A well known Florida herbal “healer” and naturopath is under scrutiny after a girl with leukemia he was treating – with a vegan diet and herbal supplements – has died.
Early this year, DeadState first wrote about Makayla Sault, who is a member of the First Nations indigenous group based in Canada. She made headlines last year when she refused treatment for her lymphoblastic leukemia – a disease that is treatable and has a 90% success rate. With her family’s support, she instead sought out alternative indigenous medicine, ultimately passing away from a stroke this January.
Sault was put under the care of Brian Clement, an herbal healer who claims to have “healed thousands and thousands” of terminally people using his techniques. Florida officials have ordered him to stop practicing medicine and calling himself a doctor. In the meantime, he is still actively treating another teen girl from the same community as Sault.
The parents of the two girls continue to stand by Clement and his organization, The Hippocrates Health Institute.
From the National Post:
The mother of the surviving girl — whose name is subject to a publication ban — is very strict in keeping her daughter on the Hippocrates diet of wheat grass and sprouts, as well as traditional native remedies, said Jane Schweitzer, a Hamilton, Ont., wellness advocate.
“[The girl’s] mom is very strong. She doesn’t want her daughter to relapse in any way,” Schweitzer said in a statement.
Clement was fined $3,738 by the state of Ontario on Feb. 10, and was given 30 days to respond. He is facing possible felony charges of practicing medicine without a license.
According to a report from the CBC, “Clement claims to have a doctorate of naturopathic medicine and a PhD in nutrition from the University of Science Arts and Technology (USAT), based in Montserrat.”
When the CBC reached out to USAT’s president Orien Tulp, he said, “Brian Clement, he is not a naturopathic doctor from USAT. I can guarantee that. He shouldn’t be making false claims for one. If he is, I’ll withdraw his degree.”
University of Illinois professor George Gollin, who has investigated USAT in the past, told the CBC that the institution is “horrible.”
“I could have printed him a degree on a laser printer and it would be … just as indicative of training and skills. What I think is terrible is that he’s using this, as I understand it, to treat patients who are desperately sick children,” Gollin said.
Watch a report on the story below:
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