'All I ever wanted was time for my son' says father on court battle over withdrawal of medical care

Boy suffered 'catastrophic injuries' in an accident last year and his medical team believes further intervention would prolong his suffering

A Munster man who took his fight against a hospital’s wish to withdraw care from his son all the way to the Supreme Court says he is 'disappointed' the matter ever had to go to court.

A Munster man who took his fight against a hospital’s wish to withdraw care from his son all the way to the Supreme Court says he is “disappointed” the matter ever had to go to court.

He disagreed with doctors treating his son over what to do if his condition were to get worse, which his medical team believes is “inevitable”.

The boy, who is a ward of court and can only be referred to as “John” to protect his identity, suffered “catastrophic injuries” in an accident last year.

They included “devastating brain injuries” which neurologists believe are “permanent and irreversible”.

He is not expected to ever walk, talk or have any awareness of where he is.

As a result of his brain injuries, he has developed a particularly severe form of dystonia, which causes painful, prolonged and uncontrollable muscle spasms and limb contortion.

Since the accident, his dystonia has been brought under control although doctors believe it will return.

While John’s parents maintain John's preference would be for his life to be continued for as long as possible by whatever means necessary, his medical team disagrees.

Prolong his suffering

They believe any intervention to deal with future dystonic episodes would prolong his suffering.

As a result, his medical team believe it is not in his best interests to intervene.

The High Court last year backed the wishes of John’s medical team over the wishes of his parents but they appealed the decision to the Supreme Court.

Although it rejected the appeal, it made a number of rulings benefitting the parents.

One is that prior consent of John’s parents will have to have been "sought and refused" before medics can withhold life-prolonging treatments.

John’s father told the Irish Examiner: “All I ever wanted was time for my son.

"He has proved everyone wrong. He is the strongest little boy in the world.

“Time has greatly helped my son. His dystonia has stopped. He is now sitting up in a chair.

“Since the accident, he has improved so much. I was very disappointed the hospital brought this case so soon after the accident.

“The whole court process was tough and tiring.

'Hard to deal with'

“It was hard to deal with, particularly listening to the doctors describing my son's injuries.

“But I would say to anyone else who finds themselves in the same unfortunate position, they need to go through this process.” 

He added: “I just want to spend time with my son and let him continue his recovery.” 

His lawyer Damien Cashell, whose Cashells Solicitors firm represents clients from all over Ireland, said: “What is at the centre of this dispute is recognition of the right of a parent to be able to do absolutely everything in their power to sustain life and give someone a chance to improve over time, as John has.

“Ultimately, this is what he and John’s mother have managed to do.”