The mum of critically ill Archie Battersbee has revealed how she sat by his hospital bed to break the devastating news that doctors had been given the green light to turn off his life-support machine.
Hollie Dance, 46, recounted the devastating meeting with her son, 12, during which she whispered to him: “Archie, we’ve lost this fight, but we won’t give up, we’ll keep fighting.”
It followed a High Court ruling that he would never recover from an online “blackout challenge” which left him in a 10-week coma.
Mrs Justice Arbuthnot gave medics permission to take him off a ventilator and withdraw medication following a bitter legal dispute where medics argued he was “brain-stem dead”.
Hollie and Archie’s dad, Paul Battersbee, 56, said his heart was still beating and the schoolboy could eventually recover from his injuries.
Last night – just hours after the ruling and as the family held a vigil at the hospital – Hollie said: “I stroked his hair and held his hand and said we’d keep fighting.
“He’s a 12-year-old boy who’s been given a death sentence. I’m not going to give up, this is just the start of the fight.
“I’ve been tortured for weeks but he’s my boy and I won’t give up. We will appeal.”
Hollie found Archie with a ligature over his head on April 7 this year at their home in Southend, Essex.
She believes he might have been taking part in an online social media craze where people asphyxiate themselves, pass out and regain consciousness on camera.
As many as 82 people are thought to have died as a result of the phenomenon, with hundreds of others suffering brain injuries.
Yesterday Mrs Justice Arbuthnot concluded that an MRI scan taken on May 31 showed Archie had died.
But choking back tears, Hollie spoke of her devastation and refused to give up hope. She said: “I know my son is still there.”
Archie has been in a coma since he was rushed to hospital, but has fought a staggering battle for survival.
Speaking outside court, Hollie said she would appeal the court ruling – believed to be the first time a decision on death has been reached using an MRI scan.
She said: “I am devastated and extremely disappointed by the judge’s ruling after weeks of fighting a legal battle when I wanted to be at my little boy’s bedside.
“The medical opinion presented in court was clear, in that the whole concept of ‘brain death’ is now discredited.
“In any event, Archie cannot be reliably diagnosed as brain dead.
“I feel sickened that the hospital and judge have failed to take the wishes of his family into consideration.
“I don’t believe Archie has been given enough time. From the beginning I have always thought, ‘What’s the rush?’
“His heart is still beating, he has gripped my hand, and as his mother and by my mother’s instinct, I know my son is still there.”
In a written ruling, Mrs Justice Arbuthnot said: “I find that irreversible cessation of brain stem function has been conclusively established.”
The judge went on: “If Archie remains on mechanical ventilation, the likely outcome for him is sudden death and the prospects of recovery are nil.
“He has no pleasure in life and his brain damage is irrecoverable.
“His position is not going to improve. The downside of such a hurried death is the inability of his loving and beloved family to say goodbye.”
Archie’s story reduced This Morning presented Holly Willoughby to tears last week when Hollied detailed how she hysterically tried to resuscitate her son.
The family’s legal case is being supported by the Christian Legal Centre.
The organisation’s chief executive, Andrea Williams, said: “Life is the most precious gift that we have. This ruling sets a troubling and dark precedent.
“This case has raised significant moral, legal and medical questions as to when a person is dead.”
Speaking outside the hospital in Whitechapel, East London, Alistair Chesser, the chief medical officer at 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 while 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.”
