Toddler beats hospital death sentence

Toddler beats hospital death sentence

* By Elissa Hunt
* From: Herald Sun
* August 16, 2010 12:00AM

A SERIOUSLY ill toddler whose parents went to court to lift a hospital's effective death sentence is now defying the odds.

The parents of Child X, 3, were told his condition was terminal, and the hospital wanted to stop the kidney dialysis keeping him alive.

But they refused to give up hope, and sought an urgent injunction from the Family Court while they awaited a second medical opinion.

An order preventing the hospital from stopping dialysis was granted on June 28.

The boy has since shown such remarkable improvement his parents now hope to be able to take him home.

The Herald Sun cannot reveal the child's identity or the hospital in which he is being treated.

The parents, who spoke to the Herald Sun through their lawyers this week, say their only child is a happy boy and always in good spirits, despite having to endure three dialysis sessions a week.

The boy has had medical problems since birth, and was admitted to the hospital with septicaemia in April.

The next day, his kidneys failed and he was moved to intensive care.

The hospital diagnosed his condition as terminal, and decided dialysis should stop, as his other medical problems may not allow him to enjoy "quality of life".

But his parents always believed he would get better.

A retired judge referred them to Nicholes Family Lawyers, and barristers Andrew Robinson and Noel Ackman, QC, acted for them without fee.

Justice Paul Cronin, who heard brief evidence from the boy's father, granted a temporary injunction pending a second opinion and argument about whether he had the power to make such an order.

Shortly after the proceedings, the hospital and family agreed it was in the boy's best interests for dialysis to continue, making it unnecessary for the case to return to court.

And Child X's health began to improve.

His parents say he is getting stronger every day and while his prospects of recovery are unknown, they believe he could soon be stable enough to be sent home.

Right To Life campaigner Margaret Tighe said there was an unfortunate culture emerging where people could decide that other people's lives were not worth living, based on the quality of life they could be expected to have rather than on whether their condition could be treated.

"If this is a quality of life decision, if the hospital had decided the child's life was not going to be worthy to be lived, then clearly that is wrong," she said.

The hospital has refused to comment on its original decision or on the improvement in the boy's condition since.

A spokeswoman said the case had been amicably resolved and it was asking, on the family's behalf, that the media respect their privacy.

But the family said they wanted to share their fight.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/toddler-beats-hospital-death-sentence/story-e6freuzr-1225905654374?from=public_rss