The parents of brain-damaged baby Alfie Evans have confirmed they will mount an appeal against a High Court judge’s ruling that doctors could withdraw treatment.
Father Tom Evans has revealed he and his partner will launch legal proceedings against the decision on Thursday, March 1.
This morning Mr Evans shared a heart-breaking video of his son sucking a dummy and said he will appeal the high court decision to have his life support switched off.
Alfie has a ‘relentless and progressive’ neurological condition which has destroyed part of his brain, and he is unable to breathe or swallow on his own.
Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool is set to withdraw ventilation on Friday following Mr Justice Anthony Hayden’s decision.
But Alfie’s father, Tom, 21, said the fight was not over and today revealed he would appeal against the decision, saying ‘doctors should take a step back’.
Tom Evans vowed he would never give up fighting for 21-month-old Alfie Evans after a High Court judge ruled that Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool could switch off the little boy’s life support
The family thanked people on the Alfie’s Army website who had raised £10,000 to fund an appeal – thanks to a large donation from Everton FC chairman Bill Kenwright.
An in an Instagram post a video shows Alfie moving his mouth as he sucks on a dummy.
An accompanying message read: ‘I’m currently sat with Alfie now, and this is what he is doing. This is not seizure activity, and this is not someone whose life should be ending any time soon! Let’s get this video public, everyone repost it!’
Speaking today on ITV’s Good Morning Britain Mr Evans said: ‘I’m going to get my appeal in today and put a stop to what they think is going to happen on Friday.
‘Alfie’s rights are being ignored and mine and mum’s have. We’re going to appeal. The appeal is going to go in today. We’re going to stop what they believe is a best interest call on Friday, which is removing the ventilator on Friday.’
‘I’ve put the evidence before the judge that [Alfie’s] actually not in pain. His pain score is marked down as a zero.’
He added: ‘Me and mum are with him more than any other person in that hospital and we see what he goes through and what he doesn’t go through.
Mr Evans said the fight was not over and said he would appeal against the court decision
‘We see that he does experience pain but he’s not suffering in pain.
‘He experiences cuddles, he experiences comfort, he feels the comfort, he enjoys the comfort. He’s comfortable as he is.
‘He shows no signs of pain. Me and mum wouldn’t be here if he was in pain. We know what’s right and we know what line not to cross.
Alfie Evans (pictured in hospital) is currently being kept alive by a ventilator that could be switched off on Friday after the High Court ruling
Miss James (left, with Alfie) and Mr Evans (right, seen earlier this month) have decided to launch an appeal against the judgment
Alfie has a ‘relentless and progressive’ neurological condition which has destroyed part of his brain and he is unable to breathe or swallow on his own
‘What we’re doing is 100 per cent right by Alfie. He’s not in pain and he’s doing more than what the doctors say.
‘The doctors in my belief should take a step back and look at it from a parent’s point of view instead of a medical point of view and respect our point of view instead of going against us as if we’re lying when what we’re saying is the utmost truth of what Alfie’s doing.
‘We had to put the evidence before the judge and doctors and they still didn’t care in our opinion.’
Alfie’s neurological condition is so rare that doctors have never seen it before.
One even suggested it may eventually be named ‘Alfie’s Disease’.
Mr Justice Hayden, who visited Alfie in hospital, said he accepted medical evidence which showed further treatment was futile, adding that he had reached his conclusion with great sadness.
The court heard that experts across the UK and Europe had assessed Alfie, but all were in agreement that treatment was ‘completely futile’.
Mr Evans and Alfie’s mother Kate James, 20, believe there is a chance their son will survive if he is taken abroad for treatment.
They had hoped to fly their son to Vatican-linked Bambino Gesu Paediatric Hospital in Rome for treatment.
If that proved unsuccessful they hoped he could be taken for treatment in Hamburg before eventually being permitted to die at home.
Well-wishers have donated more than £65,000 to pay for treatment.
A spokesman for Alder Hey Children’s Hospital said: ‘We will always seek to reach agreement with the parents of the child concerned, but there will be some rare situations where agreement cannot be reached and the treating team believe the continued active treatment is not in the child’s best interests.’
Tragic case of Charlie Gard which saw the 11-month-old boy die after a lengthy court battle over treatment
The high-profile and tragic case of Charlie Gard saw the 11-month-old boy die after a lengthy court battle over his treatment for a rare inherited disease.
His parents Connie Yates and Chris Gard wanted to take him to the US for an experimental treatment and raised £1.3million in public donations to pay for it.
But a High Court judge ruled the treatment was not in his best interests after doctors from Great Ormond Street Hospital warned there was no evidence it would succeed, and that Charlie had suffered severe brain damage.
Charlie Gard died after a court battle over his treatment for a rare inherited disease
His parents Connie Yates and Chris Gard wanted to take Charlie to the US for treatment
His genetic condition – infantile onset encephalomyopathy mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome – sapped energy from his muscles and left him unable to move or breathe unaided.
But Charlie’s parents, from Bedfont in South West London, insisted he continued to respond to them.
During their court battle, Mr Gard poignantly brought one of his son’s cuddly toys to each hearing. Charlie died last July, shortly before his first birthday.
Miss Yates and Mr Gard later set up a foundation to use the donated money to help other youngsters with mitochondrial diseases or rare childhood illnesses.