Mom Blames Healthcare System For Son's Poor Diet

[Skeptical Greg]

Mom blames healthcare system after her son went blind from diet comprised of french fries and Pringles

She told the program's hosts that doctors "could have saved" her son's sight if they had realized he had a vitamin A deficiency — one of the many nutritional issues that led to his blindness.

Of course if you are going to feed your children crap, just make sure they get plenty of vitamins..

I see it as a simple case of child abuse..

 

[casebro]

Already a thread on it.

 

[The Don]

According to UK reports a couple of weeks ago, vitamin supplements were prescribed but he refused to take them and mum didn't help.

 

[Skeptical Greg]

Already a thread on it.

Link?

 

[Puppycow]

Just a couple of observations:

The headline is outrage bait. Just the headline alone is going to make you condemn the mother from the outset. And she probably does share in the blame. But it is a bit more complicated than the headline or the first few sentences would suggest. You have to actually read most of the article to find this:

The 18-year-old also suffers from a rare eating disorder called avoidant-restrictive food intake disorder, which likely contributed to his pickiness early in life. The disease makes it difficult for people to stomach certain foods based on sensory traits, such as smell, texture or flavor.

James said her son has shown symptoms of the eating disorder since he was 2 years old.

"He would psychically be sick," she said. "He'd gag — he would choke if you tried to get it in him. It was awful. He would sweat, he was crying and screaming. It was just awful."

Why did they hold back this information?

Because people prefer a black-and-white moral to the story and an unambiguous villain.

 

[ponderingturtle]

Because people prefer a black-and-white moral to the story and an unambiguous villain.

Yea its like the aunt who sued her nephew for breaking her arm. It seems outrageous until you find out she needed surgery and her health insurance refused to pay with out her suing her relatives home owners insurance.

So a case of insurance companies being their typical awful selves got turned into a horrible aunt because that is more newsworthy.

 

[Information Analyst]

Mom blames healthcare system after her son went blind from diet comprised of french fries and Pringles



Of course if you are going to feed your children crap, just make sure they get plenty of vitamins..

I see it as a simple case of child abuse..

Reading a UK story through a prism of inappropriate and badly deployed Americanisms hurts my brain.

 

[Information Analyst]

Link?

http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=338938

 

[angrysoba]

Reading a UK story through a prism of inappropriate and badly deployed Americanisms hurts my brain.

The kid’s all bummed out now and won’t get to watch soccer or drive an automobile (all because his mom fed him French fries and potaty chips.)

 

[TragicMonkey]

Reading a UK story through a prism of inappropriate and badly deployed Americanisms hurts my brain.

"Blimey!" declared the Queen, issuing a statement from the bonnet of a charabanc on a central reservation while clutching a pink titfer threatened by the draught of passing omnibuses and hansom cabs. "I should cocoa the whole NHS is a pig's breakfast, crikey guvnor. We should flog it to the private sector, what ho." She then opened her brolly and buggered off down the apples and pears to the Tube.

 

[JoeMorgue]

Reading a UK story through a prism of inappropriate and badly deployed Americanisms hurts my brain.

Pip pip cheerio Gov'ner. Colour and Spotted Dick.

 

[casebro]

http://www.internationalskeptics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=338938

Nah, this one was before that one. I think the one I was thinking about is buried in the 'Meat=heart attack, vegan = stroke' thread.

 

[Bob001]

According to UK reports a couple of weeks ago, vitamin supplements were prescribed but he refused to take them and mum didn't help.

The link includes this, from the mom:

"If they'd done the blood test then and realized [his] vitamin A was so low, they could have given him the vitamin A injections then," James said.

James added that doctors gave Dyer nutrition shakes and other health products to try, but he refused to stick with them.

She has a point if the docs didn't realize that he was suffering from a vitamin deficiency disease. As she notes, they could have given him injections, or she could have mixed liquid vitamins into the food he was willing to eat. She was getting him medical care and relying on the docs.

 

[theprestige]

The link includes this, from the mom:



She has a point if the docs didn't realize that he was suffering from a vitamin deficiency disease. As she notes, they could have given him injections, or she could have mixed liquid vitamins into the food he was willing to eat. She was getting him medical care and relying on the docs.

Except vitamin supplements were already being prescribed? Why would the doctors prescribe injections, if they'd already prescribed a less-invasive solution?

Why is the mom complaining about not having liquid vitamins when such supplements had already been prescribed?

 

[applecorped]

Person has disease, trolls blame parent

 

[theprestige]

Person has disease, trolls blame parent

From what I can tell, there seems to be plenty of blame to go around.

It seems like everyone already knew there was a deficiency - hence the vitamin shakes being prescribed. I think if the mom had told the doctors the shakes weren't working, they would have been prompt in suggesting the injections.

So maybe the doctors should have been more on top of it. Blame them for not getting aggressive with their patient, I guess?

But the mom could have been more on top of it, too.

And to be honest, so could the son.

And really, so could the UK educational system. By the time he hit his teens, the kid should have well known that his diet was extremely deficient, and been talking to parents and teachers about how to address that.

"I'm sixteen, I'm only eating potato chips, I'm going blind... Obviously this won't end well. I should get help and make a real effort here."

But no. Eat french fries, go blind. What's not to like?

I mean, I love french fries.

 

[TragicMonkey]

I know, right? Any sensible teenager would have realized what was up and fixed it. It's almost as if the kid had a mental illness....oh.

 

[theprestige]

I know, right? Any sensible teenager would have realized what was up and fixed it. It's almost as if the kid had a mental illness....oh.

Some mental illnesses manifest as a profound inability to recognize or reason about the nature of the illness itself. Paranoid schizophrenia, for example.

But having a severe eating disorder such as this doesn't affect the ability to recognize and reason about the disorder.

I'm not saying he should have altered his diet by a force of will. I'm saying that knowing his inability to eat a balanced diet, he should have been able to reason his way into mitigating the negative effects of his mental illness, by means of supplements and medical assistance.

 

[TragicMonkey]

Some mental illnesses manifest as a profound inability to recognize or reason about the nature of the illness itself. Paranoid schizophrenia, for example.

But having a severe eating disorder such as this doesn't affect the ability to recognize and reason about the disorder.

I'm not saying he should have altered his diet by a force of will. I'm saying that knowing his inability to eat a balanced diet, he should have been able to reason his way into mitigating the negative effects of his mental illness, by means of supplements and medical assistance.

Exactly: all he needed to do to correct his mental illness was to stop being mentally ill long enough to diagnose his own mental illness. It's like a kids movie where the answer was the magic is inside you all along! *heartwarming music*

 

[Bob001]

Except vitamin supplements were already being prescribed? Why would the doctors prescribe injections, if they'd already prescribed a less-invasive solution?


Why is the mom complaining about not having liquid vitamins when such supplements had already been prescribed?

The story says the doctors prescribed nutrition shakes that he wouldn't drink. That's not the same as vitamin pills or liquids. The real issue is that the docs should have noted his deteriorating health and done something about it, even if it meant hospitalizing him.