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AFTER A PROTRACTED, and unsuccessful, legal battle from his parents to bring their son to the US to receive treatment for an extremely rare disease, 11-month-old Charlie Gard died yesterday.
Today, his story dominates the UK newspapers and numerous well-known international figures have paid tribute to the boy who suffered from a rare form of mitochondrial disease. The condition causes progressive muscle weakness, including in key organs such as the heart.
A court had ordered that the 11-month-old should be moved from Great Ormond Street Hospital in London to a hospice where his life support would be withdrawn.
Supporters around the world donated £1.35 million (€1.5 million) via an online fundraising site to support the family and their efforts to keep Charlie alive.
Pope Francis had publicly expressed support to bring Charlie to America for treatment in the past, and tweeted a tribute to the boy on Twitter last night.
He said: “I entrust little Charlie to the Father and pray for his parents and all those who loved him.”
UK Prime Minister Theresa May also released a statement. She said that she was “deeply saddened by the death of Charlie Gard” and that her “thoughts and prayers [are] with Charlie’s parents Chris and Connie at this difficult time”.
US President Donald Trump had offered Charlie’s family support in bringing him to the US, and his vice president, Mike Pence, tweeted his own tribute.
He said: “Saddened to hear of the passing of Charlie Gard. Karen [his wife] and I offer our prayers and condolences to his loving parents during this difficult time.”
Turning to the newspapers, the Daily Mail, running with the headline “Rest in Peace, Charlie”, had always supported the case of Gard’s parents Connie Yates and Chris Gard, and said the case had “raised so many questions about our age”.
The Sun carried a front-page photograph of the baby, with the headline “RIP our hero”, adding that Gard was the “tot whose plight touched the world”.
The Daily Mirror also carried a front-page photograph of the baby smiling at father Chris Gard under the headline “Our beautiful little boy has gone”, echoing the words of mother Connie Yates.
The Guardian expressed sympathy for Yates and partner Chris, saying the “anguished parents found themselves confronting a harsh and unfamiliar world of paediatric intensive care, the law courts and the media”.
The Daily Telegraph said “little Charlie” had “brought out the best in us”.
“Poor Charlie has died,” they wrote. “Whatever one thinks of the debate surrounding his life, that’s all that matters now. A life is gone. Those left behind have to be given the space to grieve. Politics is suspended.”
With reporting from AFP - © AFP, 2017
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Heartbreaking, may he rest in peace.
@Christine Paulette Roche: Yes his suffering is now over thankfully. The bigger story here is 7000 children are dying every single day from hunger but it’s met with a defending silence, no Pope, no US President seem to notice, care of comment and the media, not interested. So it’s amazing how one child with little chance of survival could solicit such support while the other 7000 others who could survive were ignored.
@Charles Williams: oh be quite, this is about one little boy. Not a political / social statement. Sleep tight little Charlie xx
@Charles Williams: not the time or place Charles
I think we should let the Charlie story rest now, there is something that just does not sit right in me debating it anymore, it feels wrong. The childs health is no longer something that can be affected by the debate so it would just become a cheap ego contest over who was “right” when really this was not about who gets proven right or wrong.
It is however appropriate to call out the hypocrisy of many of those, especially in the US, who complained about “socialized healthcare” not keeping him alive when they have the only developed country where you can go bankrupt from medical expenses. Thanks to McCain it won’t happen but they were 1-2 votes away from 32million people loosing their health insurance and it was calculated to cause thousands of deaths, including kids.
There really are no words fitting.
That poor couple will take a long time to get over Charlie’s death.Its time now to leave them to grieve in their privacy.I hope the Journal and other media just move on now.
For such a short life there was so much love packed into it….rest now little fighter.
R.I.P.
Their real journey starts now . Thank God little Charlie is at peace and no longer suffering . RIP
@Margaret Henry: Sure it was god’s will that he suffer in the first place.
@DaisyChainsaw: Troll sick one at that.
RIP little boy and may your grieving parents find comfort and solace in the knowledge that so many people truly cared.
@JeanieD: What’s trolling about it? If god is going to be thanked for relieving Charlie of his suffering, then he has to be blamed for giving Charlie the fatal disease to suffer in the first place.
@DaisyChainsaw: Let it go. If you understood the Theology around suffering you would know that what you say is not the case. Regardless let people express their condolences in the manner that they see fit. If religion brings them solace it’s no skin off your nose. The one thing I do know that it’s not possible to expect tolerance if your give it. I’m not religious but I’ve made an effort to try to understand where they are coming from. The baby has died and it’s time to move on.
@Catherine Sims: * if you don’t give it* that should have read.
@Margaret Henry: This god you speak of, if you thank him for letting Charlie be at peace now then who do you fault for him having this disease in the first place? It certainly wasn’t the parents who placed this disease upon him so does your god take full responsibility for it? And if so can he tell you as to why he done it? Because I would love to know why any “all loving” person can do things like this to innocent children day in day out. I think you know what you can do with your “thank god”.
@Liam Whelan:
I lost a young child myself Liam Whelan . So I think I’m qualified to speak on this . When I said Thank God his suffering is over I meant just that .
If you have watched your young child suffer in pain for months through operations and treatments you would thank God when it finally means they are no longer suffering even when that means they are no longer with you
its not about you in all this it’s about your child who is suffering
RIP
Look after your parents now Charlie. Rest little one.
R.I.P. gorgeous little boy. Beautiful photo to treasure forever.
That picture of him smiling up at his dad is haunting, i can’t equate that with all I’ve read about his condition. looking at that picture no wonder they were keen to try various treatments.
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