Pearl Family 3: Living on Snake Oil, Charcoal and Plexus

[GuineaPigCourtship]

I wonder if that's where Justin Duggar's brother-in-law went.  I remember the Spivvy's posting about one of their kids having cancer, lamenting about bills, and raging against scamaritan.  I believe he's doing well now, but I don't really follow them closely.

[JermajestyDuggar]

Shalom just posted something talking about possibly getting a CT scan. Then sending it to H4C and getting their opinion on what to do next 🙄🙄🙄 They are still doing their at home woo stuff that H4C recommended when they left. Like the red light therapy, supplements, and diet stuff. 

Edited 20 hours ago by JermajestyDuggar

[Xan]

I don't understand how Shalom can still believe that H4C is worthwhile.  They spent $50,000 down there and Justin isn't cured of anything.  Now he's back home and all the symptoms are reappearing.  Why bother sending the CT scan to H4C and being charged for that?  Surely even Shalom and Justin can begin to figure out that the vitamins and red light therapy are useless.

They're wasting the time he has left.  It's maddening.

[Howl]

Hopefully they can log into his patient portal and see the results of the ultrasound/CT scan.   Whoever ordered the scans will surely talk to them about the results, so they'll at least know the true status of Justin's illness. 

(More recently, I've been able to log onto my patient portal for whichever entity is doing lab work or a scan and see the reviewing physician's statement, rather than having to first go to the ordering physician to get the results. This might vary from state to state.)

I suspect that H4C will not want them back at this point. 

[Ozlsn]

1 hour ago, Howl said:

I suspect that H4C will not want them back at this point. 

I'm sure they'll recommend remote treatment options and supplements and charge them for it. They're obviously not totally broke yet.

[hoipolloi]

As long as H4$ can extract money, I'm sure theyʻll maintain contact. 

Shalom mentioned a "lung doctor" so I hope that means they are actually seeing a pulmonologist or similar medical specialist. 

[sleepygirl1]

12 hours ago, Howl said:

MD Anderson in Houston is one of  the premier cancer hospitals in the US. It is free* for Texas residents who cannot pay.   *Uncompensated Care at MD Anderson

One family we followed took their 16-yr-old son there as a last resort after the Mexican woo clinic did not cure his very aggressive cancer.  The details are fuzzy, but I think they were required to apply for MediCaid for the son to be eligible for treatment. 

Not sure what cancer hospitals Justin would be eligible for in their part of the US,  but as a small business owner he's almost certainly over the financial threshold for MediCaid eligibility.  

These large patriarchal families totally reliant on one income and that patriarch isn't heavily insured (health insurance and life insurance) because God is Sooooooo Good...

Also, what is Justin's business exactly? Auto body work? Custom motorcycles?  Exposure to chemicals, solvents, fumes can lead to a greater incidence of lung cancer. 

 

 

You’re thinking of the rusty Thomas family and his son Jeremiah. Sad story

[Howl]

15 minutes ago, sleepygirl1 said:

You’re thinking of the rusty Thomas family and his son Jeremiah. Sad story

Yes, that's correct. Thanks for the reminder. 

[MariaariaM]

17 hours ago, Xan said:

They spent $50,000 down there and Justin isn't cured of anything.  Now he's back home and all the symptoms are reappearing. 

The bolded bit is crucial here. They made sure to have him on tons of steroids to keep the symptoms in check until they got home. Now they can think H4C was responsible for him feeling better and being home/away from the charlatans is what makes him feel worse.

[FiveAcres]

Just now, MariaariaM said:

The bolded bit is crucial here. They made sure to have him on tons of steroids to keep the symptoms in check until they got home. Now they can think H4C was responsible for him feeling better and being home/away from the charlatans is what makes him feel worse.

At this point, the steroids are palliative care, and so are any antibiotics he is taking. They are not curative. I don't know if they are so totally in denial that they can't hear the truth, or just not very intelligent.

[Howl]

2 minutes ago, FiveAcres said:

I don't know if they are so totally in denial that they can't hear the truth, or just not very intelligent.

It's neither.  As Christian fundamentalists, they live their lives with unshakeable belief.  That unshakeable belief has been transferred to H4C.  

The CT scan will be immutable proof on where he is on the cancer journey. I doubt they will move on to any traditional treatment. 

A friend, a robust guy in his 50s (and car mechanic) recently died of lung cancer.  It's an awful disease. 

[FiveAcres]

1 hour ago, Howl said:

It's neither.  As Christian fundamentalists, they live their lives with unshakeable belief.  That unshakeable belief has been transferred to H4C.  

The CT scan will be immutable proof on where he is on the cancer journey. I doubt they will move on to any traditional treatment. 

A friend, a robust guy in his 50s (and car mechanic) recently died of lung cancer.  It's an awful disease. 

Yes. Lung cancer is horrible.

If their faith in H4C is completely unshakeable, I foresee some combination of the following occurring.

• They do another go fund me, and mortgage or sell anything that they have left.They try to get more funds from their family.
• They head back to H4C. H4C keeps giving palliative care until he is too much trouble for the staff to take care of, and they kick him out and tell him to go to the local medical center. This requires money.
• They find a cancer quack with an MD, perhaps one with a boutique cancer care clinic, who agrees to follow the H4C "protocol" and adds in some other treatments "that are a little experimental but may help." This requires money.
• They try to find people who are willing to smuggle in the H4C protocol palliative care drugs into the US. Maybe not as expensive. Eventually he starts spiraling, and has to seek US medical care when he family is no longer able to care for him.
• They browbeat a legitimate, non-quack MD into providing the H4C protocol care. I don't think this will happen, since this would be a lawsuit waiting to happen, as well as extremely unethical.