The mum of a boy whose life support must be turned off after a judge ruled he was legally dead has vowed to "fight" to keep him alive. Hollie Dance, 46, says her 12-year-old son Archie Battersbee has squeezed her hand, despite being in a coma for the past 10 weeks.
Archie was rushed to hospital on April 7 after he was tragically brain damaged attempting an 'online challenge' and doctors at The Royal London Hospital believe he is “highly likely” to be brain dead.
Earlier this week Mrs Justice Arbuthnot gave medics permission to end his life support. But Hollie and Archie’s dad Paul Battersbee, 56, have now launched an appeal against a court's decision to take the schoolboy off life support.
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In an interview with the Daily Mail, Hollie said: “I was told my son would not last the night when he arrived in hospital. Yet here he is ten weeks later.
"He’s a fighter, and is fighting the battle of his life - how can I not fight every bit as hard? All we have ever asked for is time. People are in comas for months but the hospital wanted to pronounce my son dead after just three days when he was still under sedation.
“Archie should be treated as a living patient until it can be proven that he’s not — and the MRI scan they have relied on is not proof. What I know is that a boy who can squeeze my hand is not brain dead. I defy any mother not to do the same if they were in my situation.”
On the day of Archie's injury, Hollie had taken him out for food. They came home at 3pm and were supposed to be seeing the new Batman film that evening. At around 4pm, Hollie took a phone call in her bedroom and Archie wandered in with his pet rabbit as she chatted.
Just a minute or two later Hollie called out to her son to check on him. But after getting no reply she emerged from her room to find her son unconscious.
Hollie believes Archie was attempting a social media craze called “blackout”, where participants choke themselves until they pass out, although the cause of the accident has yet to be officially determined. As many as 82 people are thought to have died as a result of the phenomenon, with hundreds of others suffering brain injuries.
He was originally taken to Southend Hospital in Essex, with Hollie saying his pupils were responsive and he was “making efforts to breathe on his own”. However, after talking with neurological specialists, consultants agreed to send him to The Royal London Hospital. Hours later, a doctor told her Archie wouldn't make it through the night and three days later, the hospital told Hollie they believed Archie had suffered brain death.
A spokesman for Barts Health NHS Trust said: “This is a sad and difficult time for Archie’s family and our thoughts and sympathies are with them as they come to terms with what has happened. In line with the guidance issued by the court, our expert clinicians will provide the best possible care whilst life support is withdrawn. We are also ensuring that there is time for the family to decide whether they wish to appeal before any changes to care are made.”
Hollie has lodged a stay that prevents the judge’s order being put into effect, pending an appeal to overturn the ruling. A permission to appeal hearing is set to take place tomorrow (Monday June 20).
A GoFundMe page to help pay for further legal fees and medical treatment has also raised more than £25,000.
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