Hi all,
I apologize if this story has been mentioned before, but I didn't see it on SOTT and thought it would be worth discussing since I've noticed authoritarian followers coming out of the woodwork over it. At first the story was plastered over the internet that the family tried to cure the meningitis with maple syrup, but the father said on his Facebook page that it was untrue and knew it sounded ridiculous (_https://www.facebook.com/PrayersForEzekiel/posts/1152371498106767). It could have implications for Canadians and possibly Americans regarding mandatory vaccinations for children and the freedom to choose one's own health care.
It's a long and at times conflicting story, so I'm not sure if I have it straight, but I'll try to summarize. It happened 4 years ago and the family is now going to trial over charges of neglect by the Canadian Crown because the family didn't go to an allopathic doctor earlier when they knew their child was sick. The family thought it was a case of croup, and that the child was getting better, until he began showing flu-like symptoms. With natural remedies like echinacea, the child appeared to improve until one day he stopped breathing. They called an ambulance, but it wasn't properly equipped for pediatric intubation, so he was without oxygen for 8.5 minutes.
The cause of death was suggested to be bacterial meningitis from the autopsy, but the family claims on their blog that the doctor who performed the autopsy originally claimed the death could have been from multiple causes (_https://stand4truth.ca/investigating-pathologist-dr-adeagbo-asks-who-is-david-and-collett-stephan/). The family asserts the oxygen deprivation could have caused his brain death and cerebral edema, not necessarily meningitis (_https://stand4truth.ca/today-in-court-monday-march-14-2016/). They also insist the trial is being publicized so much because of they had previously won a lawsuit over the right to sell a nutritional supplement they claimed helped bipolar disorder.
They also claim to have had a nurse check his symptoms, and she suggested it could be viral meningitis. The nurse testified that she told them to see a doctor, but also said the child's symptoms were not alarming at the time. The family researched viral meningitis, saw that most children get better from it (unlike bacterial), and went to a naturopath for echinacea. They didn't want to take the child to the doctor because apparently in Canada you're likely to get turned away if your symptoms aren't severe. The naturopath testified that she told the family to go to the emergency room through an assistant, but the family claims they were not told this and that the naturopath is lying (_https://stand4truth.ca/today-in-court-wednesday-march-16-2016/).
I'm a bit torn over the case. Of course it's horrible that the child died, but if the possibility were raised that a child could have a life-threatening illness, I don't think it's wise to guess by looking up symptoms on the internet. They might have had more luck if they had sought a diagnosis earlier, even if that involved an invasive spinal tap. Then again, it's easier to see that in hindsight, not to mention that meningitis can be difficult to diagnose and treat. At the same time, if they lose the case, it would be a victory for big pharma and the nanny state over how you can treat your children.
I would appreciate others' perspective on this, in case I'm not seeing the situation very objectively. Here are two articles, one in favor of the family, and the other a pro-vaccine article that at least shares links to the family's point of view. I haven't seen the story covered much in the alternative press.
I apologize if this story has been mentioned before, but I didn't see it on SOTT and thought it would be worth discussing since I've noticed authoritarian followers coming out of the woodwork over it. At first the story was plastered over the internet that the family tried to cure the meningitis with maple syrup, but the father said on his Facebook page that it was untrue and knew it sounded ridiculous (_https://www.facebook.com/PrayersForEzekiel/posts/1152371498106767). It could have implications for Canadians and possibly Americans regarding mandatory vaccinations for children and the freedom to choose one's own health care.
It's a long and at times conflicting story, so I'm not sure if I have it straight, but I'll try to summarize. It happened 4 years ago and the family is now going to trial over charges of neglect by the Canadian Crown because the family didn't go to an allopathic doctor earlier when they knew their child was sick. The family thought it was a case of croup, and that the child was getting better, until he began showing flu-like symptoms. With natural remedies like echinacea, the child appeared to improve until one day he stopped breathing. They called an ambulance, but it wasn't properly equipped for pediatric intubation, so he was without oxygen for 8.5 minutes.
The cause of death was suggested to be bacterial meningitis from the autopsy, but the family claims on their blog that the doctor who performed the autopsy originally claimed the death could have been from multiple causes (_https://stand4truth.ca/investigating-pathologist-dr-adeagbo-asks-who-is-david-and-collett-stephan/). The family asserts the oxygen deprivation could have caused his brain death and cerebral edema, not necessarily meningitis (_https://stand4truth.ca/today-in-court-monday-march-14-2016/). They also insist the trial is being publicized so much because of they had previously won a lawsuit over the right to sell a nutritional supplement they claimed helped bipolar disorder.
They also claim to have had a nurse check his symptoms, and she suggested it could be viral meningitis. The nurse testified that she told them to see a doctor, but also said the child's symptoms were not alarming at the time. The family researched viral meningitis, saw that most children get better from it (unlike bacterial), and went to a naturopath for echinacea. They didn't want to take the child to the doctor because apparently in Canada you're likely to get turned away if your symptoms aren't severe. The naturopath testified that she told the family to go to the emergency room through an assistant, but the family claims they were not told this and that the naturopath is lying (_https://stand4truth.ca/today-in-court-wednesday-march-16-2016/).
I'm a bit torn over the case. Of course it's horrible that the child died, but if the possibility were raised that a child could have a life-threatening illness, I don't think it's wise to guess by looking up symptoms on the internet. They might have had more luck if they had sought a diagnosis earlier, even if that involved an invasive spinal tap. Then again, it's easier to see that in hindsight, not to mention that meningitis can be difficult to diagnose and treat. At the same time, if they lose the case, it would be a victory for big pharma and the nanny state over how you can treat your children.
I would appreciate others' perspective on this, in case I'm not seeing the situation very objectively. Here are two articles, one in favor of the family, and the other a pro-vaccine article that at least shares links to the family's point of view. I haven't seen the story covered much in the alternative press.
_https://medicalkidnap.com/2016/02/29/family-faces-criminal-prosecution-and-loss-of-children-for-not-vaccinating-child-who-died/
(February 29, 2016)
Family Faces Criminal Prosecution and Loss of Children for not Vaccinating Child who Died
Health Impact News Editor Comments
As we have reported frequently here at Health Impact News, State governments in the U.S. and countries around the world are trying to eliminate vaccine exemptions, and make all vaccinations mandatory, by force if necessary.
In those situations where legislative efforts fail, could vaccine extremists now have a different strategy by using the courts to prosecute parents who choose to not vaccinate their children, and then later their child comes in contact with an illness from which there is a vaccine in the market to allegedly prevent? If a child is found to have contracted chickenpox, for example, and their parents had chosen not to administer the chickenpox vaccine believing that natural immunity was better than the vaccine, could the threat of being criminally prosecuted for failing to vaccinate become a de facto method of forcing everyone to comply with mandatory vaccines?
In this report out of Canada, this exact scenario is being tried in the courts this week, where the tragic death of one family’s child is viewed by some as setting a precedent for the extremist pro-vaccine lobby. The Stephan family, leaders in the alternative health field in Canada, face time in prison and the removal of their remaining children for simply refusing to vaccinate their child who later died in a hospital that failed to save him. The authorities want the court to rule his death was preventable by a simple vaccine, something that could never be proven scientifically.
By Terri LaPoint
Health Impact News
Almost 4 years ago, the Stephan family experienced the tragic death of their son Ezekiel, just 18 months old at the time. Now, the Canadian government is prosecuting the parents, and the outcome of the trial could set a legal precedent that would have a devastating chilling effect on parental rights. David Stephan says that his family’s tragedy is being used to further an agenda that cannot be obtained by legislation under the Canadian Constitution, and the precedent could affect families all across Canada and even cross international borders.
The Public Health Agency of Canada, which is similar to the CDC in the U.S., has stated:
Unlike some countries, immunization is not mandatory in Canada; it cannot be made mandatory because of the Canadian Constitution. Only three provinces have legislation or regulations under their health-protection acts to require proof of immunization for school entrance. … It must be emphasized that, in these three provinces, exceptions are permitted for medical or religious grounds and reasons of conscience; legislation and regulations must not be interpreted to imply compulsory immunization. [Emphasis added]
Since Canada cannot legally compel her citizens to immunize, vaccine proponents have had to seek another way to achieve their goals. It appears that they may have found a back door to mandating vaccines, by prosecuting parents who choose not to vaccinate, thereby setting a judicial precedent if they win.
Vaccine Agenda Behind the Charges against Grieving Parents?
David and Collet Stephan have been charged with “failing to provide the necessities of life,” a charge that is similar to manslaughter, because they chose not to vaccinate their son. Even though there is no evidence that Ezekiel’s death would have been prevented if he were vaccinated, David says that the government of Canada has made it clear to the family that they intend to use the death of their son to accomplish an agenda. If successful, this could create a legal precedent through the courts, rather than through legislation, that would accomplish 2 things:
Compel parents who have chosen not to vaccinate to seek traditional medical attention when their child gets sick sooner than parents who vaccinate, and
Allow for criminal liability for parents if their non-vaccinated child suffers harm for any illness for which there is a vaccine.
The result of such a precedent, David writes, would be devastating:
If achieved, not only will this be a blow to the rights of Canadians, but will likely result in an already overburdened medical system becoming completely bogged down with parents needlessly flooding emergency rooms with mildly sick children out of fear of criminal prosecution.
David and his wife Collet will face trial for the next 4 weeks, beginning February 29. The trial is scheduled to end on the 4 year anniversary of the day that they buried their son. “How degraded we’ve become as humans,” David told Health Impact News, that people in the government have become so desensitized to human suffering as to look at other people “as objects – to further their agenda.”
Ezekiel Gets Sick, Health Goes Up and Down
Their nightmare began rather calmly in the last couple of days of February 2012. The 2 Stephan children, Ezekiel, 18 months, and Ezra, 4, were not vaccinated and had never really been sick, but that week Ezekiel came down with what appeared to be the croup, an illness that can usually be treated at home. By the end of the week, he appeared fine and back to himself.
He attended church on Sunday and went with his big brother to preschool on Monday. It may have been “too much, too soon,” because he appeared to relapse after being around so many people. His immune system was weakened from his illness the previous week, and his parents were concerned that he may have been exposed to something at church or preschool that he was having a tough time fighting off.
By mid-week, he showed signs of possible flu – he was achy and tired, but there was no fever. His parents are strong believers in natural remedies, and began treating Ezekiel with herbal, nutritional, and essential oil remedies.
Years before, David’s father co-founded Truehope, a company based on a line of micronutrient products, designed to treat mental health issues. Because of his family’s extensive background in research and nutritional products, David was well-versed in natural and alternative treatments. It was normal for his family to utilize natural modalities to strengthen the immune system and address illness as a first line of defense.
Throughout the next week, it appeared that illness was being held at bay. Ezekiel was still tired and achy but still had not developed any other symptoms, such as fever, cough, runny nose, or vomiting. He mainly wanted to snuggle with his parents and watch his favorite cartoons. By that Sunday, he seemed more tired than usual.
Practical Steps Taken
David and Collet considered taking him to a doctor, but were concerned about exposing him to other sick children. Instead, they asked a friend who is a nurse to come over and check on him. That was Monday, March 12. The nurse friend found that his vital signs were all normal, and that his lungs were clear.
However, she had recently seen a case of meningitis, so she mentioned that to the family. They considered that possibility, and researched meningitis. Ezekiel had none of the tell-tale signs of bacterial meningitis, such as a stiff neck, constant crying, bulging fontanel, seizures, or high fever. He had no fever at all. The symptoms could have been attributed to viral meningitis or the flu, but the viral form of meningitis is usually mild. According to the CDC, “most people usually get better on their own (without treatment).”
The nurse told them that there was nothing alarming about Ezekiel’s symptoms. The family considered going in to the hospital. However, Canada has a socialized medical system. The experience of many people has been that they have been turned away by hospitals when the symptoms are mild. The decision was made, instead, to keep watching Ezekiel and take him to the nearest hospital if his symptoms got worse. It seemed a prudent approach, the same decision that countless other parents in similar situations have made.
To their relief, he started acting like he was feeling better that night and through the next day. By Tuesday afternoon, he was more active than he had been all week, and it appeared that he was well. He had improved so much that they decided it would be all right for Collet to go to a church service that evening, leaving David with the boys.
Ezekiel Takes a Sudden Turn for the Worse
While she was gone, Ezekiel took a nap. At one point when his father checked in on Ezekiel, he noticed that he started having an odd breathing pattern. This was new. David let his wife know, and she came home from church right away.
While they were trying to figure out what was going on and discussing the possibility of taking him in to the hospital, their son suddenly stopped breathing. Alarmed, David called 911, while Collet administered CPR. He started breathing again, so the parents were instructed to call 911 again if anything changed.
They made the decision to take Ezekiel in to the hospital anyway, quickly. The closest one was a 30 minute drive away, in Cardston. Shortly after they left their house, Ezekiel again stopped breathing. Again, David called 911 while Collet administered CPR. After David explained their rural location, an ambulance was dispatched from the Cardston hospital to intercept them on their way.
Health System Bypasses Nearby Ambulance for One Further Away
Months later the Stephans learned that, while they were on the phone with 911, they passed “within a few hundred yards of a fully equipped ambulance with 2 local paramedics that were available for dispatch.” That team never got a call. Instead, it was about 15 minutes later when they met up with the Cardston ambulance, who took Ezekiel to the hospital with his parents following. During that 15 minutes, Ezekiel was still not breathing on his own.
Ambulance Lacked Necessary Equipment
He was somewhat stabilized when they all reached the hospital in Cardston. The Stephans later learned that the Alberta Health Services (AHS) had not fully equipped the ambulance that Ezekiel rode in. They were missing the intubation tube that he needed. Their son was without oxygen for 8 1/2 minutes during the ambulance ride, but no one told this to the Stephans until much later.
It was decided that Ezekiel would be airlifted to Calgary Children’s Hospital. Due to a snowstorm, his parents arrived at Calgary before their son. When they were finally able to meet with doctors, they were not given much hope for their son’s survival, because Ezekiel’s heart had stopped during transport for 45 minutes. Incredibly, he pulled through the night.
Devastating Loss
While his exhausted parents tried to hold onto hope, they were not prepared for the parade of people that came in to question them – Child Protective Service agents, a neurologist, pediatrician, followed by the Calgary police, then the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (federal agents), all interrogating them. By the time all of the questioning was done, they were able to see their baby. Doctors told them that there was no brain activity. CPS returned to try to interview 4 year old Ezra, but mercifully, the hospital social worker decided to escort the CPS agents out of the hospital, after seeing what all the parents had been through.
The Stephans have many friends in the natural health industry, and with their support, the Stephans were given permission to try to help their son. They began utilizing natural alternatives both orally and intravenously. They prayed and hoped and even began seeing improvement, but doctors made the decision after 3 days to take him off of life support.
After weeks of his condition going back and forth, their beloved Ezekiel was gone. David writes:
Our home became quiet. Absent of the laughter and sounds of playing children that it was once filled with. We were devastated. Life was not the same and we realized that it would never be the same. We had all lost a part of our lives that no matter how hard we tried, it could not be replaced. We would never be complete as a family again.
Autopsy Report – More Questions than Answers
As they tried to put the pieces of their lives back together again, they received a copy of their son’s autopsy report 8 months after his death. Instead of a definitive answer to the cause of death, the report listed an “opinion,” with a heavy emphasis on the fact that Ezekiel was not immunized. The opinion was that he died from bacterial meningitis and an infection in his right lung. According to “a non-clinical research methodology,” haemophilus influenzae bacteria was identified in his body, but the particular strain was not cultured or identified. There are 6 strains; b is the most common, and b is the only strain for which there is a vaccine. Even so, haemophilus influenzae bacteria can be found in people who never have any illness from it.
Though the autopsy report contained some uncertainty about the cause of death, there was information in the report that seemed to indicate that Ezekiel’s death could have been prevented by a vaccine.
This raised a red flag in David Stephan’s mind that the issue of vaccines may come up later if anything ever went to court. His instincts were correct.
The Alberta Health System failed the Stephan family when they needed it most. The Stephans considered taking legal action against the AHS for the failures in the system that contributed to their son’s death, but they realized that there was no outcome that could bring their son back or make up for his loss. Rather than put themselves through the pain of reliving their son’s death, they decided to let the matter rest and not pursue charges.
Parents Charged in Their Son’s Death
The Canadian government did not afford them the same.
Almost a year after Ezekiel died, the Stephans found a business card from the police tucked into their front door, asking for them to call. The Sergeant told them that “the Crown has made some recommendations.” When they met with the police the next day, on February 12, 2013, they were charged with “Failing to Provide the Necessities of Life.”
The family says that they are being portrayed as parents who just left their son to die. The picture that is being painted is that Ezekiel got sick in February and continually deteriorated until he died weeks later, without his parents seeking any help for him. This portrayal ignores the fact that Ezekiel’s health went up and down all through that time period. He would improve, then get worse, then improve again. His parents treated him with natural remedies, and were prepared at any time to seek medical intervention if it appeared warranted. They asked a friend who is a nurse to check him out. Never did his symptoms seem to merit alarm until the very end, at which point the Stephans promptly called for help. Yet, they are being accused of failing to “activate the medical system soon enough.”
Hib Vaccine
It has become increasingly apparent to the Stephans that they are being blamed for not vaccinating Ezekiel. However, David maintains that there is no evidence that a vaccine would have prevented his death. The autopsy is not conclusive. Never did their son show any of the classic symptoms of bacterial meningitis.
There are serious risks associated with the Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) vaccines. According to the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC), there have been more than 15,000 serious adverse events following the Hib vaccine that have been reported to the U.S. Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS), including more than 2,250 deaths.
In 2011, Japan ordered doctors to stop giving Hib and pneumococcal vaccines after 4 babies died. At the same time, over 2,000 babies died in the U.S.
See: More than 2,000 vaccinated babies died: The cost of doing business
Could Retaliation Be a Factor?
This is not the first time that members of the Stephan family have come under attack by Health Canada. They have been known as freedom fighters in the natural health industry. Close to a decade ago, Health Canada tried to shut down the family business Truehope, and force them to stop selling and distributing their nutritional products, because they were used to treat bi-polar illness and depression instead of pharmaceutical products. Truehope won their case, and some believe that the Crown could be retaliating against the family over their defeat. (See link.)
Court Battle Begins, and Much Is at Stake
It has now been more than 3 years since charges were filed. Their case will be heard in court beginning February 29, 2016, and is expected to last up to 4 weeks. The family, which has grown by 2 more sons since Ezekiel’s death, has had to travel more than 6 hours away for the court proceedings, and will be living out of suitcases for the next few weeks.
Much is at stake in this unusual case. A family is suffering and being forced to relive one of the most difficult chapters of their lives, because of a system that seems bent on sacrificing a family in order to further an agenda that cannot be accomplished legislatively.
If the Stephan’s are found guilty, they face the prospect of up to 5 years jail time, as well as the possible loss of their children to the Child Protective Services system.
A precedent will be set whereby Canadian families who choose to exercise their right not to vaccinate their children, whether for health, religious, or philosophical reasons, will have that right essentially ended, in what is known as a “chilling effect.” The precedent will chill vaccine choice to the point of being non-existent, because parents who do not vaccinate will be held responsible to seek out traditional medical treatment sooner than parents who vaccinate. Any parent whose unvaccinated child gets sick or dies could be held criminally liable.
On the family’s Facebook page, Prayers for Ezekiel, David Stephan wrote:
[T]he thought is quite alarming that if this case somehow goes sour, not only will it tear our family apart as Collet and I would most likely end up in jail, but it will put a lot of Canadians who either choose not to vaccinate, or selectively vaccinate, at risk of criminal prosecution.
For those who are reading this and see this agenda as a good thing, at what cost are you willing to support your ideologies? At the end of the day this is not about upholding your ideologies, but rather about people. About people’s right to educate and choose what is best for their families. About people’s right to make choices without fear of having their families torn apart by an industry that stands to profit tremendously off of them.
And the situation that Collet and I find ourselves in, is that there is an organization that is attempting to offer our family up on the sacrificial altar of the vaccine industry.
I ask for your support in preventing this from taking place. I ask that you join with us in taking a stand to preserve the liberties and inalienable rights that are naturally endowed upon us as children of the Divine Creator. I earnestly pray to God above that we may be empowered to defend and preserve our rights that are necessary to having life, liberty and being able to pursue happiness.
What You Can Do
The Stephan family asks for prayer “for our freedoms to be upheld and that right prevails.”
Share their story so that people are aware of what is at stake.
Show your support for the family by visiting their Facebook page, Prayers for Ezekiel, and encouraging David and Collet as they face this battle not only for their own family, but for families across Canada and beyond.
_https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/03/18/a-toddler-got-meningitis-his-anti-vac-parents-gave-him-an-herbal-remedy-the-toddler-died-now-his-parents-are-on-trial/
(March 18, 2016)
A toddler got meningitis. His anti-vac parents gave him an herbal remedy. The toddler died. Now his parents are on trial.
David and Collet Stephan have a beautiful family. On that, at least, there is little debate. In the many photos they have posted online, the devout couple’s children are blond and brightly smiling and often dressed in matching outfits. Collet is pretty with a graceful posture and almond-shaped eyes. David is tall and handsome with a mane and a beard, like a classical painting of Jesus Christ.
The Canadian Rockies surrounding their home in rural Alberta complete the picturesque family portraits.
In the comments under their photos, however, there are hints that something is amiss.
“They are a poor excuse as parents.”
“QUIT SMILING.”
“Baby killers!”
There may be little doubt about the Stephan family’s good looks, but there is a major debate over their beliefs.
On March 5, the Canadian government opened its trial against David and Collet. The charge: failing to provide their 19-month-old son, Ezekiel, the necessaries of life.
According to prosecutors, David and Collet stubbornly refused to take their sick son to see a doctor, instead giving him home remedies such as smoothies containing hot pepper, ginger root, horseradish, onion and apple cider vinegar. Even after warnings from a family friend who is a nurse, the anti-vaccine couple took him to a naturopath for echinacea — an herb believed to stimulate the immune system — instead of to a doctor for an exam.
It was only when Ezekiel began to have trouble breathing that they rushed him to a hospital, prosecutors said.
By then, it was too late.
Ezekiel died from bacterial meningitis and empyema, two conditions routinely cured with antibiotics, a medical examiner told the court last week, according to the Lethbridge Herald.
If convicted, the parents could spend up to five years in prison.
The case has stirred outrage across Canada and the United States. It comes at a time when belief in natural and homeopathic remedies is on the rise in North America. More controversially, anti-vaccine sentiment is also surging, leading to a resurgence of once vanquished diseases like measles and whooping cough.
The toddler’s tragic death raises questions of whether and when parents have a duty to take their children to the hospital, despite their personal or religious beliefs.
Ezekiel Stephan wasn’t old enough to speak for himself when he died. Nonetheless, he has become a lightning rod for a raging debate.
In his death, some see dangerous medical quackery. In his parents’ trial, however, others see a witch hunt.
“Isn’t losing their child punishment enough?” one local wrote in the Lethbridge Herald.
“Children have a right to evidence-based medical care, not just prayer and useless folk remedies,” shot back a commenter.
That debate has dominated the lead up to and duration of the trial.
It wasn’t until a year after Ezekiel’s death that the Stephans were charged.
The couple was shocked.
“There’s nothing in the world that will bring him back,” David told the Calgary Herald. “What good could possibly come out of this?
“What could possibly be worse than the suffering we’ve endured for the past year?”
Several Stephan family members suggested the family was being singled out for its beliefs. David’s father, Anthony Stephan, founded a company called TrueHope that sells a natural supplement that claims to fight bipolar disorder.
“Anthony Stephan, a devout member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Alberta, Canada, was away on business when his wife took her life by asphyxiation after affixing a hose to the exhaust pipe of the family minivan,” the Salt Lake City Weekly reported in 2013.” Stephan’s wife had been diagnosed with bipolar-affective disorder, the same ailment that had afflicted her father, who had also taken his life.”
When two of Anthony’s kids were also diagnosed with bipolar disorder, he “felt that traditional medication didn’t save his wife and wouldn’t help his children,” according to the alt-weekly. He and a friend devised a nutritional supplement, TrueHope, that they tested out on the two kids. According to a promotional video, the kids felt an effect and were able to quit their medications.
In 2004, the Canadian government’s health department, called Health Canada, pressed charges against TrueHope, claiming the company did not have the scientific evidence to back its claims.
TrueHope won two years later, but the case left the Stephan family feeling persecuted.
“Whatever’s going on here stinks,” Brad Stephan told the Huffington Post shortly after the child neglect charges were filed against his brother and sister-in-law. “I don’t see anybody else getting charged for having meningitis.
“I almost have to wonder if we don’t have an officer somewhere or someone just acting overzealous … We just feel this is just really over the top and we’re not understanding why.”
Anthony Stephan insisted that the family is not anti-medicine, despite their criticism of pharmaceutical companies and vaccines.
“We don’t always go to the doctor immediately. If it persists we do, absolutely,” he told the Calgary Herald.
“If there’s any insinuation that they were withholding care from the child, it’s absolutely wrong,” he said, saying medical records showed his family visited doctors.
“This is something that the family missed, no question,” he admitted, adding: “It wasn’t a question of avoidance at all.”
On Facebook, however, David Stephan has claimed that his family has been targeted by Big Pharma and others opposed to his beliefs.
“Since this court case has begun, there has been a great deal of opposition and outright malicious attacks from various organizations, some having pharmaceutical interests and others just having a very strong opposing agenda,” he wrote on March 8, three days into the trial.
He has said his son was on a TrueHope pill called EMPowerplus — “the most powerful daily supplement in the world” — at the time of Ezekiel’s death, but denied that it was intended as a treatment for his illness, which the family believed was a case of croup.
And he has bemoaned being “in the international spotlight” and criticized media for reporting that he and his wife gave the sick toddler “maple syrup.”
“Anyone in their right mind would see how ridiculous this is, and if it wasn’t such a serious matter, it would be laughable,” he wrote on Facebook. “The idea of boosting an immune system with maple syrup, juice and frozen fruit is so illogical that I am left here shaking my head. As all of these items contain high amounts of simple sugars, I would suspect that they would serve to feed viruses and bacteria and actually do the opposite of boosting the immune system.”
David has dubbed the proceedings a “vaccine trial,” claiming the Crown represents the “vaccine agenda.” He says authorities are “looking to create the legal precedent through the court system that when a child falls ill, parents who chose not to vaccinate have a greater onus to seek mainstream medical attention sooner than parents that do vaccinate, and if any harm befalls the non-vaccinated child from an illness that there was a vaccine for, the parents can be held criminally liable.”
He also said his family’s fundraising websites had been taken down repeatedly and that they suffered online abuse.
Indeed, Facebook photos of his family have been slapped with incendiary labels. Someone tagged David as “Babykiller” and Collet as “Murderer.”
Even the kids, alive and dead, have been targeted.
Ezekiel has been tagged “I Was Murdered” while his siblings have been labeled “SaveMe.”
So far in court, prosecutors have tried to avoid this emotional minefield.
“We’re not saying the accused killed Ezekiel,” prosecutor Clayton Giles said near the beginning of the trial, according to the Lethbridge Herald. “They loved him.”
But, he added, the parents didn’t do enough to help their sick toddler and are responsible for his death.
“They did not take Ezekiel to a doctor when they should have.”
Over the past two weeks, the jury has heard at times excruciating details about Ezekiel’s demise.
Prosecutors claim the boy was sick for several weeks before being rushed to the hospital, where he was kept on life support for a week before passing away.
The defense insists Ezekiel had shown improvement after being given home remedies, and that it was only when he stopped breathing that he seemed dangerously sick.
On March 12, 2012, Collet called Terrie Meynders, a family friend and registered nurse who had been Collet’s birth attendant, to come look at the boy.
Meynders testified that Ezekiel was asleep when she arrived at the Stephans’ home. She listened to his breathing but couldn’t find anything wrong.
“It did not jump out at me that he was that seriously ill,” she told the court, according to the Lethbridge Herald.
She did suggest, however, that he could have viral meningitis, and told Collet to seek medical help.
“I think you should take him to see a doctor,” Meynders testified, according to CBC.
Shortly afterwards, Collet called a local naturopath and asked about treatments for viral meningitis.
“She needed something to build up her baby’s immune system,” Lexie Vataman, a naturopathic clinic employee, testified in court, according to the Lethbridge Herald. “She said, ‘My baby might have a form of meningitis and we think it might be viral and not bacterial.’ ”
(That hunch was mistaken, according to the medical examiner.)
“You need to tell the lady to take the child to emergency right away,” the naturopathic doctor, Tracey Tannis, told Vataman, according to her own testimony.
“I think you should see a medical doctor,” Vataman relayed to Collet.
Posted by Prayers for Ezekiel on Wednesday, March 18, 2015
Vataman did prescribe Ezekiel with an echinacea mixture, however.
Echinacea is an herb “used for colds, flu, and other infections, based on the idea that it might stimulate the immune system to more effectively fight infection,” according to the National Institutes of Health. “Study results are mixed” on its usefulness, the NIH says.
By the time the Stephans drove to the naturopath to pick up the tincture, however, Ezekiel’s body was so stiff from his illness that he couldn’t sit in his car seat, according to an interview — played in court — the couple gave to Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Instead, the couple put a mattress in the back of their vehicle to take him to the naturopath.
A few days later, on March 14, 2012, Ezekiel suddenly crashed.
“All of a sudden his breathing wasn’t normal,” Collet told RCMP.
They called 911 and performed CPR on the toddler as they drove to meet an ambulance, but the boy repeatedly stopped breathing.
“He was blue by the time we met up with the ambulance,” Collet said in the recorded interview.
Ezekiel was eventually airlifted to Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary. By the time he arrived, however, there was little they could do. Doctors testified in court that he had suffered cardiac arrest and was likely already brain dead, according to the Lethbridge Herald.
Five days later, Ezekiel was taken off life support.
The trial is expected to conclude next week.
