We need to remember that cases like this arise everyday.
By that I mean, even as we talk about this child, tens of families through out the country are facing the shock of discovering that as a result of accident or design, a member of their family, who was alive and well yesterday, today is on life support and their families are being asked about organ donation and turning life support equipment off.
It is likely that in all these cases, despite their grief these families will listen, understand and accept what the doctors tell them and acquiesce with their requests.
Refusing to accept or believe the doctors happens very rarely, and when it does happen it does not mean that that family is anymore grief stricken than any other family in their situation, merely that for complex reasons, we really do not understand, they will not believe what the doctor's say.
Unfortunately this disbelief makes these families very vulnerable to groups that for their own, usually political, reasons are willing to encourage them in their disbelief and fund endless, fruitless appeals. The results are to further traumatise an already traumatised family and drive a wedge between family and hospital, that can only be to the damage of the family and make their ability to come to terms with events so much more difficult.