After a high court judge ruled that life-support treatment for Archie Battersbee should stop, his mum has said she will 'fight' the ruling and believes the judge made 'quite a few mistakes'.
The 12-year-old, currently in an induced coma, was found unconscious at his home in Southend-on-Sea, Essex back on 7 April.
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Archie's mum Hollie Dance, 46, says her son had suffered brain damage during an incident at home, which could have potentially been related to a viral online challenge. He has not regained consciousness.
On Monday, Mrs Justice Arbuthnot ruled in favour of doctors at the Royal London Hospital in east London who suggested it was 'highly likely' he was 'brain-stem dead'.
Archie's family are preparing to appeal the ruling and Dance told The Guardian that her desire to prolong Archie's life had not been considered.
"It was obvious to me that the judge was going to side with the hospital," she said. "We have not been allowed to have Archie independently assessed and we did not want the brain stem or MRI test undertaken.
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“The guardian who is meant to represent Archie’s best interests was 100 percent on the hospital’s side and would even sit and eat lunch with the staff.
"I’m his mother and I want to preserve his life, but our beliefs as a family have not been taken into consideration.
“His heart is still beating and we want treatment to continue. My son hasn’t been given enough time and there have been miracles where people have come back from brain injuries.”
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On Monday morning Judge Arbuthnot said in a written ruling: “I find that Archie died at noon on 31 May 2022, which was shortly after the MRI scans taken that day. I find that irreversible cessation of brain stem function has been conclusively established.
“I give permission to the medical professionals at the Royal London hospital to cease to ventilate mechanically Archie Battersbee; to extubate Archie Battersbee; to cease the administration of medication to Archie Battersbee and not to attempt any cardio or pulmonary resuscitation on Archie Battersbee when cardiac output ceases or respiratory effort ceases. The steps I have set out above are lawful.”
She continued: “If Archie remains on mechanical ventilation, the likely outcome for him is sudden death and the prospects of recovery are nil. He has no pleasure in life and his brain damage is irrecoverable. His position is not going to improve.”
Topics: News
Gregory Robinson