Alfie Evans was born in May 2016 with a degenerative brain disease without cure that has not been accurately diagnosed. His condition has worsened until he needed respiratory assistance and since December he has been admitted to the Halder Hey hospital in Liverpool (England) connected to life support. According to doctors, "there is no hope" and his state of health deteriorates with the passing of days, so the justice of his country has decided end the treatment the baby receives the 23 month, which would inevitably end his life.
His young parents, Tom Evans, 21, and Kate James, 20, fight because your child is not disconnected, but the United Kingdom Supreme Court denied them their right to appeal the judicial decision. They got Italy to grant the British baby nationality so he could travel to Italy and avoid being disconnected, but it didn't help: last night they have finally removed his life support.
They wanted to take him to Rome
From the Hospital they point out that continuing to treat the child was "cruel, unfair and inhuman", while the judges say they need "peace, tranquility and privacy."
But the parents' desire was very different. His intention was to transfer him to Rome to the Bambino Gesù hospital, managed by the Vatican, where they have offered to host him and could continue receiving treatment. Even Pope Francis echoed the petition:
Moved by the prayers and broad solidarity in favor of little Alfie Evans, I renew my call to hear the suffering of his parents and fulfill his desire to try new treatment possibilities.
- Pope Francis (@Pontifex_es) April 23, 2018
In a final attempt, the president of the hospital in Rome approached the British hospital to speak with the authorities of the center, something that has not finally been possible.
All the doors have been closed to the parents, since also last Friday, the European Court of Human Rights of Strasbourg (France) refused to review the case.
Alfie keeps breathing
The child was disconnected last night from the machines and although the doctors assured that he would not survive more than a few minutes, he continues to breathe on his own. As his father, Tom Evans has confessed: "Alfie has been breathing for nine hours and is not suffering". It has left everyone speechless.
Seeing that six hours after the disconnection, the child was still alive, the parents managed to convince the specialists to agree to "give him water and oxygenate his body."
After the disconnection, the mother shared a photo of Alfie on her Facebook profile:
The 'Alfie Army'
Numerous people who support the parents, known as the 'Alfie army', demonstrated in recent days in front of the hospital where the child remains. A support group has also been created on Facebook where the child's day-to-day life is shared and family support is provided.
The mother has shown her outrage on her Facebook profile because besides denying her palliative care at first, they refused to sleep with their baby on their last night alive.
Charlie's case
Alfie's case reminds us of Charlie's, a 10-month-old British baby with a rare and deadly genetic disease who was ordered by the courts to withdraw life support. After a long legal battle of the parents to take him to the United States where he would receive an experimental treatment that "in theory" could work, but if he did, he would not make it better.
Finally, there was no real option to save his life and the support that kept him alive was removed.
A difficult situation for some parents who hold on to any thread of hope that can save your child's life or keep him alive longer. And a question to reflect that leave us these very hard cases: Who decides on the life of a baby: his parents, the judges, the doctors, God?
Photos | Facebook Kate James
Via | Liverpool Echo
In Babies and more | The time to throw in the towel: chronicle of life and the foreseeable death of Charlie Gard
