By James Simons-
The parents of a 10-month-old boy who is at the center of a life-support treatment dispute have been given more time to prepare for a High Court trial.
Specialists at King’s College Hospital in London say further intensive care treatment to Isaiah Haastrup is “futile, burdensome and not in his best interests”. Isaiah suffers from Cerebral palsy, which also includes an epileptic condition. Isaiah’s mother Takesha Thomas and father Lanre Haastrup, are keen for treatment to continue.A judge had originally been scheduled to commence analyses of detailed evidence at a trial in the Family Division of the High Court in London on Monday.
Mr Justice MacDonald adjourned the start of the trial until Monday January 22 after Isaiah’s mother and father said they needed more time to prepare their case.
The parents of a brain-damaged baby will ask the high court on Monday to allow an independent expert to assess their son’s likely quality of life, refusing to accept the advice of his doctors that his ventilator should be switched off.
Isaiah Haastrup is eight months old, cannot breathe for himself and has cerebral palsy following a disastrous birth at King’s College hospital. The trust accepts that the delay in obtaining a caesarean for his mother, Tasheka Thomas, contributed to his brain damage.
Isaiah’s father, Lanre Haastrup , is a lawyer practising in Catford, east London. He t his son may learn to breathe for himself if the drugs he is on are reduced. The doctors say Isaiah needs drugs for issues such as epilepsy associated with his cerebral palsy and to relax his muscles. Hasstrup told The Eye Of Media.Com”:
Medical doctors advised the Haastrups that he would never move or open his eyes and advised that it would be best to put him into palliative care.
The trust insists it is acting in the baby’s best interests.
Haastrup draws a parallel with the Gard case, but claims there are differences because Charlie was born with a rare congenital disease, whereas Isaiah was damaged at birth. “He [Charlie] was a lovely boy with very dignified parents. They had a child and the child had an inherent medical issue. They [Great Ormond Street hospital] did all the tests to see what Charlie could do and what options were available and what the future was for Charlie,” he said.
The parents do not accept the expert opinions from King’s and other hospitals that Isaiah’s condition is irremediable and want to hear from somebody outside the NHS. “I want someone who is not connected with the NHS. We are going to get an expert, hopefully with a court order,” said Haastrup.
Isaiah’s birth was notably traumatic and Takesha nearly died in the process after her uterus ruptured and she lost half her
The hospital trust admits there was a delay in obtaining a caesarean because their investigation found that if it had taken place 10 minutes earlier, the brain damage would not have been so severe – but it says the main reason for Isaiah’s condition was a rare event during the labor.
The investigation pointed out that there were specific issues in monitoring during labour were a contributing factor to his condition and have apologized for it
Barrister Fiona Paterson, who is representing King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust at preliminary hearings, told Mr Justice MacDonald that Isaiah was born at King’s College Hospital on February 18 with a severe brain injury thought to have been caused by a deprivation of oxygen.
She added that he was “ventilator-dependent” and being cared for in a pediatric intensive care unit.
Doctors did not think there were any “further investigations or forms of treatment” which would benefit him.