'I can't bear to lose him. He's my boy': Baby Charlie's tearful father begs for chance to send incurably ill son to US for treatment as High Court hears parents were called 'a spanner in the works' by doctors

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Emotional: Charlie's father, Chris Gard, wearing his son's cuddly monkey in his lapel pocket, made a final plea to a judge to save his son's life and told him: 'I can't bear to lose him. He's my boy'

Charlie Gard's father today made a final plea to a judge to save his son's life and told him: 'I can't bear to lose him. He's my boy'.

Clutching Charlie's favourite stuffed toy monkey Chris Gard told Mr Justice Francis the eight-month-old 'deserves this chance' to go to the United States for treatment.

Giving evidence at the High Court today with Charlie's mother Connie by his side Mr Gard was asked to confirm he was the boy's father, and replied firmly: 'Proud father.'

He added: 'Me and Connie firmly believe that Charlie was sent to us to look after him. We truly believe these medicines work.

'If there was no improvement, we would let him go. We would never keep him like this. He deserves that chance. He has earned that chance.

'I just plead that you please give him the chance'. 

He also attacked the doctors who said there was no hope, adding: 'My son is the apple of my eye and I would do anything for him. He deserves this chance.'

Mr Gard also agreed the £1.2million treatment was not a cure, adding: 'It doesn't mean he should have to die, [just] because he won't be a little boy running around. It shouldn't be a death sentence.

'There are many parents in this room and if they were told there was a chance, no matter how small. I just want that chance for him to improve and have a better quality of life.'

Miss Yates added: 'I don't think he is suffering or I wouldn't be here. I don't think his brain function is as bad as what everyone else is saying.'

Earlier it emerged a doctor who believes baby Charlie should be allowed to die described his heartbroken parents as a 'spanner in the works'  

The Great Ormond Street medic, who cannot be named, said Connie Yates and Chris Gard's 'hunt' for hospitals around the world to save him had delayed the decision about their son's fate.  

Heartbroken: Connie Yates and Charlie Gard's father Chris clutched their son's cuddly monkey (in Chris' pocket) as Great Ormond Street doctors today argued their baby should be allowed to die

Heartbreaking: Doctors at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital say there is no accepted cure and it would be kinder to allow Charlie, pictured above, to pass away because of his illness

He sent an email complaining to a colleague about their 'parent-driven' search for a specialist because it was holding up a court case in which the London hospital asked a judge to sanction letting the eight month old die.

The doctor also described the US expert as 'the only person on earth' advocating pioneering treatment for Charlie.

It came as Miss Yates cried out 'it's a lie' and began sobbing in court as the same doctor said Charlie's brain function was so poor there is no difference between him being asleep and awake. 

The doctor said that when the clinical team met in January to consider Charlie's case, 'it was one of the most distressing ethics committee meetings we have had'. 

The court heard that when Charlie's parents started researching his condition themselves, and contacted experts around the world, one of his Great Ormond Street doctors described this in an email as 'parent-driven' and 'a spanner in the works'. 

The email between the Great Ormond Street doctors which was read out by the family's barrister in court, said: 'The spanner in the works has been a parent-driven exploration of all alternatives internationally leading to a new specialist who has recommended a three month trial of nucleosides.'

Asked if it was an appropriate way to describe parents on a 'hunt for a treatment for their child', the doctor replied: 'It's a bit clumsy but I was trying to suggest that our previous decision to take this to the court as urgently as we could was being held up by something being explored that needed to be explored.' 

A nurse who has treated Charlie said she had not seen any sign of him purposefully moving, and could not tell whether he was awake or asleep.

She said she did not know whether he could or could not feel pain or comfort, although she has seen him open his eyes.

Miss Roper said the parents have worked out they have spent 3,200 hours with their son, and put it to the nurse they might have seen things she had not, and she agreed. 

Earlier Mr Justice Francis, the High Court judge who will decide whether the baby can travel to America for treatment, adjourned the hearing as Connie Yates broke down.

Her tears started when a Great Ormond Street doctor had been asked by the hospital's QC Debra Powell: 'Is there evidence for you as a clinician of a sleep-wake cycle?'

When the medic said no, she asked what that meant, and he replied: 'It is a really strong indication about how bad his brain function is'.

Miss Yates, with a white flower in her hair, began to sob loudly, before saying: 'I'm sorry'. As the judge adjourned the hearing a tearful Miss Yates walked out and said loudly: 'It's a lie.'

Miss Yates stayed outside to compose herself and said the case could go on in her absence.

Charlie's father, Chris Gard, wearing his son's cuddly monkey in his lapel pocket, came back into court as the doctor continued his evidence. Miss Yates returned 10 minutes later.  

Mr Justice Francis has been asked to make decisions about what is in Charlie's best interests and started the hearing by saying: 'The parents are in an almost impossible situation'.

But minutes later he had to adjourn when Charlie's mother became overwhelmed.

Charlie's parents, who spend every waking hour at their eight month old baby's bedside, are adamant that he shows signs of growing stronger and is calmed by their presence.

The doctor said Charlie's muscles were so weak that it was not even possible to monitor his seizures.

He said as well as his ventilator, Charlie needs a sucking procedure to be carried out every two or three hours. He said: 'This is incredibly frequent and in most children would be painful and distressing.'

Miss Powell put it to the doctor: 'Is there any evidence that Charlie is responsive to comforting features in his life, a loving touch or his parents' cuddles?'

He replied: 'I understand the parents have suggested that. It is not something we have seen as a clinical team.'   

Upsetting: Connie Yates, pictured left with her partner Chris and their son Charlie, sobbed as she heard her son would certainly die without any more treatment

Unwell: Seven-month-old Charlie Gard is believed to be only the 16th person in the world to be diagnosed with his ultra-rare genetic condition

The medic told the judge that Charlie was no longer responsive, and it was hard to be sure whether little boy was in pain.

'I think that is really difficult to be certain about,' he said.

'Charlie has deteriorated hugely since he first came to us. The disease has affected his brain to the extent that he is completely ventilator-dependent.'

'If Charlie dies we'll use the cash to save other children', says his bereft mother

Connie Yates, 31, right yesterday, has indicated what would happen to money raised if the judge sides with Great Ormond Street, who wish to withdraw life-support treatment.

'A few people have asked us what we'll do if we don't win the court case,' she said in a statement.

'We have thought long and hard about it and we would set up a charity for mitochondrial depletion syndrome's (there are others that are more common than Charlie's specific gene).

'We'd like to save other babies and children because these medications have been proven to work and we honestly have so much belief in them.

'We would like some of it to go to research at the specific hospital that are willing to treat Charlie and the rest will be available to help other families to get the medication that their children desperately need.

'We hope that you can all support us in making treatments available so that nobody else ever has to go through what we have.'

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He added: 'This situation is not a tolerable one to leave a child in'. 

The doctor said the Great Ormond Street clinical team had discussed Charlie's case and sought second opinions from experts around the world.

He said it was 'difficult to see how Charlie can possibly benefit' from further treatment.

He said: 'Lots of doctors thought his quality of life was so poor it was not worth continuing life saving treatment. And since that stage, Charlie's brain has deteriorated further.' 

Yesterday it emerged that Charlie's mother and father have had to up their £1.2million fundraising target by £100,000 to cover a fundraising organisation's giant handling fee.

Connie Yates, 31, and her partner Chris Gard, 32, say they need even more cash because the GoFundMe website takes up to five per cent of donations.

The heartbroken couple also face waiting until at least Friday to hear whether a judge will choose to save their son or let him die.

Charlie's parents were given a month to raise the £1.2million to take seven-month-old Charlie to America for treatment they believe could spare his life.

More than 80,000 people donated but it GoFundMe could take a cut of up to £65,000 based on their current £1.24million total and is refusing to waive it. The website's 'payment processor' charges a further 2.68 per cent - around £20,000.

Miss Yates posted a new message to supporters, saying they have raised the target to £1.3million as a result.

She said: 'We have had to put our total up to cover gofundme fee's plus the more money we get the more time we can spend in America.'

The family will have to wait until at least Friday to hear if Justice Francis will allow Charlie can fly to the US for pioneering treatment that has 'not been tried on animal or human'.

Today Miss Yates is expected to personally beg Mr Justice Francis to save Charlie and let him travel to America, against the wishes of his British doctors.

The company hosting the 'Save Charlie' fundraising site says it is free to sign up but their fees are standard for all appeals. 

A GoFundMe spokesman said: 'Guidelines regarding our fees are stated clearly on our website and are standard for all campaigns. We are looking closely at Charlie's case as it develops.'