The true face of faith healing

UPDATE: Timothy and Rebecca Wyland have been found guilty on felony charges of criminal mistreatment.

The faith-healing parents of Alayna May Wyland are fighting to get custody of their daughter back, even as they face criminal charges for their neglect of her medical needs.

Earlier this month, we told you about Timothy and Rebecca Wyland, members of the Followers of Christ Church in Clackamas, Oregon. This church believes exclusively in faith healing, and does not use doctors:

The Pentacostal church believes in faith healing, relying upon anointing with oil, prayer, and laying on of hands instead of modern medical treatment. This treatment, while equally effective as the application of time and patience for illnesses like the common cold, has not had such success with preventable or curable terminal illnesses.

Over a ten-year period, 25 children of Followers of Christ members have died of preventable or curable illnesses. There may be others which are not documented.

Their daughter was taken into custody by the state in early July and sent for immediate medical treatment. At that time, neither the name of their daughter nor her condition were available.

The image above was taken by the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office. In it, Rebecca Wyland is holding Alayna, who has a massive growth completely covering her left eye. The growth, a hemangioma, is a mass of blood vessels. Some infants are born with them, and they are typically corrected while very small. In this case, the Wylands chose not to take their daughter to a doctor. Instead, Rebecca Wyland anointed her daughter with oil and wiped off the discharge from Alayna’s eye each time she changed the child’s diaper.

At this point, the growth has begun to erode Alayna’s eye socket, and may have caused permanent damage to her eye.

Both parents have been charged with first-degree criminal mistreatment, a Class C felony which may earn them each five years in prison.

Meanwhile, the Wylands are trying desperately to regain custody, even offering a plan to ensure the child gets medical care, including such ideas as a live-in supervisor of sorts, or regular visits from state employees to check up on them.

Related articles:

1. Faith-healing Timothy and Rebecca Wyland found guilty
2. Oregon “faith healing” parents must surrender child
3. Oregon Senate votes to end faith-healing defense for parents
4. Corporations you know are supporting Florida faith-healing fraud
5. Does “Spiritual Healing” qualify under Family and Medical Leave Act?