Anguish as parents let baby Charlie go
THE little British boy who broke hearts across the globe, Charlie Gard, will have his life support turned off after his distraught parents decided it was time to let him “be with the angels.’’
Connie Yates and Chris Gard made the decision to let little Charlie slip away after new testing revealed he had suffered major and irreparable brain damage. Their lawyer said time had run out for the 11-month-old to be saved.
After a six-month court fight, which saw US president Donald Trump and Pope Francis in Rome offer support and help Charlie, his parents have acknowledged that he will not make his first birthday on August 4.
His mother wept in the High Court in London on Monday as she confirmed scans had revealed the extent of damage to her son’s brain.
“As Charlie’s devoted and loving parents we have decided that it’s no longer in Charlie’s best interests to pursue treatment and we will let our son go and be with the angels,’’ Ms Yates said, as family members and lawyers wept in court.
“Mummy and Daddy love you so much Charlie, we always have and we always will and we are so sorry that we couldn’t save you. Sweet dreams baby. Sleep tight our beautiful little boy.’’
His heartbroken parents also lashed out at doctors at the Great Ormond Street Hospital, who they said had delayed allowing Charlie to undergo highly experimental drug treatment in the United States in a bid to restore some of his quality of life.
The doctors had refused permission for Charlie to leave the UK, saying his extremely rare genetic conditions, which destroyed his muscles and organs, had left him profoundly brain damaged and that he was in pain and should be allowed to die with dignity.
His parents argued that he should be entitled to undergo the therapy, and the public raised more than $2 million to pay for his treatment.
Ms Yates said there was “one simple reason for Charlie’s muscular deterioration. That was time.’’
She said the couple knew the treatment would work but “our poor boy has been left there to lie in hospital without treatment while court battles are fought”.
Charlie’s parents’ lawyer, Grant Armstrong, said the couple had made “the most painful of decisions, that only parents can make”.
“For Charlie, it’s too late, time has run out,” he said.
OUR POOR BOY HAS BEEN LEFT THERE TO LIE IN HOSPITAL WITHOUT TREATMENT WHILE COURT BATTLES ARE FOUGHT CHARLIE GARD’S MOTHER