Daniel Hauser: Safe At Last?

After the comments I got about my first post, I decided to see if perhaps I was being delusional and went searching for updates.

The sad thing is that this paricular situation is muddied by the mother's new-found religious affiliation.

So any meaningful discussion is quickly distorted by the red haze of reaction.

People keep talking about the motive for Daniel's mum bolting. The implication is that Daniel was frightened after his first chemo dose. This was exacerbated by the fact that his aunt had died after under-going chemo in different circumstances.

Well, of course he was frightened. Chemo is a poison. Sure, modern methods are far less brutal than the chemo of 20 years ago ... but it still boils down to massive additional stress on an already-compromised immune system.

But what I don't fully understand is why it is inconceivable to the majority of sentient people out there that any other option could be valid. Why is every other non-medical protocol "quackery" or "unscientific"?

There are numerous documented cases of successful non-medical treatments using gentler methods, in many cases overseen by highly qualified, dedicated and passionate individuals with brains, scruples and respected reputations. And medical qualifications!

Why does "non-medical" immediately equate to "dubious" in the eyes of so many?

Perhaps if we weren't so quick to crucify people for trying to think outside the box in desperate situations, we may have a better chance of securing our own sorry futures.

The sad thing is that Daniel's mum has been written off as a cult-embracing criminal without anyone knowing, or caring, whether there was real substance behind her actions. We will never know whether she was just protecting her boy from something he was obviously afraid of ... or whether she truly believed there might just be a better way.

It appears charges against her have been dropped because the boy is now safe in hospital. Let's hope Daniel survives and flourishes.

But anger and mis-directed emotion has left an indelible mark on our collective psyche. Parents are no longer deemed fit to take full responsibility for their children if they fall outside "socially acceptable" parameters. No wonder they look to the state instead of in the mirror when the wheels fall off.

And millions will continue to suffer because of closed minds and ingrained prejudices.

And now to a different subject ... I saw an interesting clip this morning talking about the increased incidence of type 1 diabetes in under-5's with projected cases set to double between 2005 and 2020.

What makes this so interesting is that this type of diabetes has always been considered to be caused by genetics. Now the Lancet suggests that lifestyle factors may play a part. And people are panicking about the projected costs to the NHS because this problem is even more pronounced in the UK than in Europe.

Fancy that ... more that our "real" scientists just don't have a clue about.

And finally, some good news! It appears that the sentence for the creature that raped a toddler, then killed Baby Peter, is under review. Apparently someone else thinks that 10 years is insufficient for repeated crimes of this magnitude.

Or maybe he should be released into state care and monitored in a hospital facility? After all, it's not his fault.

OK ... I'm done!