for example.

Shawnee123 · 02-10-2011, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sheldonrs

I'm fine with the parents doing whatever they want so long as the child is OK with it.

BUT! They all have to sign a waiver stating that when the child is crippled for life because of the parent's stupidity, they agree to NEVER ask for, or accept, any gov't. money in any way to assist in future medical care costs.

I figure if the kid croaks, it'll save money in the same gov't money and medical care costs years down the road. I doubt his parental unit(s) are steering him in any good direction anyway.

I'm not sure his life is endangered, just his ability to move.

Yeah, I don't really mean that...but I thought everyone wanted a teeny-tiny government who stays out of people's lives?

Sure, the woman is a crackpot. The kid is no baby, though, he's 16. What does HE want? If he wants what his mother wants we all say he's brainwashed to think like his mother and that we know what is best (see paragraph 1) and if he says he wants the, I don't know, procedures (the article wasn't clear on what isn't happening that should be happening and the mother says he's now fine...who to believe?) then give him the procedure(s), and the gods of medicine can smugly 'fix' him. Case closed.

[/devil's advocate]

Shawnee123 · 02-10-2011, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glatt

Sure, but can minors give consent? A parent has a lot of influence with a child, and can convince them to consent to something that's not in their best interest. We don't let minors consent to sex, for example.

Yes, but in many cases they listen to a young man of 16. I'm thinking of a custody battle in which the teenager says he would prefer to live with one parent over another.

The kid's wishes certainly can come into play.

wolf · 02-10-2011, 09:56 AM

What a minor can consent to varies from state to state. In Pennsylvania the age for medical consent is 18, for mental health it is 14, for example.

Pennsylvania's Sexual Consent law is multilayered.

Sundae · 02-10-2011, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shawnee123

The kid is no baby, though, he's 16. What does HE want? If he wants what his mother wants we all say he's brainwashed to think like his mother and that we know what is best (see paragraph 1) and if he says he wants the, I don't know, procedures (the article wasn't clear on what isn't happening that should be happening and the mother says he's now fine...who to believe?) then give him the procedure(s), and the gods of medicine can smugly 'fix' him. Case closed.[/devil's advocate]

I done thunk like my parents when I was 16.
In terms of making sensible long term life choices - especially in an emotionally charged situation - the majority of 16 year olds are not adults.

What am I saying?
I make few sensible long term life choices even now!

Shawnee123 · 02-10-2011, 02:47 PM

Heh, I don't dwell in the land of sensible choices either, though I visit from time to time. I'm pretty sure I didn't think much like my parents at 16...but I don't know. I suppose if it were something they felt strongly about I might adopt their views. I know I thought a lot like my mom about some things, she always having been progressive and liberal.

I was looking at the other angle. We all want to think of the children, but these cases are rarely so cut and dried.

Honestly, I am torn, but there is very little "real" information to go on (as to be expected, privacy being important.)

View Poll Results: Should the government intervene?
Yes	11	68.75%
No	5	31.25%
Voters: 16. You may not vote on this poll

02-09-2011, 11:08 AM	#2
Trilby Slattern of the Swail Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 15,654	I say if the mom wants to be nutty let her be nutty with her own health. The boy needs real care/intervention. If the mother is standing in the way , the gov't should butt in. __________________ In Barrie's play and novel, the roles of fairies are brief: they are allies to the Lost Boys, the source of fairy dust and ...They are portrayed as dangerous, whimsical and extremely clever but quite hedonistic. "Shall I give you a kiss?" Peter asked and, jerking an acorn button off his coat, solemnly presented it to her. —James Barrie Wimminfolk they be tricksy. - ZenGum

02-09-2011, 11:13 AM	#3
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	Mom can do Reiki and give the kid Bach Flower Remedies while a real doctor works on his physical healing. __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

02-09-2011, 11:23 AM	#5
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	Proof that mom is insane ... the child's name is "Mazeratti Mitchell" __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

02-10-2011, 09:04 AM	#9
Sheldonrs Master Dwellar Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 4,412	I'm fine with the parents doing whatever they want so long as the child is OK with it. BUT! They all have to sign a waiver stating that when the child is crippled for life because of the parent's stupidity, they agree to NEVER ask for, or accept, any gov't. money in any way to assist in future medical care costs. __________________ Laugh and the world laughs with you; cry and the world laughs AT you.

02-09-2011, 11:21 AM	#4
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	There is plenty of precedent that if a parent endangers their own child, the government can come in and take the child away. I didn't bother to read the link, so I don't know the details here, but if the real doctors can offer real healing, and the parent's treatment would injure the child, then the government has every right to step in. However, if the real doctors are just going to poke and prod the kid, and still be unable to heal him, and the mom is going to do something to make him more comfortable and not harm him, then the mom should be able to be a mom. It really depends. I have to assume the judge looked at the facts and looked out for the kid's best interests.

02-09-2011, 11:29 AM	#7
Shawnee123 Why, you're a regular Alfred E Einstein, ain't ya? Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 21,206	A misspelling of a sports car? Seems unseemly for a hippy type. Here, meet my son Lambert Genie, and his sister Far Aerie. Stupid.

02-09-2011, 12:25 PM	#8
SamIam Registered User Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Not here Posts: 2,655	Family members shouldn't be allowed to do whatever they please to a child or a relative who is helpless. I just found out that an aquaintance of mine marched over to the hospital and disconnected his brother-in-law's oxygen supply because "it was time for him to die." Well, the BIL was not a vegetable on life support or something. He suffers from COPD and had a bad bout of bronchitis so he had to go on O2 for a while. There are a lot of flakey if not downright crazy people out there, and most of them have families. Family members should get the same protection as anyone else would.

02-10-2011, 09:56 AM	#13
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	What a minor can consent to varies from state to state. In Pennsylvania the age for medical consent is 18, for mental health it is 14, for example. Pennsylvania's Sexual Consent law is multilayered. __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

02-10-2011, 02:47 PM	#15
Shawnee123 Why, you're a regular Alfred E Einstein, ain't ya? Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 21,206	Heh, I don't dwell in the land of sensible choices either, though I visit from time to time. I'm pretty sure I didn't think much like my parents at 16...but I don't know. I suppose if it were something they felt strongly about I might adopt their views. I know I thought a lot like my mom about some things, she always having been progressive and liberal. I was looking at the other angle. We all want to think of the children, but these cases are rarely so cut and dried. Honestly, I am torn, but there is very little "real" information to go on (as to be expected, privacy being important.)

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