Baby Charlie Gard suffers from a rare genetic condition and brain damage that robbed him of the ability to move his limbs, eat or even breathe unassisted.
The 10-month-old’s parents Chris Gard and Connie Yates have been fighting to keep their precious son alive, but after losing their court appeal, the devastated mum and dad will have to say goodbye.
“He’d fight to the very end, but we’re not allowed to fight for him anymore,” Charlie’s dad said to MailOnline. “We can’t even take our own son home to die. We have been denied that.”
Though UK doctors said nothing further could be done, Chris and Connie hoped an experimental treatment in the US would save their son.
After losing their case in UK courts, the couple took their plea to the European Court of Human Rights. The body agreed with the UK that “it was most likely Charlie was being exposed to continued pain, suffering and distress and that undergoing experimental treatment with no prospects of success would offer no benefit, and continue to cause him significant harm”.
“We promised out little boy every single day that we would take him home.”
According to court documents, Charlie was born with a rare genetic condition called infantile onset encephalomyopathic mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome (MDDS).
In the weeks following his birth, the newborn began to struggle with holding his head up, and experienced difficulties gaining weight. Two months later, and he was struggling to breathe.
Throughout the months and months they’ve spent in hospital with their little one, the parents only hoped they would one day bring their son home.
“We promised out little boy every single day that we would take him home. That is a promise we thought we could keep,” the 31-year-old mum said.
Now, they’ll have to go about Charlie’s last days the way they’d never planned to. “We know what day our son is going to die and we don’t even get any say in what happens to him,” the devastated dad told the publication.
Connie and Chris will say goodbye to their son at the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London on Friday.
Our thoughts are with the family during this unimaginably difficult time.
