All I can say is that this completely dumbfounds me. Really, it does. If any of my nieces or nephews were sick with pneumonia, I would have rushed them to the hospital right away. I have a nephew who is about the same age as poor Rebecca when she died, and if he were sick like that, you can bet that he would be at that hospital -- not the doctors' office, but the hospital. When he was throwing up about a year ago -- uncontrollably -- he went to the hospital. Turns out, the babysitter gave him veal and he got food poisoning (because giving a two-year-old veal stew is a great idea), but he still went right to the hospital. My brother and sister-in-law picked him up after work, stopped over at the house on the way home, and he started vomiting all over the place, violently and several times every few minutes. After about fifteen minutes of seeing this - and that it wasn't going to stop because he was seriously ill and not just an upset tummy - we got them a bucket or bag or something, and they went right to the hospital. The poor thing was dehydrated and sick as a dog.
Now, food poisoning isn't quite as severe as pneumonia. Because of that, wouldn't it make sense for this girl's parents to take her right to the hospital -- especially if they already **knew** that she had pneumonia?
Right now, I've got a bad cold myself, so I can empathize with people being ill. But this happens to me every time the weather changes. I feel like shit, can only breathe out of one nostril at a time -- or sometimes neither nostril -- and a bit of a cough. Sometimes a fever on and off, depending on how often/what medicine I take -- which usually consists of Zycam or Nyquil/Dayquil or Alka Seltzer or something. Being sick royally sucks ass, and I hate it. I'm miserable to say the least. But I know that I'm not at Death's door. And if I were to get any worse or something like that, I would take myself to the doctor's or to the hospital or to urgent care. Because I listen to my body.
And because I'm an aunt, I also listen to the bodies of my nieces and nephews. And when one of them gets sick, I spazz out. I have mellowed a little with the older kids -- being in their early/mid teens -- but the younger three, I completely spazz. And everyone laughs at me, but I know that if they got any sicker, they would take the kids to the doctor/hospital, no matter what age they are.
My middle niece threw-up in the car once about a year ago -- or maybe less. I can't remember the exact date. But anyway, admittedly, I just wanted to get out of there. I don't like dealing with "adult-food" throw-up. So I sat up front on the way home. And when we got there, what was the first thing that my sister did? She called the doctor -- very good, boys and girls! And made an appointment ASAP. If I remember correctly, she had a 24-48 hour stomach flu, I think. Don't quote me on that, because I can't remember for sure if it was 24 or 48 hours, but it was one of those.
And just a little while before that, my oldest niece had a syncope spell while my sister was cutting her hair. She freaked out because she thought that my niece was really, really sick. Fainting shouldn't be taken lightly at any time. But it was the middle of summer, and my sister was cutting my niece's hair when my niece just kind of passed out and knocked her head on the table, I believe -- or maybe the counter. I wasn't there, so I don't remember which it was. Anywho, she called 911 and then she called us at our house and told us what happened while the medics were checking her out. It was really just a fainting spell because she was hot, she was standing still for a long time with her head at a strange angle. My niece had a headache and a bit of a bruise from where she knocked herself on the way down, but she was ok.
And then her brother, my oldest nephew, got Impentago, which is sort of like MRSA but a bit more easily treated with antibiotics. He has sores all over his hands and face and torso, and he spent a stay in the hospital while they figured out and treated him. He got home from football practice one day, and my sister noticed that he had this odd sore on his hand. They both thought it was a blister from doing some of the practice things that they did that day. The next day, he was covered in sores, and my brother-in-law took him to the hospital. They were able to treat him successfully, and he doesn't have any scars or any other outbreaks. He washes his hands more, I daresay, but he's a perfectly happy and healthy 15-year-old.
So, what I'm getting at is this. If Rebecca did have pneumonia and did die from it, that death could have been prevented. I watched the trial about this on TruTV, and the testimony said that supposedly the parents had appointments for the little girl, but they never took her because it was the "next day", and when that day came, it was the "next day" again. So, if this little girl was so sick that she died from it, wouldn't it make sense that they took her to the hospital or the doctor's or something?! She was found dead just inches away from her parents' bed, covered over with a blanket with pickish-red fluid coming out of her nose and mouth. She basically aspirated -- or choked on her own vomit, suffocated, and died. So, even if the poor little girl did have pneumonia, it wasn't an unforeseeable death. If her parents would have taken her to the doctor's office at the least, she would still be alive today. They could have treated her. They could have sent her to the hospital, and if the parents didn't want to take her, the doctors could have called DCSS - the Department of Child and Social Services, and then they could have had her flighted or ambulanced to the hospital.
It's stupid and messed up that this girl had to die. It really and truly is. If your kid is seriously ill, take them to the hospital. They can't turn you away because you don't have insurance. They can't kick you out. They'll help you, and they'll help your kid. It's bull-shit that they didn't take her to a health care professional. It's bull-shit that that beautiful little girl had to die. It's bull-shit to the nth degree that the father is saying that it's an unforeseeable death. Screw that. Screw that. If your kid is seriously ill, it's your duty as a parent to try to find a way to get him or her to a doctor or a hospital. Ask a neighbor. Call an ambulance. Do something. Do anything. That child should be the most important thing in your life. I don't have kids and I know that. And I do that in my own life. I'm not the most patient person when it comes to dealing with kids -- younger/youngish kids. But when one of the kids is sick, I'm there. Right now, I don't want the kids around me because I have a cold and I don't want them to get it, but if the roles were reversed, I wold be right there.
So, don't you ever dare to say that an ill child's death was unforeseeable if you didn't do everything that you could do. And in this case, Rebecca's parents obviously didn't do everything they could have done if indeed she really died from pneumonia.
Brockton, MA - From the time Rebecca Riley died in December of 2006, defendant Michael Riley has denied any responsibility for his four-year-old daughter’s death. But despite those denials, Riley was charged with Rebecca’s murder, and ultimately ended up on trial in a Brockton, Massachusetts courtroom. Prosecutors believe they have a strong case against Michael Riley. But what is his response? Basically, Riley’s defense seems to be founded on three core arguments:
- Rebecca Riley died a natural death. According to Riley’s defense, Rebecca’s death was not caused by the overmedication of prescription drugs – particularly clonidine – that she was regularly given. Instead, according to the defense, the child died of an acute case of pneumonia, something that neither of her parents could possibly have foreseen and for which they bear no criminal responsibility.
- Carolyn Riley is the one who administered the drugs. According to this argument, even if one accepts the Commonwealth’s position that Rebecca’s death was caused by the large amounts of prescription medications she was regularly ingesting, Carolyn Riley was the parent who gave the Riley children those drugs. Michael Riley claims that he was not personally involved in that aspect of his children’s lives; that duty, according to the defense, was strictly Carolyn’s. Since Michael didn’t know what his children were taking – or exactly how much of it they were taking – and never personally administered it to them, his defense argues that he can’t be held responsible for any abuse or misuse of those medications.
- Dr. Kifuji is the real villain. According to this line of defense, neither Michael nor Carolyn Riley had any way to know the potential dangers of the large amounts of prescription medications that Rebecca was regularly ingesting. That responsibility, the defense says, rests solely with Dr. Kayoko Kifuji, Rebecca’s psychiatrist – a doctor who certainly should have known of the potential dangers of overmedicating a child, who blithely wrote prescription after prescription for the Riley children, and who never made an effort to either wean the children off their medications or follow up on the potentially dangerous side effects they might be experiencing. If there’s someone who’s ultimately responsible for Rebecca’s tragic and unnecessary death, this argument goes, it’s Dr. Kifuji – not Michael or Carolyn Riley.
-Michael Christian, In Session Field Producer
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