Mum joins Alfie’s Army in support of battling tot
MANCHESTER PARENT TRAVELS TO LIVERPOOL AFTER OWN ISSUES WITH DOCTORS
A MANCHESTER mum says she joined Alfie’s Army supporters in Liverpool to show the city is supporting youngster Alfie Evans.
Steph Hague travelled to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital with her friend on Monday night to join protesters as they waited to hear news about the 23-month-old, hours after a High Court judge dismissed a ‘last-ditch appeal.’
Alfie’s parents, Tom Evans and Kate James, want treatment to continue and want to fly the seriously-ill tot, who was struck down with a mystery illness, to a hospital in Rome.
Alfie was placed on a life support at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool in December 2016 and has been in a semi vegetative state for more than a year.
His parents, Tom Evans and Kate James, had been trying to stop his doctors from withdrawing that life support in a sometimes acrimonious six-month dispute which has seen a series of court battles.
A ‘last-ditch appeal’ by the Italian ambassador and the Pope, to grant Alfie citizenship of Italy to take him for treatment at a hospital in Rome, failed on Monday.
His lifesupport was withdrawn on Monday night, and he started to breathe for himself for 19 hours before being put back on Oxygen.
Last night, a High Court judge sitting in Manchester ruled Alfie could not be taken to Italy, but suggested he may be allowed home.
While in Liverpool, Steph, 27, filmed a number of Facebook Live videos to show friends and family while her husband Jack stayed at home with their children, Brooke, eight, Hollie, five, and one-year-old Arlo.
She said: “I went live to show people at home what was happening and to prompt more supporters from our area to come down and to show everyone how peaceful it is and how welcoming Alfie’s Army is.
“I even had some of the supporters sit in my car to keep warm.
“We’ve swapped numbers to keep in touch.
“The people of Liverpool are lovely. And since going live I’ve had local people message me saying they want to come down with me to show their support too.”
Steph feels she was let down by doctors when she was having her son Arlo, who was left deaf after developing sepsis, and feels the public need to be aware that ‘doctors do make mistakes.’
She said: “We’ve had so much stress with hospitals.
“Doctors aren’t always right and they do make mistakes.
“I support Tom and Kate all the way and being there just gives them some extra support.
“I couldn’t keep sitting there day in, day out, watching what was going on, on my phone, and not going.
“I needed to show them support and show that the people of Manchester do care and do support you.”