A CRITICALLY ill baby has tragically died after her life support was switched off despite a desperate battle from her parents.
Eight-month-old Indi Gregory had mitochondrial disease, an incurable condition which drains energy from the body’s cells.
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Indi Gregory has tragically died after her life support was removedCredit: PA
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Indi’s parents had launched a desperate legal battle to save herCredit: PA
The tragic tot also had a hole in her heart and had operations on her bowel and skull soon after she was born in February.
Indi died overnight in a hospice after her life support treatment was stopped following a ruling from a top judge.
Her mum Claire Staniforth held the youngster as she passed away.
She and Dean Gregory launched a mammoth legal battle to keep their daughter alive as they vowed to fight to the end.
Read more on the tragic baby
At one stage they even planned to move to Italy for treatment in a last-ditch attempt to save her.
But they lost their fight at every hurdle, with judges ultimately ruling that keeping Indi’s life support switched on was not in her “best interests”.
Dean said: “Indi’s life ended at 01.45am. Claire and I are angry heartbroken and ashamed. The NHS and the Courts not only took away her chance to live a longer life, but they also took away Indi’s dignity to pass away in the family home where she belonged.
“They did succeed in taking Indi’s body and dignity, but they can never take her soul. They tried to get rid of Indi without anybody knowing, but we made sure she would be remembered forever. I knew she was special from the day she was born.
“Claire held her for her final breaths.”
Dean and Claire had argued at the High Court that their daughter had “proved everyone wrong” and “needed more time”.
But hospital bosses begged judges to rule they could lawfully limit treatment as keeping the “dying” baby on a ventilator would “prolong matters”.
The judge concluded with a “heavy heart” that medics could withdraw “invasive treatment”.
He said the devotion Indi’s family showed was “palpable” and their pain “almost unimaginable” but the medical evidence was “unanimous and clear”.
In a final crushing blow for her parents, the judge refused their pleas to let Indi die at home rather than the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham or at a hospice.
He echoed concerns of the health trust responsible for Indi’s care, who said it would be “too dangerous” to remove her treatment elsewhere.
Indi suffered from the same condition as Charlie Gard, who died in 2017 after his parents lost a court battle to prolong his treatment.
Defiant Dean previously told how his daughter was a “real fighter” who deserved a chance at life.
He added: “Look, if we thought Indi was brain-dead we would be utterly crushed, but we wouldn’t be disagreeing with the doctors.
“But our daughter responds to us, and on her good days she is babbling, making noises, moving all her limbs. She can definitely experience happiness.”
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Indi suffered from mitochondrial diseaseCredit: PA
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Judges had ruled her life support could be switched offCredit: PA
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The youngster’s plight touched the nationCredit: gofundme
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Mum Claire had vowed to keep fightingCredit: gofundme
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Source: tiengtrunghaato.edu.vn