Don’t let hospital leave our brave little boy to die, parents beg judge
Before yesterday’s hearing Miss Yates, 31, and her 32-year-old partner, of Bedfont, west London, told of their determination to save their only child.
She said: “We love our child with every ounce of our being and we want what’s best for him. It’s as if Charlie is being sentenced to death.
“Charlie has nothing to lose but potentially a healthier, happier life to gain.”
He was born last August at a healthy weight but grew weaker and was admitted to hospital when he was two months old.
He is in a stable condition and although the illness is attacking his muscles, his parents do not believe he is in pain.
However, there is no cure for the disease and he is being kept alive on a ventilator and a nasal tube for food and water.
Mr Justice Nick Francis opened the proceedings by telling the couple: “It is a most tragic situation. I start by saying how deeply sympathetic I am, whatever the rights and wrongs of the case, whatever the outcome.”
Katie Gollop, QC, for Great Ormond Street, said Charlie was deaf and unable to cry and his doctors believed it was in his best interests to end his life support. She added: “The hospital’s position is that every day that passes is a day that is not in the child’s best interests.”
She said Great Ormond Street’s specialists had considered the kind of treatment he would have in the US and had decided against it. Sophia Roper, the couple’s counsel, said: “His parents believe he is in much better shape than the hospital does.”
Mr Justice Francis said the parents were “utterly devoted,” adding: “This is one of the saddest types of case that comes before this court.”
The case was adjourned to April 3.