Complementary Medicine FAILS

[GeneChing]

Such a tragic loss. So idiotic.

Prosecutor shreds dad who gave dying son maple syrup instead of medicine: You’ve heard of doctors?
Travis Gettys 14 APR 2016 AT 07:40 ET


David and Collet Stephan (Facebook)

A father who’s accused of allowing his toddler son to die from meningitis defended his actions, saying he and his wife decided against taking the child to his first-ever doctor visit because they thought he probably had a less serious illness.

David Stephen explained to jurors in three days of testimony that his 19-month-old son, Ezekiel, became ill in early March 2012 with what he and his wife, Collet Stephan, believed to be croup.

The toddler was sick for about two and a half weeks, but the couple never took him to a doctor until he stopped breathing — and they rushed him to a hospital near their home in Glenwood, Alberta.

“Hindsight is 20/20,” Stephan testified. “Looking back at it … had I known that this was going to take place, I would have been the first person to be advocating something else. Nobody would want an outcome like this as a parent.”

At the hospital, the first physician to examine the child in his short life shared a CT scan with the couple and explained that he had suffered brain damage.

Ezekiel was flown to a larger hospital in Calgary, where he was briefly revived, but doctors said he was probably already brain dead at that point, and he was taken off life support March 18, 2012, five days after he arrived.

David and Collet Stephan, who own a nutritional supplement company, were charged with failing to provide the necessities of life after investigators learned they had not sought any medical treatment but instead attempted to treat his life-threatening illness with natural remedies — such as olive leaf extract, hot pepper and horseradish smoothies, water with maple syrup and juice with frozen berries.

David Stephan, 32, testified that the couple believed Ezekiel had become ill with the flu after his symptoms worsened, and they gave him natural remedies to boost his immune system — but he admitted that neither he nor his wife have any medical training.

“You’re working in the dark here,” said prosecutor Clayton Giles, who cross-examined him. “You were throwing things at something without understanding what you’re throwing those things at. I’m going to suggest, in fact, you felt you knew better than the medical establishment about how to deal with this issue. You are aware that doctors are out there?”

Giles asked why Stephan told police and social workers after his son’s death that his wife had provided “constant care” and monitoring to the sick child if they believed he was getting better — as the father testified during defense questioning.

A nurse friend previously testified that she told the Stephans the boy might have meningitis, a potentially fatal inflammation, and the prosecutor asked why the couple didn’t take the boy to be examined by a physician to rule out that serious condition.

“You don’t trust conventional medicine very much do you?” Giles asked

“Why would you say that?” Stephan said.

Stephan testified that he became alarmed after his son died when several police officers came to the hospital, fearing they could lose custody of their eldest son, but doctors assured him that was standard for any investigation of a child’s death.

“You know what my main concern was at that point?” Stephan said. “It was the idea that they might think we were negligent parents if they found out that we didn’t put Ezekiel in a car seat.”

Witnesses testified that the toddler became so stiff from inflammation associated with meningitis that was unable sit in a car seat and was instead laid on a mattress in the back of the family’s vehicle on the way to the hospital.

Prosecutors argued in their opening statement that the Stephans loved their son and are not accused of ignoring or killing him — but they said the couple should have sought medical help sooner to prevent his death.

Stephan and his wife operate Truehope Nutritional Support Inc., a nutritional supplement company founded by his father, from their home in Raymond.

Health Canada unsuccessfully tried in 2004 to stop the company from distributing its supplement Empowerplus, which the couple claims can manage mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder.

The government did issue warnings about the supplement — which prosecutors say the couple gave to their dying son.

Stephan believes the Canadian government has targeted them to force parents through the courts — rather than the legislature — to vaccinate their children.

He argues that no evidence shows Ezekiel’s death could have been prevented if he had been given the vaccine for Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib).

Stephan even expressed doubts on the witness stand that his son actually died from meningitis — although it’s not clear what he believes killed the child.

“I think it’s very likely he died of meningitis, but I’ve still got some questions around it,” Stephan testified. “I’ve heard many situations like that, but never once have I heard a situation like ours.”

[mawali]

I read something different form the actual story!
A father, or parents refusing to vaccinate his child for meningitis has nothing to do with complementary medicine. It is purposeful negligence!
1. They never took the child to a doctor
2. They waited x weeks
3. What they thought the problem was, vs the actual diagnoses is a reflection of the parents inability to understand the gravity of their own ignorance.

[GeneChing]

I might argue that it was the inclination of these parents towards comp med that made them anti-vaxxers, and their faith in comp med that led them to deny proper treatment, but who knows? I just wanted to start a new thread here dedicated to news stories about such failures, not necessarily to build a case against complementary medicine, but more so to reveal the perspective of journalism on this particular topic.

Look, here's another. It's kinda gross.

Man has huge 68lb tumour removed from his stomach after trying to cure it by drinking herbal medicine for THREE YEARS

Mr Zhang from Hubei province had his tumour removed on March 31
His waist measured 53 inches, the same size as a heavily pregnant woman
He couldn't afford an operation so took herbal medicine from a friend

By TRACY YOU FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 11:09 EST, 18 April 2016 | UPDATED: 11:22 EST, 18 April 2016

A Chinese man has had a tumour weighing a whopping 68 pounds, or five stone, removed from his stomach.

Mr Zhang from Xiantao city, China's Hubei Province, had previously tried to cure the huge growth by drinking traditional Chinese herbal medicine for three years, according to People's Daily Online.

Before his recent operation at Xiehe Hospital in Wuhan city, the provincial capital of Hubei, the man's waist measured 53 inches, around the same size of that of a heavily pregnant woman.


Desperate situation: The tumour became so big that Mr Zhang eventually found it difficult to move around



Medical issues: He went to see the doctor in a Shanghai hospital, and was told he had a tumour in the abdomen

According to reports, Mr Zhang, 45, first felt pain in his stomach about three years ago.

He went to see the doctor in a Shanghai hospital, and was told he had a tumour in the abdomen.

Cash-strapped Mr Zhang allegedly couldn't afford an operation, so he obtained some herbal medicines from a friend, hoping they could help him cure the illness.

However, Mr Zhang's stomach kept swelling in the days to come.

It eventually became so big that he felt it difficult to move around.

Mr Zhang's mother insisted sending her son to Xiehe Hospital in Wuhan for further treatment.


The growth was diagnosed as an embryonal-cell lipoma and it was advised that it was removed instantly


Cash strapped: Mr Zhang had his tumour removed after attempting to use herbal medicine to cure it


During the operation, surgeons had to make a 13.7-inch-long cut in order to remove the huge swelling

The growth was diagnosed as an embryonal-cell lipoma and it must be removed immediately in order to ensure Mr Zhang's other organs don't get squeezed.

An operation was arranged for Mr Zhang on March 31.

During the operation, surgeons had to make a 13.7-inch-long cut in order to remove the huge swelling.

The doctors later weighed the growth which turned out to be 68 pounds.

According to Chinese media, Mr Zhang's tumour is among one of the largest in the world.


A really heavy growth: The doctors later weighed the growth which turned out to be 68 pounds

[mickey]

Greetings

Story one: Parents made an unqualified assessment which was beyond stupid. Complementary medicine is not to blame at all.

Story two: Illustrates the economics of health. The man could not afford to get proper treatment. He had no other alternative. There is nothing in the article that states the herbal substances he used contributed to the size of the tumor. It makes me wonder how he was finally able to afford to get the operation. Complementary medicine is not to blame either.

Complimentary medicine gets crapped on when there is a loss. And gets no credit when it works.

Acupuncture, Qigong, and even Reiki fall into this category as well.


mickey

[GeneChing]

What would you even do with a degree in Martial Arts? I mean aside from my job.

Sadness as University of Bridgeport drops naturopathic medicine, martial arts majors
By Linda Conner Lambeck Updated 11:49 pm EDT, Tuesday, March 26, 2019


Photo: Christian Abraham / Hearst Connecticut Media File Photo
Dr. Jennifer Holdorf, right, clinic coordinator with the University of Bridgeport’s College of Naturopathic Medicine, works with students Ryan Attar, left, and Matthew Castanho at the college in 2016.


BRIDGEPORT — The University of Bridgeport’s decision to close out a number of majors including its two-decade-old naturopathic medicine program was greeted Tuesday with sadness and shock.

“This is a tremendous loss for Connecticut and for the naturopathic community at large,” said Dr. Rick Liva, legislative chair of the Connecticut Naturopathic Physicians Assocation. “We are saddened and disappointed by this decision.”

UB announced Monday that the major, one of a handful of accredited naturopathic medicine programs in the Northeast, was being phased out, along with majors in Martial Arts, Design Management, Religion and Politics and East Asian and Pacific Rim Studies.

The degree in martial arts has been at UB since 2004 and was the first of its kind in the country. The naturopathic medicine program got its start at UB in 1997, with its first graduating class in 2001.

In a letter to the university community on the first day back from spring break on Monday, Provost Stephen Healey said UB will stop accepting applications for those programs for fall 2019.

Also being discontinued are a number of concentrations in masters programs in Technology Management and Business Administration that have limited or no enrollment.

“Students currently enrolled ... will be able to complete their degree at the University of Bridgeport,” said Healey. He said he has begun consulting with faculty and students in affected programs.

On Monday, some students and former students said there were tears.

“It was a sad day,” said Derek Reilly, who graduated in May 2018 with a degree in naturopathic medicine. He now practices in New Hampshire.

Reilly said his main question is “why?”

Healey said the decision was difficult and based on a number of factors, primarily enrollment, revenue and student outcomes.

“All educational institutions constantly consider their academic inventory,” Healey said.

This fall, UB reorganized, merging 14 schools and programs into three colleges: Arts and Sciences, Health Sciences and a College of Engineering, Business and Education, under its new president, Laura Skandera Trombley. She came to the university in July 2018.

Combined, there are about 100 students total enrolled in the cut programs, including 74 in the four-year naturopathic medicine program. There are about 15 faculty members affected. Some may be shifted to other programs.

In its place, UB plans to launch several new programs including an online bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and a bachelor’s degree in Performing Arts — which it has had before. The College of Engineering, Business and Education will launch a bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering Technology. In addition, UB will increase its investment in the Criminal Justice, Psychology, Design and Nursing programs, according to the provost.

The cuts, Healey added, will free up resources for other programs.

Healey said there are no plans at this time to shut down UB’s chiropractic medicine, acupuncture or nutrition programs, which many thought meshed nicely with naturopathy.

Reilly said there was some crossover with students in one discipline taking courses in the other. His class had about 30 students. Fewer in classes that came behind him.

“It still seemed like a good size class,” he said.

Connecticut has allowed the practice of naturopathic medicine since 1920. At one point, UB had as many as 115 students in the program but in recent years, the program has been on the decline, Healey said.

“It could bounce back, but at 74 it seemed now is the time to phase the program out,” Healey said. It will take three years to close out the program unless students transfer to other schools.

The decline at UB does not seem to reflect the national trend, according to Dr. JoAnn Yanez, executive director of the Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges. She said the field is seeing unprecedented gains.

“This program’s closure is unfortunate, but the decision was clearly made as part of a larger University of Bridgeport plan, which includes both the elimination of several programs and introduction of new programs outside of the healthcare field.” Yanez said.

Dr. Kendra Becker, a UB grad who practices naturopathic medicine in Waterford, called the news sad but maintains the university never did anything to promote or showcase the program.

“The saddest part is the naturopathic clinic served an underserved population and those patients have nowhere to seek care once the clinic closes,” she said.

In Connecticut, naturopaths have a limited practice scope and as a result, Becker said, many students select other schools or leave the state after graduation to practice.

For years, naturopaths have been fighting to get the right to write prescriptions in Connecticut.

State Rep Steve Stafstrom, D-Bridgeport, said the Bridgeport delegation has been pushing legislation to make the naturopathic program more competitive.

“I was surprised to read of this news,” Stafstrom said. “The program was pitched to us a source of pride for the university and an economic driver for the city.”

lclambeck@ctpost.com; twitter/lclambeck

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