Charlie Gard Has Passed Away: Parents Say Goodbye to Their 'Beautiful Boy'

Veronica Neffinger | iBelieve Contributor | Updated: Jul 28, 2017

Charlie Gard Has Passed Away: Parents Say Goodbye to Their 'Beautiful Boy'

Little Charlie Gard’s fight for life is now over and he is at home with the Lord. Charlie, who suffered from a rare mitochondrial disease which resulted in brain damage, had been at the center of a controversy over the right to life and parental rights.

BBC News reports that on Friday, Charlie’s parents, Chris Gard and Connie Yates, announced the death of their “beautiful boy” after he had been taken off life support in a hospice facility.

For Gard and Yates, Charlie’s death marks the end of a long and agonizing struggle fighting for Charlie’s life.

The hospital where Charlie had been on life support, Great Ormond Street Hospital, argued that Charlie’s life support should be withdrawn because there was no hope of improvement for his condition.

Gard and Yates believed that there was a chance for improvement, however, and fought a legal battle to be able to take Charlie to the U.S. for experimental treatment. They may have been granted the permission to do so, but a recent brain scan by Dr. Michio Hirano revealed that Charlie’s condition is irreversible and there is no hope for improvement.

Earlier this week, Charlie’s parents reluctantly agreed to withdraw his life support. However, they maintain that if the hospital had allowed Charlie to receive treatment earlier, he may have recovered.

Gard and Yates also lost their final legal battle to be able to transfer Charlie from a government-run facility to the care of a personal doctor as he lived out his last hours of life.

On Monday, after they made the difficult decision to withdraw Charlie’s life support, Gard said:

"Mummy and Daddy love you so much Charlie, we always have and we always will and we are so sorry that we couldn't save you. We had the chance but we weren't allowed to give you that chance. Sweet dreams baby. Sleep tight our beautiful little boy."

 

Photo courtesy: GoFundMe/Charlie Gard

Publication date: July 28, 2017



Charlie Gard Has Passed Away: Parents Say Goodbye to Their 'Beautiful Boy'