In Pennsylvania, a couple has been arrested for allegedly neglecting to provide essential insulin to their 13-year-old son, who has diabetes. This negligence led to the boy being hospitalized twice within a week, with his second visit requiring several days in the intensive care unit.

The parents, Anthony Diffendall, aged 41, and Meghan Diffendall, aged 36, both residing in Middletown, were arrested last week. They each face a charge of endangering the welfare of a child.

The Lower Swatara Township Police Department made the announcement regarding the arrests through brief news releases on Thursday. The releases stated that the charges were in connection with “an incident that was reported to us.”

According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by The Daily Voice, the 13-year-old, who has Type 1 diabetes, was first hospitalized on June 22 and again on September 9 for diabetic ketoacidosis. This serious condition results from insufficient insulin, leading to dangerously high levels of acidity in the blood, and is typically treated as a medical emergency.

Following his discharge on September 10, the boy was readmitted to the hospital on September 13 after experiencing symptoms like abnormal breathing, vomiting, and chest pain. Medical professionals at Penn State Children’s Hospital diagnosed him with another episode of ketoacidosis, which necessitated his admission to the intensive care unit.

The Diffendalls reportedly told the medical staff that their insurance had denied their son’s long-term insulin, forcing them to use expired insulin they found in their refrigerator.

According to court documents, doctors said that the boy appeared to be the victim of chronic medical neglect because his sugar levels were “beyond what is appropriate” for someone with his condition and emphasized the fact that he had “two significant hospitalizations in the past week” as a result of “management of his diabetes, or lack thereof.”

Going back to the June hospitalization, doctors determined that three ketoacidosis hospitalizations in three months created “concern for [the victim’s] well-being and long-term health outcomes,” York Fox affiliate WPMT reported.

The parents were instructed to attend a class on their son’s condition, but Meghan Diffendall reportedly did not attend. When asked where his wife was, Anthony Diffendall allegedly said she was “home sleeping.”

The victim’s pediatrician told investigators the Diffendalls had not refilled their son’s long-term insulin supply since January when he should have been going through “at least a box” every month, WPMT reported.

“It is basically a miracle that the victim did not go into diabetic ketoacidosis many more times,” the doctor said, adding that there were “concerns for medical neglect.”

Shortly after their arrests, the parents appeared before Magisterial District Judge David H. Judy for their arraignment hearings. The judge ordered them to be released on their own recognizance and scheduled their preliminary hearings for the afternoon of Nov. 26.