Charlotte Wyatt
Charlotte Wyatt was born on 21st October, 2003. Yesterday staff at St Marys Hospital, where she has been since she was born and will remain for the time being had a party for her. No one knows if Charlotte enjoyed her party, no one knows if Charlotte is aware of anything that goes on around her. Though it is fairly certain Charlotte will never understand why her parents have never taken her home despite waging a legal battle to have her kept alive with a view to doing so.
Charlotte is severely disabled as a result of being born prematurely. If she can hear or see at all Charlotte doesn't have the mental capacity to make sense of the snesory information she recieves. Charlotte can not eat and has to be fed through a gastric tube. Charlotte's lungs can not absorb enough oxygen so must have a constant supply on hand. The only obvious sign that Cahrlotte is getting older is her body getting bigger a body that only continues to function so long as the drugs, feeds, oxygen and physio therapy are in place. She will never grow, develope or progress in any other way. As long as she is kept alive Cahrlotte will need constant care and supervision. Despite knowing this Charlotte's parents decided doctors were wrong to want ot let nature take it's course and went to the High Court demanding their daughter be kept alive on the basis that they believed Charlotte responded to them. The High court agreed so doctors had no choice but to treat Charlotte with a view to preparing her to go home.
The irony is when, earlier this year, doctors said Charlotte was stable enough to go home her parents had split. Parents who despite already having one child and knowing the amount of care that would be involved with Charlotte went onto have two more children in the interveening years between their victory and being told they could take Charlotte home. Parents who site the stress of the court action as a reason for their split. Parents who apparently have visited only sporadically on a few occasions since the doctors gave them the good news.
So Charlotte remains in the hospital where she was born until Social Services can find a foster home for Charlotte. Considering the dearth of foster homes in general and foster homes willing to take on the long term care of a severely disabled child in particular I suspect Charlotte may never leave St Marys.
So far keeping Charlotte alive has cost tax payers over £1 million including the legal fees since Darren and Debbie Wyatt qualified for Legal Aid to fight this case. It now costs the NHS £6 thousand to keep Charlotte alive every week added tothis will be the costs to Social Services should they ever find a home for her.
In the end it will all have been for nothing because Charlotte's life expectancy is a few years at best. The very care her parents insisted on will probably be her undoing. Like so many long term high dependancy patients Charlotte's body will eventually not be able to cope with the vast amount of drugs needed to keep her alive. The feeding tube will become a sight for repeated infections. In many ways Charlotte is like someone who has had a major stroke, the body can be kept alive but the chances of recovery are nil and eventually the decision has to be taken whether keeping to keep the body alive or not. At some point the question has to be asked who would benefit from prolonging body function and in this case the answer is becoming a litlle clearer and it isn't the one many expected.
The doctors and nurses who have had to care for Charlotte haven't benefitted. They know they are fighting a losing battle to keep a body alive, a body that will enventually not be able to go on. In the mean time resources that might be used to treat children with a chance of getting better must be diverted to Charlotte.
Social Services haven' t benefitted. They have the thankless task of trying to find a place for Charlotte to live outside the hospital.
Her family haven' t benefitted. Her parents say the stress of fighting for Charlotte lead tothe break up of their marriage. Her siblings only benefit so long as her parents don't bring Charlotte home because the care she will need would mean they spent the rest of their lives coming a distant second in their parents priorities.
Most of all Charlotte hasn' t benefitted. The functioning of her body has been prolonged but her disablities mean she will never have a life. She hasn't been given a chance because there was never a chance for her to take. Charlotte was used by her parents to prove a point and now it is Charlotte who suffers most becuase her parents are unwilling and/or unable to cope with the consequences of their 'victory'.
Charlotte is severely disabled as a result of being born prematurely. If she can hear or see at all Charlotte doesn't have the mental capacity to make sense of the snesory information she recieves. Charlotte can not eat and has to be fed through a gastric tube. Charlotte's lungs can not absorb enough oxygen so must have a constant supply on hand. The only obvious sign that Cahrlotte is getting older is her body getting bigger a body that only continues to function so long as the drugs, feeds, oxygen and physio therapy are in place. She will never grow, develope or progress in any other way. As long as she is kept alive Cahrlotte will need constant care and supervision. Despite knowing this Charlotte's parents decided doctors were wrong to want ot let nature take it's course and went to the High Court demanding their daughter be kept alive on the basis that they believed Charlotte responded to them. The High court agreed so doctors had no choice but to treat Charlotte with a view to preparing her to go home.
The irony is when, earlier this year, doctors said Charlotte was stable enough to go home her parents had split. Parents who despite already having one child and knowing the amount of care that would be involved with Charlotte went onto have two more children in the interveening years between their victory and being told they could take Charlotte home. Parents who site the stress of the court action as a reason for their split. Parents who apparently have visited only sporadically on a few occasions since the doctors gave them the good news.
So Charlotte remains in the hospital where she was born until Social Services can find a foster home for Charlotte. Considering the dearth of foster homes in general and foster homes willing to take on the long term care of a severely disabled child in particular I suspect Charlotte may never leave St Marys.
So far keeping Charlotte alive has cost tax payers over £1 million including the legal fees since Darren and Debbie Wyatt qualified for Legal Aid to fight this case. It now costs the NHS £6 thousand to keep Charlotte alive every week added tothis will be the costs to Social Services should they ever find a home for her.
In the end it will all have been for nothing because Charlotte's life expectancy is a few years at best. The very care her parents insisted on will probably be her undoing. Like so many long term high dependancy patients Charlotte's body will eventually not be able to cope with the vast amount of drugs needed to keep her alive. The feeding tube will become a sight for repeated infections. In many ways Charlotte is like someone who has had a major stroke, the body can be kept alive but the chances of recovery are nil and eventually the decision has to be taken whether keeping to keep the body alive or not. At some point the question has to be asked who would benefit from prolonging body function and in this case the answer is becoming a litlle clearer and it isn't the one many expected.
The doctors and nurses who have had to care for Charlotte haven't benefitted. They know they are fighting a losing battle to keep a body alive, a body that will enventually not be able to go on. In the mean time resources that might be used to treat children with a chance of getting better must be diverted to Charlotte.
Social Services haven' t benefitted. They have the thankless task of trying to find a place for Charlotte to live outside the hospital.
Her family haven' t benefitted. Her parents say the stress of fighting for Charlotte lead tothe break up of their marriage. Her siblings only benefit so long as her parents don't bring Charlotte home because the care she will need would mean they spent the rest of their lives coming a distant second in their parents priorities.
Most of all Charlotte hasn' t benefitted. The functioning of her body has been prolonged but her disablities mean she will never have a life. She hasn't been given a chance because there was never a chance for her to take. Charlotte was used by her parents to prove a point and now it is Charlotte who suffers most becuase her parents are unwilling and/or unable to cope with the consequences of their 'victory'.
posted by Jodie @ 8:12 am
2 Comments:
At 11:19 pm,
a fractal cat said…
I read this and wrote a response. I never posted it. It was filled with anger, and I railed against all.
This time round I want to simply say this. Moll, this should never have been written...
You have written it of course and there it is - and I am still angry.
Powerful stuff Moll.
Another voice might refer to a scripture and bring a profound parallel from the Word to light. They might pontificate on 'lessons to be learned' and that is good. They (you too), have a Faith.
Me?
I just stay angry!
At 11:33 am,
Unknown said…
I have to say I agree with you. I can understand why Charlotte's parents were so desperate to keep her alive, but in the long run have they really done what is best for her.
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