A child that DIDN'T want to die ... a blood experience you won't read in Awake! or on JW.ORG

by wannabefree 78 Replies latest watchtower medical

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  wannabefree

  While doing work for a client in her office recently, we got into a light discussion about religion. She knew I was one of Jehovah’s Witnesses as our business relationship started while I was still a loyal and believing JW. Anyway, I said something that she knew didn’t quite fit and she said … “ I thought you were one of Jehovah’s Witnesses” … I shared my story … she felt comfortable to confide in me a story as to why, even though she has had dealings with Jehovah’s Witnesses who she thinks are good people, she would never even consider listening to them about their religion.

  I asked her if she would write it down for me so that I could share … she agreed.

  This is her experience.

  When my son was three months old he was displaying medical problems and we took him to Children's Hospital in Milwaukee, WI in 1980. He was admitted into the cancer ward. (Fortunately it turned out that my son didn’t have cancer.)

  Of course I wasn’t going to leave my son’s side and I stayed in the hospital with him around the clock.

  While there I met a 15 year old boy on that ward that was dying from leukemia, he was a Jehovah’s Witness and his parents denied him a blood transfusion because of their religion.

  When he was alone, I would listen to his pain, rock with him and many times I wiped away his tears. As I held him he cried and asked me why his parents would let him die, don’t they love me, why won’t they let me have a transfusion so that I can live?

  He told me that he didn’t want to die. He told me that he just wanted to be a normal teenager and that he wanted to play sports.

  It was heartbreaking. I had no answer for him. I still can’t comprehend how a parent could withhold lifesaving treatment from their child.

  Several of us talked with his parents, we tried to reason with them … but to no avail.

  That young man passed away...
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  AudeSapere

  Sad. I wonder why the courts did not step in and take action... ?

  -Aude.
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  losingit

  Omg plz tell me that story is not true
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  wannabefree

  Aude:I wondered about the courts too. I can only speculate.

  losingit: I have no reason to doubt it. She told me the story last week, it was her own experience, it broke my heart. I emailed her a couple of days later and asked her if she would be willing to write it out so that I could share it. She agreed. She didn't want to offend me by telling the story in the first place because it was very emotional to her and she didn't know whether or not I held that belief.
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  BizzyBee

  Parents have the law on their side as far as their religious beliefs.

  So sad. This child did not have the right to determine his own life and death - his misguided parents did.

  More blood on the hands of the governing body. How do they sleep?
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  smiddy

  I`m sorry, but I have questions about the authenticity of this account. A 15 year old boy who is objecting to his parents decision to refuse a blood transfusion ?

  And the hospital , or the authourities do nothing about it ? It just doesnt ring true.

  I`m not questioning your accountability wannabefree , though maybe your source.

  Then again, if their were more information about this case that would be fine.

  smiddy
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  jwfacts

  Tragic.

  I wonder why the courts did not step in and take action... ?

  It could be because it was back in 1980.
• 

  stillin

  The legal issues vary from country to country, and from state to state. One of our children had jaundice as an infant. We "stood our ground" regarding blood transfusions, and our doctor informed us that if it came down to it the baby would have blood. I was shocked and relieved.

  leukemia would probably require a continuing lifestyle filled with regular transfusions. That poor kid was never going to have a normal life. Sad.
• 

  nicolaou

  Sadly, without verification, it's just an anecdote. It might be true, but it carries little weight to anyone who isn't already emotionally invested. I too wondered how accurate the account was - stories get 'embellished' in the retelling, it's just human nature.

  She didn't want to offend me by telling the story in the first place because it was very emotional to her and she didn't know whether or not I held that belief.

  A cultural cringe that needs to be broken . . .
• 

  Bobcat

  WannaBeFree:

  Regardless of the possibilities in the story (as some opine above), you are right. If the story were the other way around, the WT would jump on it as an example of faithfulness to God under pressure of being given a transfusion, which is, in reality, a WT requirement, not a divine one.

  The fact that the child saw no divine requirement to resist a transfusion only makes the child, in the eyes of the WT (if they were to know his feelings), a worthless apostate, never to be mentioned. Considering how some JW parents provide overruling (i.e. overbearing) "headship" over their childrens thoughts and feelings, the child probably never had any chance of explaining how he really felt about his situation to them. The woman who heard the story from the child may very well have been the only one the child was able to confide in. Sad story! Sad for the woman too, having to bear this memory.

  Take Care