Q&A

What is wrong with Alfie?

Doctors say he has a degenerative neurological condition – most likely a mitochondrial disorder which prevents him from converting food into energy.

His parents had noticed he was not developing as expected aged just two months and a brain scan showed abnormalities in December 2016. He was taken to Alder Hey suffering seizures and went into cardiac arrest when doctors tried to help. He went into a coma and was on life support until this was withdrawn by High Court order on Monday evening.

How do his parents disagree with doctors?

Doctors say scans show most of his brain matter has been replaced by fluid and cannot be regenerated – so there is no prospect of his condition improving.

Alfie’s father is convinced his son is aware of his parents and sometimes responds to them, but doctors say these movements are simply seizures. Tom Evans believes his son has been ‘misdiagnosed’ and wants to explore other treatments.

Why haven’t they been allowed to take him to Italy?

After hearing from medical experts, Mr Justice Hayden concluded that there was no viable alternative treatment for Alfie.

He said that transporting him by air would leave him vulnerable to infection and seizures. He concluded that the plan to take Alfie to Rome was ‘irreconcilable’ with his best interests.

Why can’t Alfie’s parents just take him home?

If parents disagree with doctors over a course of action, the courts must decide in the interests of the child. In February Mr Justice Hayden concluded all ‘reasonable’ treatments had been explored and that keeping him alive was ‘futile’. After an unsuccessful appeal, the judge set out a timetable for switching off life support. Mr Evans says he was threatened with arrest if he tried to stop this or removed his son. However, should doctors agree, his parents may be allowed to take him home or to a hospice to spend his final days.

Why has he survived so long not on life support?

He is not brain-dead and so is still capable of breathing unaided. His parents insist his continued survival has proved doctors wrong and say they used mouth-tomouth resuscitation after the ventilator was switched off. He is now being given oxygen and hydration again.