Archie Battersbee is 12 years old and has been in a coma, with no answers, since April 7.
The mother of a 12-year-old boy in a coma said they were facing “the biggest battle of our lives” as they seek to appeal the court’s decision against the order to stop his life-sustaining treatment.
Archie Batterbee was found unconscious at his home in Southend, Essex on 7 April. Last week, the High Court agreed with doctors at the Royal London Hospital that the baby was “brain dead”.
His relatives have returned in the last few hours to local courts to ask for permission to appeal. The boy’s parents said they wanted the treatment to continue because his heart was still beating.
Archie Battersbee, the boy who is brain dead and has been given permission to be disconnected in England.
His parents, Holly dance46 years old and Paul Battersbee56 years old, want their treatment to continue and believe that if they are given more time, his condition could improve. After a senior judge ruled that the young man’s life support had to be withdrawn, Ms. Dance said: “I stroked his hair and held his hand and told him we would keep fighting.”
Archie is choked while attempting a viral challenge. He has been in a coma since April 7.
“He’s a 12 year old boy who was sentenced to death. I’m not going to give up, this is just the beginning of the fight. They tortured me for weeks, but he is my son and I will not give up. We will appeal. ‘
Archie has been in a coma ever since he was found numb with a ligature around his neck at his home in Southend, Essex, on April 7.
Ms. Dance believes that her son, a talented gymnast, choked while participating in a viral social media trend known as the “blackout challenge”, which began to circulate on the Internet 14 years ago.
Holli Dance, Archie’s mother, asks not to unplug.
The Blackout Challenge or Blackout Challengeconsists of a very serious challenge circulating on TikTok, which consists of put a belt around the neck to check how long the participant can resist without breathing.
This TikTok challenge is based on social network users blocking their breath until they pass out and experience “strong sensations”. And as if that weren’t enough, some of the people who accept the challenge are registered with their mobile phones.
According to Archie’s family, this challenge would have resulted in the child’s brain death.
On the eve of the decision, the woman made a last-minute appeal to the High Court judge to “find in her heart the opportunity to give my son the time he needs to heal.”
But at his sentencing, Judge Arbuthnot said, “I find Archie died at noon on May 31, 2022, shortly after the MRI scans performed that day,” a written ruling read.
Archie Battersbee, the boy who is brain dead and has been given permission to be disconnected in England.
“I find that the irreversible cessation of brain stem function has been definitively established. I authorize medical professionals at the Royal London Hospital to stop Archie Battersbee’s mechanical ventilation. “.
After the hearing, Ms. Dance held back her tears as she swore to challenge the sentence.
Judge Arbuthnot has not yet set a deadline for filing the appeal, but lawyers representing the family say that They will request that life support not be disconnected until the appeal process is complete.
Archie Battersbee and his mother Holli, who demands that the child not be disconnected.
The arguments would be heard by the Court of Appeal, which has the power to dismiss the appeal, but if the go-ahead were given the case could be heard. A spokesperson for the Christian Legal Center, which supports the family’s case, said the “legally complex” process could take months.
Ms. Dance said: “I am devastated and very disappointed by the judge’s decision after weeks of legal battle, when I wanted to be at my son’s bedside. Basing a sentence on an MRI test and that it is” likely “that he died is not. it is enough. I feel bad because the hospital and the judge did not take into account the wishes of the family “
“I don’t think Archie has been given enough time. His heart is still beating. Like his mother and my instincts, I know my son is still there. Until it’s God’s way, I won’t let him go. I know miracles. where people have returned from brain death.
“We intend to appeal, this is just the beginning, I will not stop fighting for my son. “
Source: Clarin