Rusty Thomas' Daughter Dies

[JermajestyDuggar]

The Thomas family travels around protesting abortion clinics and grifts for a living. Unfortunately their teen son Jeremiah was diagnosed with cancer recently. Rusty posted lately about what they will be doing for treatment. They thought about St Jude's and said, "nah, lets go to Tiajuana and do some weird ass treatment that heats him up to 106 degrees to kill the cancer."

Why are so many fundies constantly refusing the best medical treatment available?! 

http://web-extract.constantcontact.com/v1/social_annotation?permalink_uri=2IynGWM&image_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmlsvc01-prod.s3.amazonaws.com%2F4e1eddb9001%2F1e9459f0-8778-4f8d-ba1d-740c6c65a0a2.jpg%3Fver%3D1522255755000

Edited February 17, 2020 by Coconut Flan

[jerkit]

Dollars to donuts, in 6 months, they will say "god directed" them to seek conventional treatment. 

[FullOfGravy]

So unborn babies must be protected and carried to term at all costs, but once they're out and get sick - well, tough luck kid, you're not a fetus anymore.

Mmkay.

[PennySycamore]

Raising the body temperature to 106 degrees "might" help kill cancer cells, but only if they also kill the person with cancer.  Body temps that high are dangerous!

Edited April 9, 2018 by PennySycamore
removing redundancy

[JermajestyDuggar]

4 minutes ago, PennySycamore said:

Raising the body temperature to 106 degrees "might" help kill cancer cells, but only if they also kill the person with cancer.  Body temps that high are dangerous!

I know. I don't get it either. I wish they wouldn't waste time on this and just jump head on into chemotherapy ASAP. My cousin is currently doing chemotherapy and yes it's hard and it sucks big time, but it's the best bet for her to live a long life after the treatment is over. 

[quiversR4hunting]

34 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I know. I don't get it either. I wish they wouldn't waste time on this and just jump head on into chemotherapy ASAP. My cousin is currently doing chemotherapy and yes it's hard and it sucks big time, but it's the best bet for her to live a long life after the treatment is over. 

plus everything I read about cancer (any type) the earlier it is diagnosed the better chance of beating it. Wasting time on quack "cures" is just letting the cancer grow.

Good luck to your cousin!

[turquoise]

One of my fundy-lite relatives was diagnosed with colon cancer. She had surgery, but then decided to go with "natural treatments" rather than chemo. And now the cancer is back and she's at stage 4. I realize the cancer could have returned even if she'd had chemo, but it makes me sad to think there's a decent chance this return could have been delayed or avoided altogether.

[Themanda Duggar]

My friend had a kind of cancer that had a very high rate of cure, using conventional treatments, but she opted for some stupid new age program instead, and she died.  She was a single mom to a 16 year old, who ended up in the shared custody of her mother’s 2 best friends, as had been prearranged.  She was very well cared for, and continues to be, as an adult.

I was really angry with my friend over the choice she made about her treatment, most of her friends were, and most of us tried to talk her out of her plans, but she had made up her mind.  It took me a while, but eventually I came to realize that it was her life, and her choice, and the best thing I could do as her friend was to let go of what I wanted for her, accept what she wanted for herself, and just love her through it.

My friend was an adult who made her decision on her own, and after fully reviewing all of her options.  No one pushed her into what she did, and no one else had control over her choices.  I fear that this is not the case with this kid.

I do support an adult making a fully informed bad choice with regards to his or her own healthcare, but I’m horrified by the thought of this kind of decision being made on behalf of someone else, especially by people who are not qualified to even understand the relevant medical information.

I really hope this kid comes through this ok.

[Lurky]

4 hours ago, Themanda Duggar said:

My friend was an adult who made her decision on her own, and after fully reviewing all of her options.  No one pushed her into what she did, and no one else had control over her choices.  I fear that this is not the case with this kid.

I do get this, but wow, I feel for her child.  It must be hard enough to have a parent die while the child is in their teens (this happened to my dad), but knowing they chose to not do everything they could to stay with the child must be even harder.

[Inky]

9 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

 

Why are so many fundies constantly refusing the best medical treatment available?! 

 

To answer your question, I think it is because they lack critical thinking skills. As soon as they hear something that conflicts with their world view or that they don't want to hear it's fingers in the ears nyah nyah nyah time. 

And its very sad that their 16 year old is going to pay the price.

[Glasgowghirl]

My sister's friend has 16 year old son with terminal spine cancer, he is currently in Lourdes, he had previously had it aged 11 and when it returned last year he was told he'd only live a few months. Since having chemo and other treatments his tumour has reduced more than doctors believed it would, he has posted thing on his Facebook about Cannabis oil and that it should be legalised here for medical use but I don't know if he has personally used it. He has made several posts thanking the doctors and nurses that treat him and has gotten involved with a few charities that helped him. 

A family friend died of cancer a few years ago, he refused chemo, he knew when diagnosed it was terminal and decided after seeing his parents die from it, he didn't want to prolong suffering longer. I understood his decision but in this case he is young and probably being influenced into rejecting the chemo by his family, I'm all for trying alternative therapies but not this one, it sounds insane and will more than likely cause serious damage, if not kill him. Chemo and radio therapy may have horrible side effects but they also save peoples lives they should be encouraging him to have the therapy he needs. 

[NachosFlandersStyle]

Rusty is asking for donations to cover the medical bills. People are coming through with other suggestions but keep getting shot down. I'm not surprised that Samaritan isn't helping. And I shouldn't be surprised that they won't touch Medicaid, but still, good god, can you imagine prioritizing your anti-government views above getting legitimate medical care for your child?

[Howl]

They wouldn't be eligible for MediCare and I don't know why the poster just assumed you ask the government for money to cover your medical bills and like magic, they give you some; however, if they are close to destitute, they could apply for  MediCaid.   Yeah, people would not be declaring medical bankruptcy if you accrued huge medical bills from being uninsured (or even insured)  and then you just asked nicely for the government to make your huge medical bills go away or to pay for all your medical treatments.  

They act like there are special evil government hospitals with evil government treatments, rather than just hospitals and doctors.  Honestly, this is idiocy of the highest order. 

And they are dissing the possibility of government assistance at the same time they are being screwed by Scamaritan and are reduced to groveling for money.  Knock yourselves out, folks. 

This is unkind, I know, but I suspect they believe Rusty won't die, because they are the best kind of Christians, who God and Jesus really really like, so a miracle is order for them. 

Honestly, I hope there is some way he can live,  but turning your back on medical help is not the best path to that outcome. 

Edited April 12, 2018 by Howl

[JermajestyDuggar]

Rusty is the father of Jeremiah, who has cancer. I believe Jeremiah is 17 so I thought he could be covered by Medicaid. Since his family seems to have no real money coming in the kid must qualify right? 

Rusty is a grade A piece of shit. He protests and harasses random women's medical choices but refuses real medical care for his child based on principle. Fuck him. I hate to see a kid die because his dad is a stubborn ass. I'm sure this had a lot to do with their choice to go to Mexico for some weird ass treatment instead of St Jude. Which I believe is free but probably partly due to government assistance (plus donations). 

By the way, I'm shocked Lisa Metzger hasn't suggested Plexus for Jeremiah. 

[Howl]

I was thinking about this a bit more.  As a minor, the son might be eligible for CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program), which is a a health insurance program for the children of people who don't qualify for MediCaid.  

[hasunah]

On 4/10/2018 at 12:29 AM, Lurky said:

I do get this, but wow, I feel for her child.  It must be hard enough to have a parent die while the child is in their teens (this happened to my dad), but knowing they chose to not do everything they could to stay with the child must be even harder.

It sucks .  My mother and my biological father split because of his alcohol use when I was 2 . She then moved half across the country back into her parents house . I was insured through my father , he paid child support and I got Christmas and birthday presents from him and had the occasional phone call until he died when I was 14 . But I never saw him again in person after my parents split . For years I put this down on distance ( 500 km  maybe ) until I moved to the same city we all had lived together as a small family  back then to finish my education . I regularly drove home during holidays . It took me 5 hours by car . So he couldn't make that journey for his only child, 5 hours by car , less by train . And once I realized that I was angry and felt completely abandoned  . At that point I was in my early 20s and I had sort of a breakdown because I couldn't tell him that , he was dead . So I can't ask him why he insured me , paid child support , the presents , phone calls . He was half way there  to be a father !

[Briefly]

I would move heaven and earth if my daughter needed medical care, especially for something like cancer. If they had tried treatment and got to the point where it was not working and there really was no hope, then I could see stopping chemo and making him comfortable. But to not get treatment in the first place?  That is criminal.  And evil.

[Howl]

I wonder if he made this decision unilaterally (headship!) and everyone had to go along, or pretend they did.  

[Glasgowghirl]

3 hours ago, NachosFlandersStyle said:

Rusty is asking for donations to cover the medical bills. People are coming through with other suggestions but keep getting shot down. I'm not surprised that Samaritan isn't helping. And I shouldn't be surprised that they won't touch Medicaid, but still, good god, can you imagine prioritizing your anti-government views above getting legitimate medical care for your child?

What an asshole, as I mentioned earlier, I know someone whose teenage son has terminal cancer and both her and her son's dad are doing everything they can for their son. Chemo, alternative therapies, her son made a post about Lourdes on Facebook and the local community raised money for him to go. People have their opinions on Lourdes but even if I doesn't cure anyone it won't do harm unlike the treatments Rusty is seeking. 

If it came to getting my child vital treatment I'd go against any of my principles to give my child the chance of survival.

[spork78]

On 4/9/2018 at 10:26 AM, FullOfGravy said:

So unborn babies must be protected and carried to term at all costs, but once they're out and get sick - well, tough luck kid, you're not a fetus anymore.

Mmkay.

Reminds me of this pic from the recent marches.

[Howl]

Does anyone know the type of cancer the son has?

[JermajestyDuggar]

1 hour ago, Howl said:

Does anyone know the type of cancer the son has?

So here is what I've gathered from Rusty's Facebook page and blog updates. Last month he went to the doctor for chest pain. He plays football so they thought he broke a rib. They found a malignant mass in his chest in a bad area (didn't say what area but I'm guessing near the lungs). Then he couldn't walk at one point so they thought maybe the mass had spread near his spine. It was removed and he can walk again. But they have said they are headed down to Mexico soon for treatment. It doesn't sound like it's a long treatment so I guess that's one positive. The less time they waste on this the better. 

You guys should check out Rusty's Facebook page. He posts about it fairly often. 

ETA: Ok guys I went to Kendra Thomas's (Rusty's wife) page because she gives way better info than Rusty. It looks like Jeremiah's chances of survival are very bad even with chemo and that's why they are going to mexico. Poor Jeremiah. He's so young and probably won't make it.

Edited April 13, 2018 by JermajestyDuggar

[Howl]

This gives a very different perspective; it sounds as though all that can be done through conventional treatments is done.  Very sad for this family and their son. 

Edited April 13, 2018 by Howl

[JermajestyDuggar]

15 minutes ago, Howl said:

This gives a very different perspective; it sounds as though all that can be done through conventional treatments is done.  Very sad for this family and their son. 

I agree. Rusty's posts vs his wife's posts are like night and day. She gives real information and Rusty just seems to ramble without much info. I feel sorry for that poor boy. He's born into a family like this and doesn't even get a chance to live to adulthood. 

FJ is just filled with awful news lately. 

[spork78]

1 hour ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I agree. Rusty's posts vs his wife's posts are like night and day. She gives real information and Rusty just seems to ramble without much info. I feel sorry for that poor boy. He's born into a family like this and doesn't even get a chance to live to adulthood. 

FJ is just filled with awful news lately. 

I can't believe that he's still rambling on and on about abortion when he has a son with cancer. If it were my child I would be dropping EVERYTHING to get my child the best care possible.

I also find it hilarious that Rusty refuses to "feed the beast", as he is a huge supporter of crisis pregnancy centers and they get the majority of their funding from taxpayer dollars... but I'm guessing that's OK because fetuses are involved. Anything for the fetuses - we all know children have no value once they're expelled from the womb and are unworthy of our tax dollars after they breath on their own.

Edited April 13, 2018 by spork78
grammer roolz