Child Negligence

"We have no direct information that religious beliefs factored into this, but there was a belief system and homeopathic medicine did factor in.
"It should absolutely serve as a warning to other parents. The message is quite simple: If your child is sick, take them to see a doctor."
Calgary Police Service Staff Sergeant Michael Cavilla

"We're in each other's business. There's a lot of cookie sharing and bringing down meals and stuff. It put a dark cloud over the building. She was a fantastic mom, and I can't believe anybody would say otherwise. It's very surprising."
Jon-David Walmsley, apartment-building neighbour

"I had seen [the boy] the week before and I was supposed to see him on the Monday. My daughter said he was in bed with the flu. On the Wednesday and Thursday, she sent me a note saying he was feeling better and would probably be going to school tomorrow.
"[He was one of the most wonderful little boys you can imagine. I did spend a lot of time with him. I speak to him every day. He was full of life."
Don Lovett, grandfather of 7-year-old

"The interest in and demand for complementary and alternative medicine continues to grow. There are many factors driving this trend, including suspicion of conventional medicine and 'Big Pharma'."
"Alternative medicine is associated with many risks."
"We don't need alternative medicine and conventional medicine. We need science-based medicine. Period."
Tim Caulfield, Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy

There are some beliefs held so largely in faith that they are little different in fact, from religion. An ideology that gives short shrift to medical science may be born out of a disaffection with health and medical experiences. Physicians, after all, are only human, and like human beings in any number of other professions, there are those who are excellent in what they do, and those who are only pedestrian.

Doctors' primary responsibility is to make an accurate diagnosis and then prescribe an appropriate course of therapy, whether that relates to prescription drugs or a lifestyle change protocol, or a referral to an expert in the particular field of medicine that relates to the presenting patient's condition. Some doctors are casual in their approach, others far more responsive to the patient's need, some make errant diagnoses and aren't responsible about follow-up.

Disappointment can lead people to reject medicine as it's practised through the scientific principle of the tried-and-true, and turn instead to people who are sometimes health charlatans, sometimes sincere practitioners of what is called natural homeopathy, using common sense and 'natural' therapies. It's possible that homeopathy can contribute to the well-being of some people, but the exclusion of proven medical science in sole favour of homeopathy is not generally recommended.

In this instance a 44-year-old Calgary mother now faces charges of negligence, and failure to provide the necessities of life for her dependent child. That, in connection with the death of her seven-year-old son who died of a treatable bacterial infection. Bedridden for ten days before death, the mother decided against medical treatment, placing her full reliance on homeopathic remedies, with the inclusion of herbal medicines.

Some of the mother's friends advised that she seek a doctor's help. But on the day of his death, early in the morning she called 911. Too late for medical intervention. Paramedics arrived, finding the child in cardiac arrest, and he was later pronounced dead. Dead of a Group A streptococcal infection, that a dose of penicillin would have headed off.

The mother has an older child, in the custody of the father of both boys, from whom the mother is estranged. They lived in an apartment in Calgary, and he was the only child in the apartment block, a popular little boy whom the neighbour-friendly environment felt fond of, and is now left reeling with disbelief, refusing to give credence to the description of a negligent mother, fitting the description of the caring, loving mother they were familiar with.

CBC News -- 16 October 2013: Certain homeopathic products, called nosodes, are advertised and sold in Canada to prevent flu and other illnesses but carry the potential for harm, public health experts say.

Nosodes are ultradiluted forms of diseased tissue, pus, blood, or excretions of a sick person or animal that some homeopaths and naturopaths sell.

Homeopaths advertise nosode products for flu. (CBC)

In September, Health Canada announced new guidelines for nosode licensing, saying the packages will need to be labelled with a warning: "This product is not intended to be an alternative to vaccination."

The regulatory move doesn't go far enough, said Dr. Lloyd Oppel of the British Columbia Medical Association's Council on Health Promotion in Vancouver, where he monitors alternative health practices.

"The harm is not so much in taking the water or sugar pill," said Oppel. "The harm is that people might believe that it protects them in a way that it doesn't. Then on a consequence, they don't go and protect themselves properly or their children."