Stay in Touch
Get sneak previews of special offers & upcoming events delivered to your inbox.
Sign in
07-28-2017 03:48 PM
@bonnielu wrote:Perhaps someone will fill me in. Did the doctor who came from the US say he could not save him. Or was he not allowed to leave or be treated?
What I heard was that he wasn't really on top of their case and Charlie was sicker than he had known.
The parents were upset, saying the American MD had given them false hope.
The UK doctors said they thought Charlie was at a new stage where they believed he was now suffering.
07-28-2017 03:50 PM
@bonnielu wrote:Perhaps someone will fill me in. Did the doctor who came from the US say he could not save him. Or was he not allowed to leave or be treated?
The doctor who wanted to try his experimental treament on Charlie, said that it was too late to try the treament.
In other words, Charlie was too far gone to try the experimental treatment.
07-28-2017 03:52 PM
good night, sweet prince.
07-28-2017 03:53 PM
Thanks for the clarification. I had so hoped for a miracle and this doctor would save him. So sad.
07-28-2017 04:03 PM
It was inevitable, he's at peace now and pain free. I just hope that the parents can make peace with it, put aside their anger and bitterness and grieve. Like any other parent who loses a child. It might seem like a cruel world to them now but that's not the way it is. Everyone involved only had Charlie's best interest at heart and the doctors, nurses, medical staff are heroes. They do the work that one us can do and sometimes that means making the hard decisions.
07-28-2017 04:06 PM
timeline
07-28-2017 04:07 PM
@bonnielu wrote:Perhaps someone will fill me in. Did the doctor who came from the US say he could not save him. Or was he not allowed to leave or be treated?
There never was any doctor who said he could treat Charlie. There is a doctor who is doing reseach on a condition that very similar to Charlie's. It's the very early stages of his research and he I believe he said he "treated" 12 patients and one had some minor improvement. That child was able to breathe off the ventilator but there was still no improvement in brain function. When he got to England he said that Charlie's illness had progressed to far, he would not be a good subject for his research.
07-28-2017 04:25 PM
The American neurologist didn't see the child's brain scans or examine Charlie. According to the Britush paper the Sun, he also had a financial stake in the neucleotide treatment, which of course raises ethical questions.
07-28-2017 04:36 PM
So then to the posters who say there is no actual treatment and no doctor/hospital performing it - then is this CNN report untrue?
(CNN)An American father is speaking out about his child's experience with an experimental treatment the parents of Charlie Gard are fighting for their baby to access.
Arthur Estopinan said his son, Arturo, was diagnosed with the same rare disease that Charlie has, mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome, when he was 1 -- though Arturo's is said to be a less severe variation of the disease. The disease causes muscle weakness and loss of motor skills, which means standing, walking, eating, talking or even breathing is almost impossible.
Arturo was born in 2011. Estopinan was initially told by doctors that his son would die a few months after his diagnosis and that there was no medical treatment for his condition.
Young Arturo Estopinan received an experimental treatment for mitochondiral DNA depletion syndrome.
Estopinan told HLN's Erica Hill on Tuesday that he and his wife, Olga, were determined to do something.
"I started calling all of the doctors I could, from Harvard to Stanford and everyone in between, Ohio, and all of the major pediatric medical centers," Estopinan said.
"Eventually, the last one was Dr. Hirano in New York City. I was this close to telling my wife, 'there's nothing we can do.' Thank God, Dr. Hirano said, 'we're doing a clinical protocol, and we believe these medications will help your son.' "
Dr. Michio Hirano, a neurologist at Columbia University Medical Center in New York who specializes in myopathies and other neuromuscular diseases, has developed an experimental therapy that has been used on at least one American patient. That one known patient was Arturo, and his father said the treatment helped the boy start moving his muscles.
"They have allowed him to get stronger by moving his arms, his fingers, his legs. He's even trying to move his hips," Estopinan said. "The other day, I put one of these new songs from 'Sing,' from the Disney movie, on, and he started to move his hip and stomach. He's definitely willing to dance, God willing, very soon."
07-28-2017 04:36 PM - edited 07-28-2017 04:40 PM
update: the doctor speaks:
Dr Hirano said: ‘I became involved in Charlie’s case when I was contacted by his parents, and I subsequently agreed to speak with his doctors to discuss whether an experimental therapy being developed in my lab could provide meaningful clinical improvement in Charlie’s condition
‘As I disclosed in court on July 13, I have relinquished and have no financial interest in the treatment being developed for Charlie’s condition.
‘Unfortunately, an MRI scan of Charlie’s muscle tissue conducted in the past week has revealed that it is very unlikely that he would benefit from this treatment.’
Get sneak previews of special offers & upcoming events delivered to your inbox.
*You're signing up to receive QVC promotional email.
Find recent orders, do a return or exchange, create a Wish List & more.
Privacy StatementGeneral Terms of Use
QVC is not responsible for the availability, content, security, policies, or practices of the above referenced third-party linked sites nor liable for statements, claims, opinions, or representations contained therein. QVC's Privacy Statement does not apply to these third-party web sites.
© 1995-2024 QVC, Inc. All rights reserved. | QVC, Q and the Q logo are registered service marks of ER Marks, Inc. 888-345-5788