In the US, there’s no rhyme or reason to it. If you have a living will that expressly says you don’t want your life to be prolonged via life-support, some religious nut will try and overturn your wishes and turn it into a referendum on what Jesus wants to happen. It’s ridiculous; the UK method is more pragmatic, more…

We were talking about Hirano and how wildly unethical his behaviour was. You don’t make public statements on the treatment of a patient you have never seen and whose case you haven’t reviewed. He did a lot of damage with his God complex.

Unfortunately, it sounds like they’re blaming GOSH for not being able to start the experimental treatment earlier when, by most accounts the treatment wouldn’t have been able to help no matter when he received it.

This is very sad. It seems to me like it has been too late to do anything for Charlie for a long time, and it seems his parents were finally able to accept that. I hope they get the help and support they need to get through this terrible time.

Exactly. The funds are just not there for handling this properly. That doesn’t make taking the kids into foster care and adopting them out (the likely outcome for any children under 2) the morally pure choice, but it’s the most practical choice in the system we currently have. That sucks, and it needs to be fixed.

My…

Yes, in the articles I have read, this treatment will no help Charlie at all. Thus, why the judge in the UK ruled that he should be taken off of life support and moved to pallative care. I also saw that the hospital where he’s being treated is of the opinion that Charlie can “probably” experience pain but cannot…

Its just an insulting stereotype. No what-about-ism necessary, and I wouldn’t call it sexism.

I’m a “Ms.” all the way.

I would always talk to them like I was Marcie and they were Peppermint Patty.

Much, much less cool.

People will always believe sensationalistic crap that confirms their fears. Some Christians in the eighties were quick to believe Dungeons and Dragons was causing kids to go ape and hack eachother up with swords. In the same decade, others were quick to believe that large-scale sexual abuses were happening at daycare…

Not exactly. It’s “the patient gets what their insurance company is willing to provide, which will vary from State to State, and from company to company, with no regard to the medical evidence.”

Thank you for writing this! Most people do not realize that being on a ventilator is straight out of a nightmare: you scream and no sounds come out, you feel like you are constantly choking and in pain. I have seen my baby thrash and silent scream on a ventilator because he was improperly sedated. He suffered PTSD and…

The tv ads are super gross. “Side effects may include explosive diarrhea, vision loss, permanent loss of muscle control, dizziness, and heart failure. Ask your doctor today!”

That’s the most horrifying thing about this case - the insertion of special interest, pro-life organisations who have zero interest in the actual welfare of the child (represented by the doctors) or the interests of the parents who they are happy to take advantage of in order to push a political agenda.

this is at the heart of the matter. They would be subjecting this child to further torment & pain

For the more conservative people I know that are against nationalized healthcare, there is some weird fixation on not getting to choose your doctor, or not going to the same doctor each time. There’s also the concern of wait times. I think wait times contribute to the whole “death panel” thing. “Oh, you’re in poor…

Because as far as the latest reports I’ve seen on it go, he either does, or at least is still suspected to, feel pain... and his condition is a painful one.

Because his brain is so damaged that he’d have zero quality of life. That brain damage is irreversible.

Because even the doctor heading up the experimental…

So, a couple things:

First, medical care in the UK is nationalised. So, the options in country are limited as its all one system. The concept of shopping around is limited at best and often just not a thing.

Second, the institution in Charlie Gard is in is actually one of the very best pediatric medicine institutions…