Charlie Gard's parents appeal to doctors for help to take son home to die
As a judge prepares to rule on where baby Charlie dies, his parents plead for a doctor to come forward and help them.
Wednesday 26 July 2017 13:50, UK
The parents of terminally-ill baby Charlie Gard have pleaded for help from doctors to take him home to die, with a judge set to decide later where he will spend his final days.
Connie Yates and Chris Gard have appealed for any paediatric intensive care doctor to come forward to help them realise their last wish for their son.
Ms Yates said: "We promised Charlie every day we would take him home.
"It seems really upsetting after everything we've been through to deny us this."
She was speaking after another day in court, where they were fighting for permission to take Charlie home for his final days.
The judge deciding the issue - Great Ormond Street Hospital or a hospice.
While Charlie's parents want to take him home, the hospital believes he cannot get the specialised care he needs there and is at risk of a "distressing" death.
Mr Justice Francis will decide today what will happen.
::
::
Speaking on the baby's behalf, lawyer Victoria Butler-Cole told the High Court he would be able go to a hospice "at the end of this week".
But a lawyer for Charlie's parents, Grant Armstrong, said moving the 11-month-old to a hospice for "just a period of hours" would be "brutal".
Mr Grant accused GOSH of putting "obstacles" in the way, and said, "we struggle with the difficulties the hospital is placing in the way of the parents having a... short period of time before the final act in Charlie's short life".
Ms Yates and her partner Mr Gard for experimental therapy on Monday.
They said tests had shown the window of opportunity to help him had closed.
Charlie suffers from a rare genetic condition which causes progressive muscle weakness and he also has brain damage.
His parents do not expect him to live to his first birthday on 4 August.
Meanwhile, the US doctor who was accused of giving Charlie's family "false hope"
Dr Michio Hirano denied he still had a financial interest in the treatment he said could help the baby.
He said: "As I disclosed in court on 13 July, I have relinquished and have no financial interest in the treatment being developed for Charlie's condition.
"Unfortunately a MRI scan of Charlie's muscle tissue conducted in the past week has revealed that it is very unlikely that he would benefit from this treatment."