Sayings like “what you reap is what you sow” and “what goes around comes around” have been with us for a very, very long time. On any given day I’d normally rubbish you and point to the fact that such sayings were coined to simply make losers feel better about themselves.

And I’d be right.

Rather then accept the notion of karma as a steadfast rule, instead I like to look at it as a possibility, but something you wouldn’t bet your life savings on happening. What does happen occasionally though is the practical illustration of the fictional concept of karma in everyday life.

I’m the first to admit I didn’t think it was possible to actually die of eczema in this day and age. I’ve always thought of the disease as a kind of genetic cruel joke. You know, when pimples and social unpopularity just aren’t enough to turn your teenage years into a living hell.

Gloria Thomas recently died of eczema, she was nine months old.

Her parents weren’t uneducated bogans and she didn’t live in squalor. Her father, Sam Thomas held an Australian masters degree in health administration and her mother, Manju Sam a science degree and postgrad diploma in computing.

The family lived in New South Wales and despite concerns from doctors across two continents and their own family members, she still somehow managed to slip through the cracks and die.

So the story goes Gloria was initially diagnosed by a nurse a few months after her birth. Despite repeated advice to see a specialist the couple attempted to treat Gloria with homeopathic remedies. Naturally (no pun intended) this failed, magical water drops and sugar balls never cured anyone of anything.

Despite Gloria’s health deteriorating the couple took a trip to India to attend the wedding of Sam’s brother and also apparently because Manju wasn’t coping with Gloria. You see in India you have servants who are able to look after your baby 24/7, here in Australia we have no such luxury.

Anyway, once the wedding was done they flew back to Australia with Gloria in what must have then been a critical condition. Arriving back on the 27th of April it wasn’t until the 5th of May when Gloria’s parents finally took her to a hospital.

Gloria died two days later.

Ignorance is simply not an excuse here. You have two educated (I didn’t say intelligent) parents who essentially watch their child die through inaction. Manslaughter doesn’t even begin to cover the level of neglect this case displays.

Having even the mildest form of eczema untreated is like having the itchiest rash ever and when scratching it to relieve yourself feeling like you’re rubbing gritty sandpaper on raw bloody skin. I can only imagine the horror of dying from it.

Just last month two mothers were in court over feeding their babies pureed pizza, pork crackling and other junk foods on a regular basis.

In January a Melbourne couple were charged after feeding their two and a half month old baby an ecstasy pill.

These are obviously the extreme end of the scales as far as negligence goes but there is still a huge number of kids growing up today with a lesser level of neglect in their lives.

From obesity to lack of education to downright “you ruined my life, I don’t care” attitudes from parents you can observe at any shopping centre in the country, we’re well underway in creating a generation of welfare sponsored neglect.

So what’s the end result?

Imagine you’re 72 years old and you live on your own. You’re immobile and have a gangrenous foot, which is infested with maggots. You lie there helpless in a pool of your own faeces and what’s worse;

Your daughter knows where you are and the state you’re in. She doesn’t care.

Kateryna Pyrczak was found lying in litres of her own feces before being rushed to hospital where she died a few hours later. Her daughter has since been charged with negligent manslaughter.

If you’ve done your job as a parent there shouldn’t be any way your kids could knowingly leave you in that state. The smell must have been rank let alone the agonising pain Kateryna must have been in.

I don’t know what she did or didn’t do in life or whether her daughter, Mary Pyrczak was just “one of those people”, but I do know that something must have been terribly broken in that relationship for Katerya to die like that.

Look after your kids people. Nobody deserves to die with maggots eating away at their leg, lying in a pool of their own shit.

1. Mental illness isn't killing children, parents are.