In London, Little Charlie Gard, not yet a year old, is to die today by order of a court and the hands of hospital staff, against the will of his parents who wish to treat his rare disease.
Please pray for a miracle to spare him. Pray like you’ve never prayed before.
And please post what follows on Facebook and other social media.
Charlie Gard does not suffer from brain-damage that the doctors at the London hospital claimed in court precludes him from receiving treatment.
Charlie’s EEG readings are not ‘flat line’, which indicates no brain activity or ‘brain death’. A normal reading is 5 on the EEG scale. Charlie’s goes up to 8.
In fact, Charlie’s brain stem is intact according to MRIs. The brain stem controls vital functions, like respiration, body temperature, even eye reflexes, Even if an EEG reads ‘flat line’, as long as the brain stem is preserved, one can breath
The hospital claims Charlie cannot breath on his own because of brain damage, But Charlie can’t breathe because his muscles are weakened by mitochondria syndrome. Medication will in theory improve this. If treated successfully, he could one day come off the ventilator that now breaths for him.
The staff in court made a big deal of Charlie being deaf, blind, and unable to cry, and the judge was visibly influenced by it. In fact, Charlie was born deaf, but nowadays cochlear implants can change that. Charlie’s eyes were examined by a specialist who said there is no reason Charlie shouldn’t be able to see. Charlie can’t cry because he is intubated, which affects his vocal chords; but he does make tears.
Fact is, there is no irreversible structural damage to Charlie’s brain according to the tests, and he still has brainwaves. He did not die when he went home with his parents for weeks in November, and he still is holding on after months of no treatment for the mitochondria syndrome.
What happened to get to this impasse?
First, his treating physician said the treatments wouldn’t help, because of brain damage. The parents accepted that, but asked to be able to take Charlie home and outside, for walks. The doctor said yes, but only if he could have a tracheotomy. The parents were again accepting. Then, they were told he would need an MRI to undergo the tracheotomy. The MRI showed he had no brain damage. So the parents asked for treatments. The doctor said yes, but only at the hospital in London, and eventually allowed an American specialist (the parents found) to assist. Then they told the parents they, the parents themselves, would have first to raise over a million Pounds in a month, to pay for the treatments. When the parents managed that against all expectations, the staff suddenly changed their mind, meanwhile serving them papers on Friday to appear in court on Monday, with the view to ‘euthanize’ Little Charlie.
In effect, Charlie’s parents have asked, “Give him liberty”, and the hospital replied, “Give him death.”
Cher, Pope Francis, and President Trump have all come forward to defend Charlie’s right to live and receive treatments. There has got to be something unshakably fundamental at stake when three people of such divergent persuasions agree on it.
In your charity, please pray for Charlie, for his parents, for the the hospital staff and the court, and for President Trump and Pope Francis.
And please post the above notes to Facebook and other social media outlets without delay.
Reform of the Reformer 