to all GN's living in France 4 year old boy missing

Yes, the medical establishment are not ogres who over-rule the wishes of parents, and the parents cannot kidnap their own child. We have not heard all sides of this story by any means, only what the media has published as a good paper-seller.

The medical establishment do sometimes over-rule the wishes of parents. They also sometimes over-rule the wishes of adult children regarding their terminally ill and suffering parents.

A case from a few years ago still appals me when I think of it. A woman was dying in great pain in hospital and she made it plain she did not want to continue. Her adult children tried to end her suffering in some way I cannot entirely remember now, giving her pills of some kind maybe. Anyway, nurses had become suspicious enough to keep watch. They saw what the children were doing, rushed in and stopped them and called the police. The children were arrested and the sick woman died a few weeks later after suffering great pain.

And what about the woman who was sent to prison because she felt she could look after her elderly father better than a care home could ?

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/10088740/Woman-jailed-by-secret-court-for-taking-father-out-of-care-home-talks-for-first-time-of-her-ordeal.html

And what about those who have asked and asked and asked for assistance to die and the answer is always no from the medical "authorities". c/f Tony Nicklinson et al.

The situation is hugely complicated by the fact that this boy is a minor - it is very different from an adult making a request to end their life, which should, I believe, be respected.

It is very complex and emotional. I imagine if one of my children were married to someone who decided (for religious or other reasons) that our GC should not receive life-saving treatment. I would probably (depending on the exact circumstances) be happy for the GC to be made a ward of court and be saved.

To take any child from a hospital after he has had a huge operation, and drag him across Europe in a car is downright cruel.

Poor little boy.

I find myself agreeing with you jingle It had struck me that taking a child home because you don't want to continue the treatment is understandable- driving a critically ill child round the continent is something quite different.

The latest news is that they have been found within the last few minutes in Marbella.

Jing I concurr

all

jing quite right, poor little fellow.

Galen

I may follow you.

Without knowing the whole story it's difficult to comment. A very sad situation.

Contrary to what some may think I am just glad to know that he has been found and it did look like the feeding tube was still working .

It will be interesting to see how this is handled from this point and I hope any concerns viewed concerning the family will be put to bed and their wishes respected and Aysha has any health care he requires whether that be in Spain or wherever.

www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/30/ashya-brain-tumour-found-parents-spain

A link to the Guardian report with a long video from the father telling us what has been going on.

My husband died from a grade 4 brain tumour after having an operation and radiotherapy. The tumour came back after a month. I think they should be given a chance to do what they want to do.

While transporting the child to Spain is probably not the wisest or most beneficial thing to do, arresting the parents seems rather heavy-handed unless there are other serious issues that have not been revealed. Acting against the advice of medics is not, so far as I understand, criminal.

My father died from Ca brain aged 54

Oh what a cock up. No way of mere bystanders to pick the bones out of this.

I watched the video of the father explaining things from his point of view and found him to be credible and convincing. The doctors who were mentioned on the video, however, do not come out of it so well. Seems they refused to negotiate on treatment for the child and threatened a court order if the parents did not comply with their authority without question, which would have meant the parents being unable to visit the child on the hospital ward. As well as other unhelpful behaviour.

What a dreadful situation for parents to find themselves in.

Now the parents have been arrested and are in a Spanish police station, the child is alone in a Spanish hospital without his family, and the father is being prevented from raising the money to pay for treatment for his child which is unavailable in this country on the NHS.

I would like to protest at the way this family have been treated but I'm not sure how to go about it.

I agree petallus. What a mess. And the batteries for the feeding tube were still working perfectly ok on that clip with Dad and Son.

Now the solicitors are getting in on it (rubbing their hands in anticipation).

Is it illegal to remove one's own child from the hospital where he is receiving treatment which you may or may not think is right if that child is not a ward of court?

What a dreadful mess indeed. There seems to have been a total breakdown in communications here.

It is common for parents/relatives to clutch at straws when someone is so seriously ill, and one of the jobs for the medics is to try and help people not to go down blind alleys and raise false hopes, often crippling families financially for no benefit. The use of an order to proceed with treatment is a last resort (and sometimes necessary), but the idea that this might prevent the parents visiting their child (rather than just careful monitoring) certainly feels unacceptable - he needs his Mum and Dad with him.

It is not acceptable that the parents are now in prison and this very young and sick lad is in hospital in a strange country without his Mum and Dad beside him. Let us hope that some reasonable compromise can be achieved, and proper communication is started.

There are plenty of private clinics worldwide who are happy to take money from people in extreme situations such as these. It is very hard to sift truth from financially motivated fiction in these cases. What a sad dilemma for them.

I have not heard the news today, had not realised the parents are in prison.

Why? That is a total over-reaction, in fact quite wicked imo.
There are several other children as well, what has happened to them?