I have to take a time-out on this one. As horrible as it sounds, I am not convinced that she did it. The pathologist made this statement:
"Can diabetes in children be deadly if untreated, doctor?" Costy asked. "Absolutely, yes," replied Reiber, who also acknowledged that he
had not reviewed the boy's previous medical records. "
I think most of us know someone who has diabetes, but how many of us know someone who has gotten as ill as this child from diabetes? Ridiculous....unless you receive NO medical care at all! As I read this story, I immediatley thought of a much rarer, though not unheard of disease that is usually hereditary. It is based on a problem with the enzyme pathways that typically break down hemoglobin in the liver. The by-products of your red blood cells which are dying everyday, eventually build up and depost thier selves in your skin and tissues. There are many different kinds of these diseases, and they are generally referred to as "porphyria" diseases. Go to google, and select "images" and type in the word "porphyria". Here is an example of a little boy with congenital porphyria.
Here is a description of his disease:
A 4-year-old boy, presented with blistering and scarring of skin. He had vesicles and erosions with mutilations of the skin over exposed surfaces (
Fig.1). There was hypertrichosis over face and extremities, teeth were stained red (
Fig. 2) with moderate splenomegaly. The urine was red with increased levels of urinary and erythrocyte porphyrins. A diagnosis of Congenital Erythropoeitic Porphyria was made.
Now, wouldn't you think this child had been abused? I think this case should be evaluated further. What if this mother is poorly educated, and had been doing the best she could with a child who had special needs? I find it odd that the abuse was limited to the "skin".....why no broken bones? The "skin breaking down" and "raw tissue" sounds much more like a porphyria disease. Sad case any way you look at it.