<\/p>\n
I suppose you can guess what happened next…<\/p>\n
The family of a Calgary woman facing criminal charges in connection with the death of her seven year old son say they’re in shock over the allegations of neglect.<\/p>\n
The boy, Ryan Alexander Lovett, died last March after suffering from a strep infection which kept him bedridden for 10 days.<\/p>\n
Police allege his mother, Tamara Lovett, 44, chose to treat the bacterial infection with homeopathic herbal remedies instead of taking him to a doctor.<\/p>\n
That decision likely killed the child, police say.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Oh. My. Goodness. I can’t begin to imagine the complex web of horror that decision has created. The mother must be devastated. Her husband is likely gobsmacked. The siblings? I’m speechless.<\/p>\n
And the child… what kind of horror did he experience the ten days prior to his death.<\/p>\n
Every death is sad. A child’s death is horrific. A child’s preventable death is unimaginable.<\/p>\n
“It should absolutely serve as a warning to other parents. The message is simple: if your child is sick, take them to the doctor.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
It’s strange that while living in the 21 century, a police officer must say something like that. “If your child is sick, take them to the doctor.”<\/p>\n
And yet, as I peruse my Facebook page, I’m often surprised at the incredible wave of woo spouted by young parents each time one of them has a sick child. “Should I vaccinate?” “What herb works well for [insert illness here].” “I may have given my child autism because I accidentally fed him a non-organic vegetable!”<\/p>\n
“His liver had been overwhelmed. The report given to me was that he died of flesh-eating disease,” said Lovett.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I guess homeopathic “solutions” don’t cure flesh-eating bacteria.<\/p>\n
This mother loved her child. She thought she was doing well by treating his illness “naturally.” Now she’s facing criminal negligence as well as “failing to provide the necessities of life” charges. After all, the child’s infection was evidently “easily treated with antibiotics such as penicillin.”<\/p>\n
A true horror story…<\/p>\n