UK Baby Charlie Gard - Various Facts

[shyvas]

An American neurosurgeon who has offered to treat Charlie Gard in the US has met medical experts at Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Michio Hirano, a professor of neurology at the Columbia University Medical Centre in New York, is in the UK to examine 11-month-old Charlie.

Expert behind treatment meets Charlie's doctors

 

[Andy_T]

I must say that I find it the height of hypocrisy even for Mr. Twimp, to put his whole weight behind the case of the terminally ill baby with brain damage and very limited chances of ever getting better, so he can posture as somebody who does something to "save life", while at the same time working as hard as possible to make sure that 45,000 people are going to die prematurely every year as their life saving medical procedures are no longer paid, in order to give a tax cut to the richest 1 %.

Ditto for the pope, btw. But I can understand that one a bit better.

Charlie Gard: pope and Trump biggest help in keeping him alive, says mother

Doctors at London’s Great Ormond Street hospital have argued that the therapy available to him in the US was unlikely to have a beneficial outcome. They sought permission to withdraw life-sustaining treatment and provide only palliative care, believing that further treatment would be likely to cause Charlie suffering.

The British courts agreed, but on Friday the hospital applied to the high court for a fresh hearing after doctors from the Vatican children’s hospital claimed unpublished data suggested nucleoside therapy offered some chance of improvement.

So go ahead, if you consider me cynical, do let me know...

 

[Mischief]

So go ahead, if you consider me cynical, do let me know...

The cynical aspect to all of this is using a brain damaged baby and his parents like this, while doing his utmost to make even basic healthcare unavailable to tens of millions, as you said.

And he doesn't give a damn about all the refugee children trying to escape horrific deaths.

The media and the people gobbling up this story aren't spending a lot of emotional capital pushing to help children who could actually be saved, either.

 

[shyvas]

Frequently asked questions about the Charlie Gard court case

 

[Andy_T]

Why Republicans would grant health care access to one dying baby — and deny it to millions

Please mind the subtitle: "It’s not just hypocrisy. It’s the human mind. "
It's also not just "Republicans", as the article explains.

 

[shyvas]

New Charlie Gard scan makes for 'sad reading'

 

[shyvas]

Parents hit £1.2m fundraising target for sick baby's US treatment

 

[Mischief]

This poor child, having to continue to suffer because his parents can't accept reality.

 

[shyvas]

Charlie Gard: Hospital staff get death threats

 

[shyvas]

LIVE: 'We are so sorry we couldn't save you'

Charlie Gard's parents withdraw their court application.

 

[Amy SF]

This poor child, having to continue to suffer because his parents can't accept reality.

I think it was less unable to accept reality and more two parents clinging to any tiny shred of hope that they could save him. I think any reasonable parent would want to do everything they could to help their child, even if the experts tell them it's not possible.

 

[shyvas]

Hospital 'putting obstacles in Charlie's way'

 

[Mischief]

Hospital 'putting obstacles in Charlie's way'

The judge deciding the case, Mr Justice Francis, said that part of the disagreement appeared to be over GOSH's view that a ventilator will not fit through the front door of the property to which Charlie's parents want to take him.

The judge said it was for mediation to decide rather than him, but the lawyer for GOSH hospital said Charlie's parents had refused mediation.

Katie Gollop QC, for GOSH, said the hospital would like to fulfill the parents' wishes if it was practical, saying it was essential that nothing should occur that could cause extra suffering to the youngster.

 

[Mischief]

I think it was less unable to accept reality and more two parents clinging to any tiny shred of hope that they could save him. I think any reasonable parent would want to do everything they could to help their child, even if the experts tell them it's not possible.

It's extremely difficult, making healthcare decisions for someone who can't speak for themselves.

But I do believe that it is morally incumbent, when one is in a position to have to make such decisions, to weigh continued suffering against the chances of a positive outcome. One's own wishes to avoid loss should not be a factor.

 

[shyvas]

Stalemate over care for Charlie's final days

 

[Tom L.]

As I understand it, some people have problems with the hospital policy of not allowing the parents to move Charlie to another hospital in the US for experimental treatment. The hospital itself deciding not to offer the child anything more than palliative treatment themselves would be one thing; their staff are trained medical professionals and say they honestly believe the child would only experience more suffering from the experimental treatment. But if the hospital is preventing the parents from taking Charlie someplace else whose doctors would be willing to attempt the treatment, I can see how people would have a problem with that. And another article pointed out that enough people had donated so that the treatment would not be at taxpayer expense.

But yeah... it's bizarre that some of the same people who want to get rid of the Affordable Care Act in the US are championing Baby Charlie's cause.

 

[shyvas]

Baby Charlie Gard dies after life support withdrawn - CNN.com

 

[Joe]

May he rest in peace.

 

[KLS52]

How sad.

 

[Mischief]

Charlie's ordeal is over.

I hope that his parents can start to come to some peace at some point.