I’m not an asthma sufferer, but I found this pretty fascinating. A recent study by researchers at Franklin and Marshall College suggests that something about the Amish or their lifestyle may be connected to lower rates of asthma. From the Lancaster Online article: Living on farms and coming from large families are considered protective factors against asthma, just as city dwelling is a risk factor,…
From an Associated Press report: An Ohio hospital is fighting to force a 10-year-old Amish girl with leukemia to resume chemotherapy after her parents decided to stop the treatments. Akron Children’s Hospital is appealing a judge’s decision that blocked an attorney who’s also a registered nurse from taking over limited guardianship and making medical decisions for the girl. The hospital believes the girl will die without chemotherapy…
From the Watertown Daily Times: CANTON — An Amish couple is waiting to find out if child neglect charges against them will be dropped following a closed-door conference Thursday in Family Court. The couple, Annie L. and Levi M. Shetler, were charged last year after they refused open-heart surgery for their newborn daughter, Sarah, because they said the operation goes against the tenets of their…
Today’s question springs from a new study on a genetic mutation which causes a form of mental retardation among Amish. Like other genetic research involving the Amish, this study will probably help them health-wise. It’s really the language used to describe it which may not be quite so helpful. The meaning of “inbreeding” In the article describing the work, researcher José Luis Rosa of the University of Barcelona…
Ruth Anne writes: As a mother to a young woman who has Down syndrome I am curious as to how people with intellectual disabilities are accepted and integrated into the Amish culture. I live near Xenia, Ohio and I often see Amish people out and about shopping, visiting the doctor, etc., but I have never noticed an Amish person who has Down syndrome or any…
Pennsylvania Amishman John Stoltzfus has kindly agreed to answer some reader questions about the Amish. Of course “the Amish” includes different groups with different practices. With that in mind, John writes that “my views will not be the only view from our people, because of the vast geographic area of our communities, and because each community or settlement has its own Ordnung. I will try…
That may seem a dumb question. Hard work = exercise after all, and “hard work” is one of the bullet points in the Amish job description, for most Amish folks anyway. However I think there is a difference between the two. What I mean is the 21st-century Western approach to exercise, where we isolate it as its own, often-intense activity done strictly for health, weight…
“These children are seen as important to the culture and the community. That they, through your efforts to help these children, that they teach you things that are helpful in other ways. And that that engenders within the community a sense of responsibility for everybody to take care of those who are disadvantaged.” That’s Dr. Holmes Morton discussing the role of ill and disabled children in…
Back from vacation–and thank you for all the nice wishes. It was a (mostly) restful week spent at the ocean with family, with no sunburns, and a little extra sleep, so I guess I’m coming out ahead here. After a week off there’s a lot out there to comment on. This might not be the most important news in Amish America, but over the last…
Following up our discussion on how Amish choose hospitals, a regular reader has shared observations of how his Amish friends choose and pay for conventional care. You’ll see that sometimes creativity is involved. Per request I’ve changed the names of the locations, substituting generic names for the actual town names. The Amish community in question is a small one and quite conservative: My friends prefer…