Charlie Gard

This is a desperately sad story with acrimony on both sides but i think the parents have let their hearts rule their heads on this. This may be controversial to some on here but i believe they should have let him go earlier and listened to the experts at GOSH.

I have kids of my own so i can understand wanting to do everything they can for him but surely they could see it was a lost cause and should have let him go with dignity before now. The poor lad is brain damaged and can't breathe without a ventilator, what kind of life is that?

The American Doctor needs to take a look at himself as well, he offered treatment that hadn't been used on anyone with the same condition and didn't even look at the brain scans or other findings until last week, he gave the family false hope and then pulled out.

Anyone else have a view on this whole sorry saga?

I've kept away from this topic because no-one wants to say the best thing is probably to let a baby die, which is almost certainly the case here.

My heart goes out to the parents and I will always feel blessed that my child was born healthy and normal.

Same here Sluffy, i can't imagine what their going through but i just think if i was in the same position i wouldn't have let it get this far and would have hopefully seen sense no matter how hard and upsetting it would be to let your child go.

Sad to say but I think the case of Charlie Gard was always a forlorn hope. No parent wants to lose a child but all the medical evidence available suggested that there was no possible chance of the poor blighter being healed and go on to live a normal life.

To keep any living creature alive by artificial means goes against all the laws of nature. Thankfully, the Gards are young enough to have other children.

Norpig wrote:This is a desperately sad story with acrimony on both sides but i think the parents have let their hearts rule their heads on this. This may be controversial to some on here but i believe they should have let him go earlier and listened to the experts at GOSH.

I have kids of my own so i can understand wanting to do everything they can for him but surely they could see it was a lost cause and should have let him go with dignity before now. The poor lad is brain damaged and can't breathe without a ventilator, what kind of life is that?

The American Doctor needs to take a look at himself as well, he offered treatment that hadn't been used on anyone with the same condition and didn't even look at the brain scans or other findings until last week, he gave the family false hope and then pulled out.

Anyone else have a view on this whole sorry saga?

My views are the same as yours Norpig.

They are starting to piss me off, this should not have got this far imo.

Norpig wrote:This is a desperately sad story with acrimony on both sides but i think the parents have let their hearts rule their heads on this. This may be controversial to some on here but i believe they should have let him go earlier and listened to the experts at GOSH.

I have kids of my own so i can understand wanting to do everything they can for him but surely they could see it was a lost cause and should have let him go with dignity before now. The poor lad is brain damaged and can't breathe without a ventilator, what kind of life is that?

The American Doctor needs to take a look at himself as well, he offered treatment that hadn't been used on anyone with the same condition and didn't even look at the brain scans or other findings until last week, he gave the family false hope and then pulled out.

Anyone else have a view on this whole sorry saga?

Exact same thoughts as you mate.

It's very sad, they have fought for so long they seem unable to stop fighting.

It's difficult to comment, but at best what kind of quality of life could Charlie have?

I hope they can let him go soon and  eventually have some sort of peace themselves.

Charlie Gard parents announce death of 'beautiful boy'

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-40752120



RIP

A sad and tragic case but naturally idiots (e.g. the Sun) are calling him a hero. Hero is now one of the most misused words in English. A hero is "a person who is admired for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities". Charlie suffered but simply suffering does not make one a hero.

No doubt people will also be paying tribute to him as well.

There can be no doubt that Charlie's parents loved him with an absolute passion and commitment, enough to make judges, media hacks and barristers weep.

However, 100% love may mean sacrificing your own feelings/needs for the sake of the loved one, to spare him from possible pain and suffering. (Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men is a perfect example of this) 

Towards the end, when all hope of treatment had gone and the medical advice was to let him go, it seemed to me that the parents wanted to keep Charlie alive with them in the hospice for their own sake, rather than for his. 

Tragic and completely understandable, especially in the wake of the false hopes they had been cruelly offered earlier (not by the experts at GOSH, of course), but the real demonstration of their total and utter love had to be their willingness to put Charlie's possible pain above their own.

I hope that this public display of pushing the authorities to the absolute limit, and even drawing in views and comments that gave false hope, are not used as the new yardstick, and other parents will accept the advice of the acknowledged experts, especially as both sides have learned from this sad experience.
I understand how the parents had to keep pushing for even the slenderest of chances, but, for me, the only people to have come out of this without any blame or criticism, and should be praised not threatened, are the experts and staff at GOSH.

gloswhite wrote:I hope that this public display of pushing the authorities to the absolute limit, and even drawing in views and comments that gave false hope, are not used as the new yardstick, and other parents will accept the advice of the acknowledged experts, especially as both sides have learned from this sad experience.
I understand how the parents had to keep pushing for even the slenderest of chances, but, for me, the only people to have come out of this without any blame or criticism, and should be praised not threatened, are the experts and staff at GOSH.

gloswhite wrote:I hope that this public display of pushing the authorities to the absolute limit, and even drawing in views and comments that gave false hope, are not used as the new yardstick, and other parents will accept the advice of the acknowledged experts, especially as both sides have learned from this sad experience.
I understand how the parents had to keep pushing for even the slenderest of chances, but, for me, the only people to have come out of this without any blame or criticism, and should be praised not threatened, are the experts and staff at GOSH.

Nailed it!