yellowroom

Connie was talking about being able to bath Charlie and lay him in his cot. Which sounds like it is for the parents benefits, not Charlie's.

I'm very sorry that they are going to lose their baby, but they really haven't accepted the full reality like they said they had when they withdrew their case yesterday.

Twinkle0927

I just can't get over the fact that she went to court today and spent the day there when this is one of the last days her son will be on earth. Is fighting in court over being able to give him a bath (why?) more important than spending time with him? I'm sure the lawyer could have spoken on her behalf.

Twinkle0927

Apart from the fact that she will be bathing a corpse. The hospital have made it clear that he cannot survive at all without the ventilator. Even from the ambulance to their front door would require manual "bagging". He won't be able to breathe unaided for the duration of a bath.

joto

I have a feeling that the parents are trying to drag it out until the baby's 1st birthday. There really isn't any point in it, it's only delaying the inevitable.

Oakvillian

The latest twist is a very sad development for everybody. Most sadly of all, it is now apparent that the distraught parents have utterly lost their grasp of what is in the best interests of their child. And their lawyers ought to have advised them against commencing this latest action. Another day in court, another argument lost, another few hours of the precious time they have left for their son. Somewhere amongst their circle of support I really hope there is somebody brave enough to tell them to stop. They are now, I fear, making fools of themselves and a mockery of the court process.

Geordie George

What a tragic development. I guess it shows that parents don't always have their child's best interests at heart. Sometimes what's in the best interests of the child conflicts with the needs of the parents. (How often are children used as pawns in divorce/custody battles?) I understand that the parents desperately want to have some 'normal' family time together and try to pretend that the past six months haven't happened. But the reality of Charlie's situation, and his needs, has to take precedence over the parents' desire for some happy memories. Or, at this point, is it just about them having some control over a situation that must feel so out of their hands? Either way, in choosing to fight down to the wire, they seem to be demonstrating an inability to act in Charlie's best interests at this point. Maybe that alone will help restore some of GOSH's reputation?

mikelincs

I suspect the parents motives now, surely they have big contracts for their story from one of the tabloids, or even a book contract, and they may be keeping him alive to pad out the story. He should be allowed to die with dignity and if that means turning his life support off then so be it. He has no idea of anything really he isn't 'living' he is just being forced to exist for some reason.

moneypenny20

I'm not being rude here, it's an honest question, do this couple not understand what is actually going on with their child? Take him home to die, hold him and bath him? This isn't the hospital being difficult, this is asking for something that cannot physically be done. I realise they've done all this fighting and arguing but I do wonder if any of the facts have sunk in at all.

yellowroom

I'm wondering if they're somehow stuck in "fight" mode and it's all they know now, so everything has to be combative when it comes to his health.

I really fear for their own health when this is all over - their lives will feel so empty, and not just because they have tragically lost a child, but because there won't be anyone to fight any more.

mikelincs

Apart, possibly, from each other..

Twinkle0927

The tide of support seems to be turning against them. And I'm not surprised. I like to look at the Daily Mail comments to gauge the reaction of the average uninformed Brit (the type that is likely to be part of this "Charlie's army" fiasco). Last week the comments were along the lines of "poor parents, thy just want the best for the wee lad" and so on. Now they are "this has gone too far now, just let the boy go and stop this circus".

Twinkle0927

And they said that awful "haven't we been through enough already?" again yesterday. This latest round of drama was entirely their own doing. And it's not about what they've been through. They are really loving this "martyr" image.

Leslie

This. The celebrity of martyrdom is very intoxicating. They didn't start out this way but this is definitely how they've ended up. Sometimes people overplay their hand.

yellowroom

Don't mention Charlie's Army. They have started an appeal for doctors to volunteer to treat him at home to prove to the big meanies at GOSH that it is possible. According to their Facebook page, they are actually ringing hospitals and clinicians directly to ask them to do this. Not to mention the denial of the reality of getting a PICU ventilator into a British upstairs flat - lots of posts about measuring their front door to prove the hospital wrong when they say it's too big. Plus Steven Hawkings apparently is ventilated and he gets around fine.

With people like this at their backs, it's no wonder that Connie and Chris are detached from reality.

moneypenny20

The funeral is going to be one hell of a shitstorm.