Parents Choose Prayer Over Doctor, Daughter Dies
 

Parents pick prayer over docs; girl dies

By ROBERT IMRIE, Associated Press Writer Fri Mar 28

Police are investigating an 11-year-old girl's death from an undiagnosed, treatable form of diabetes after her parents chose to pray for her rather than take her to a doctor.

An autopsy showed Madeline Neumann died Sunday of diabetic ketoacidosis, a condition that left too little insulin in her body, Everest Metro Police Chief Dan Vergin said.

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 that she and her family believe in the Bible and that healing comes from God, but that they do not belong to an organized religion or faith, are not fanatics and have nothing against doctors.

She insisted her youngest child, a wiry girl known to wear her straight brown hair in a ponytail, was in good health until recently.

"We just noticed a tiredness within the past two weeks," she said Wednesday. "And then just the day before and that day (she died), it suddenly just went to a more serious situation. We stayed fast in prayer then. We believed that she would recover. We saw signs that to us, it looked like she was recovering."

Her daughter — who hadn't seen a doctor since she got some shots as a 3-year-old, according to Vergin — had no fever and there was warmth in her body, she said.

The girl's father, Dale Neumann, a former police officer, said he started CPR "as soon as the breath of life left" his daughter's body.

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 whether 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."

The aunt called back with more information on the family's location, emergency logs show. Family friends also made a 911 call from the home. Police and paramedics arrived within minutes and immediately called for an ambulance that took her to a hospital.

But less than an hour after authorities reached the home, Madeline — a bright student who left public school for home schooling this semester — was declared dead.

She is survived by her parents and three older siblings.

"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."

Glad they let you pray in prison...idiots.

i guess not everything is possible with Jesus.

These kinds of stories break my heart.

Who knew?

I don't have a problem with people who want to stare at the sun...to each their own I say. But when you make your children do it, then it's a problem.

How disconnected from the world can one be?

:sad:

Talk about criminal negligence.

Take her to the doctor and then pray. They're not mutually exclusive.

This was wrong.

dbs

Re: Parents Choose Prayer Over Doctor, Daughter Dies
 

Weston??? Holy crow, that's where I'm from. (They misspelled Wausau, though - pfft.) I never thought I'd see Weston in the news anywhere outside of ... well, Weston.

What a horrible, sad story.

My pastor has a phrase -- "so heavenly minded that you are no earthly good." Prayer is what you use when every other recourse has failed -- not when the disease is treatable by doctors God has provided for this very purpose.

I like that...

Not sure about this. I mean if you believe in prayer shouldn't it be an everyday, every scenario type of thing, not just when everything has failed?

There are things God has already provided for us that we don't have to ask him for. Doctors and science are two. I believe in praying for the doctors who are working on friends of mine. Once they say "There's nothing more we can do," that's when my prayers move to a whole level.

Scripture says "pray without ceasing," so I'd like to think I live a life of prayer, but I don't think that prayer is primarily about the submitting and granting of requests.

Exactly right. One doesn't pray for God to transport you from New York to Los Angeles, you board a plane and pray for a safe flight.

I don't suppose they bothered to notice how many hospitals have Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian or Saint in their name.

The best way to deal with these types is to tell them that God blessed the Dr.'s with the knowledge and the strength to heal and that is why they are dr.'s and other people are not. The dr. is there to do God's work! God helps those who help themselves, so help yourself and get to the damn dr.!

Re: Parents Choose Prayer Over Doctor, Daughter Dies
 

If letting your child die because you're delusional enough to believe prayer is a better idea than seeing a doctor isn't enough to make you a fanatic, then what is?!

Indeed it should.


Anyway, God gave you a brain and logic, so these people should have used theirs. Absolutely ridiculous.

:sad:

Could just have easily been new agers.