A child suffered for two weeks with a heart condition, while her father gave her large doses of Mannatech products in an attempt to “cure” her. The result? Her mouth was damaged, she’s confined to a wheelchair, and has cognitive (brain damage) problems.

The Australian reports:

A SICK girl suffered brain damage after her father refused to take her to hospital because he distrusted conventional medicine, a court has been told.

The 11-year-old had been suffering from a heart infection for two weeks before her parents finally took her to hospital, the Brisbane District Court was told on Tuesday.

She was gravely ill when she was admitted to Toowoomba Base Hospital in September 2006.

Her temperature was 42 degrees celsius, she had been hallucinating and was weak, pale and could no longer walk.

The court was told her mouth was peeling, black and clogged from the alternative medicine her 45-year-old father had been giving her in extremely high doses.

The doctor who finally examined the 11-year-old told the court the girl was as “sick as the sickest person I’ve ever seen in my 35 years as a doctor”.

Prosecutor Belinda Merrin said it was the father’s distrust of conventional medicine that had caused him to delay seeking treatment.

Instead, he had been relying on the glyconutrient dietary supplement Mannatech to cure his daughter.

The court was told the girl’s mother asked him on a number of occasions to seek medical treatment, but had not pushed the issue for fear her estranged partner would deny her access to her children.

When the girl was admitted to hospital she underwent an emergency heart bypass and valve replacement.

She spent some time in a coma after surgery because of bleeding on the brain, and it was a year before she was eventually allowed to go home.

She now uses a wheelchair and has severe, ongoing cognitive and fine motor skills problems.

The father has pleaded guilty to one count of grievous bodily harm. The mother has pleaded guilty to a charge of child cruelty.

Makes you want to run right out and get some Mannatech products, doesn’t it?

One Comment

  1. Gary Nutbeam 12/17/2008 at 11:36 am - Reply

    It makes me despair at the ignorance of so many people and illustrates why science and critical thinking should be given a much higher place in the school cirriculum instead of sports and other far less important things.

    Science as not rote memorization of scientific facts, but cultivating an inquisitive mind that questions what it is told and examines the facts. That is science. The “faith” in some stupid snake oil with no basis in fact has ruined this girls life. Because of ignorance that poor girl is going to suffer her whole life. It’s so sad and so unnecessary.

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