This programme contains some sceneswhich some viewers may findupsetting, and some strong language.
I think you should prepareyourselves for the possibility
that Marnie's lifewill not be a full one.
I think there might besomething wrong.
She's deteriorating rapidly.
Marnie's had a cardiac arrest.
As a result of thisshe might have some brain damage.
Does Marnie get prescribed diazepam?
Hannah, don't be suggesting...
I'm just joking. Maybe.
Is she going to die, Dad?
She's been dying for a long time.
The hospital said that they wantto stop treatment.
They don't get to decidewhat to do.
She's our child.
Promise methat you will fight for her.
I will fightwith everything I've got.
I went to the supermarket,
and I bought
a potato,
a banana,
a remote-control car...
..a packet of crisps
and...
..a fishing rod.
A fishing rod! I like that.
OK, George. Hit us with it.
I went to the supermarket
and I bought a potato,
er, a banana...
..er, a remote-control car,
a packet of crisps,
oh, a fishing rod,
erm,
and a...
..packet of condoms.
LAUGHTER
OK, George. Keep it clean!
Condoms are clean.
Let's change that for a packetof balloons, please.
A packet of balloons.
He's a terror.
He's pretty funny, though.
Mm, he thinks he's funnierthan he is!
I don't know.
A solid gag merchant, I'd say.
He, er...
He wants to ask her out.
What?
Your Marnie.
He wants to ask herout to the cinema. Oh, OK.
Well, she doesn't really talkabout boys, I'm afraid.
Well,he doesn't stop talking about her.
"There's this girl in class.She's really fit..."
Ahh, that's nice.
So you wouldn't mind, then,if he did ask her?
I think they're a bit young,you know?
How long's yours got?
Just let them live while they can,that's always been my motto.
Well, I'd like her to justbe 11...
Please.
I think he needs it.
And I think she'd like it too.
Good morning to you.
Morning.
Good morning, Marnie.
Well, good.
Everything is entirely as expected.
I will see you again.
We'll be here.
Charlie is a 14-year-old boy.Hello, Charlie.
This is day 18 of his admission.
His problems includeraised intracranial pressure,
haemodynamic instabilityand electrolyte imbalance.
CTs?
His last CT was concerning,
and his MRI shows severediffuse axonal injury.
Next steps?
He's unresponsive.
Dr Maseley and I are discussingnext steps with his family.
Last, we have Elena.
She's six years old.
She came in two weeks agowith a chest infection
and needed to be intubated, but shehas responded well to antibiotics.
Hello, Elena.
I'm going to put my coldhand on your belly,
and let's see if it makes you jump.
No jumping, very impressive!
Sit up for me gently.Thank you, my darling.
We're here to considerthe benefit,
burden, welfare
and best interests of the patient.
Samantha,Marnie Lloyd is your patient.
Shall we start with quality oflife? Thank you.
Marnie has a rare form ofcongenital muscular dystrophy
with an atypical profile.
She has been with us for eight weeksthis time, following a lower
respiratory tract infection,
complicated by a pneumothoraxand prolonged hypoxic arrest.
What about sincethis last admission?
She has hypoxic ischaemicbrain damage
as a consequence of hercardiac arrest.
She has severeneurological impairment
and we can't weanher off the ventilator.
So is it possible to make anassessment of her quality of life?
Well, she can't communicate,
she has no awarenessof her surroundings,
and, though potentially she mightfeel pain and discomfort,
she is largely unresponsive,
other than withdrawalfrom painful stimuli.
I'd agree with that.
And what about thispossibility of a tracheostomy?
In my...opinion,
any treatment we give her,
she is not going to leavethe hospital again.
But I think it's worth sayingthat the parents are desperate
for us to give it a try.
She is a kind girl,
always funny,always a joy to be around, but
if we could help her -really help her -
we would.
But we can't.
Can we? Mercy?
It's beyond my paygrade, I think.
What does that mean?
Er, how much time have we... Sorry.
..given Marnie and the familyto make this decision?
Um, we had the first conversationeight weeks ago
when she was admitted.
Since then she had hercardiac arrest
and is showing no signsof neurological improvement.
And the parents are firmly opposedto any cessation of treatment?
Yes.
These are impossibledecisions for parents to make.
It's a simple question, but one ofthe most important ones in medicine.
Is it in Marnie's best interests
to continue ventilation...or not?
MUSIC PLAYS
SWITCHES MUSIC OFF
Hi. Hey.
I haven't brushed my teeth.
And yet you smell of nectarines.
Come on.
Yeah.
Thanks.
Hey.
Coffee?
Ah, no, I'm fine.
Have a seat, please.
So, the hospital ethicscommittee have met.
Sounds suspiciously cultish.
Oh! Yes, it does sound likethat, doesn't it?
Their guidance, to me,was that they support
my clinical judgment.
Right. Well, that's not a surprise.
Marnie's not responding in a way
that suggestsany conscious experience.
In your opinion.That's medical science, I'm...
And is it medical sciencethat brains can't recover?
There is alwaysa possibility for improvement,
but in this caseit's severely unlikely.
Marnie...has broken those odds
every year of her life.
She has shown clear movement...
I'm afraid that we haven'tobserved any for a while.
Well, I have seen movement.
When we played her music recentlyshe showed...
Her heart rate slowed...
Relaxing Classics on Spotify.
We're not sure what might haveprompted that,
but we have seen it in otherpatients in similar conditions.
As to what you observed, that waslikely an involuntary reflex.
Certainly we have seennothing like it since.
Nicci, Andrew,
I care for Marnie very much,but, well...
..are you still in disagreementwith the decision? Yes.
So that means that the hospital
would like to suggest that this nowgoes to a mediation process.
An independent mediatorwill be appointed
and we can take it from there.
Will a mediatormake you change your mind?
It's useful in challenginghow everyone's thinking.
The mediator has no stakes in thiscase and is more likely to...
Will it lead to youdeciding to keep our daughter alive?
I believe that I have madethe right clinical decision,
but mediators have highlightedmistakes in process.
Process, so not end result.
So, no, it won't.
Your ethics committee are wrong.
You are wrong, and I haveno interest in any of this.
I'll see what I can do.
Fuck!
Samantha, I've got an updatefor you...
Please don't say anything.
I always love the pre-emptiveputsch in an argument.
You said nothing in the room.
Because you were breathing inall available oxygen.
She's always been a thoroughand kind doctor.
Yeah.
And you've always fancied her.
Oh, come on!
Just don't make methe unreasonable one.
OK? You do that and I hate it,so don't do it.
MUSIC PLAYS
I'm putting on Radio 4.
FRONT DOOR OPENS
Hi! Hi.
Hey. Hey! I didn't knowif you guys wanted dinner.
I cooked pasta.
You cooked pasta?!
Dad, I already don't likeyour tone of voice.
It's just pasta. Mwah!
Oooh. It has bacon in it!
I've cooked before.Don't make this weird.
I think we've some garlic breadin the freezer.
I'm going to have...
..bacon pasta
with melted cheese and garlic bread.
I'm going to go for a shower.
What do I wearto this thing tonight?
Oh, not your slinkyblack number again.
Poor headmasterdidn't know where to look.
And the deputy head did know,and really shouldn't have.
Wear your green dress.
Yeah.
Yeah, OK. Thanks.
Mmmm!
Er... It's bad newsfrom the hospital.
They've decided that, um...
..they've backed her.
They want it over.
I want to wear my orange top.
All right. This one? Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. OK.
With the jeans with the pockets.Mm-hm.
And my Doc Martens.
The red ones!
Oh. Good idea.
OK.
And I, um...
..I'd like to wear some make-up.
Oh!
OK... What were you thinking?
Smoky eyes, like Elicia Shadow.
Who's Elicia Shadow?
Look.
Hi, guys! It's Elicia Shadow,
and welcome back to my channel.
So, in today's video,
I'm going to be showingyou how to get... Oh!
Who are you watching these with?Katie.
Doesn't it look great?
Yeah. Yeah. Um...
Look. I tell you what.I'll make a deal with you.
I will put everythingyou want on your face.
But then, you know, at the end,
if one of us decides, you know,less is more,
I'm allowed to just wipeit all off.
OK.
And I get a veto. OK.
POP MUSIC PLAYS
# Can't stop itMove your head
# To the beat
# Come along, tap your feet
# We delight, come alive
# Want it, got it, no, can't stop it
# Move your head to the beat
# Come along, tap your feet
# Tap tap
# Beat, tap
# Beat beat, tap
# Beat beat, come along and tap
# Beat beat
# Tap beat beat tap
# Beat beat, come along and tap
# Tap, beat beat
# Beat beat
# Beat beat, come alongand tap tap. #
OK. Do you want to have a look?
OK.
Hey...
Hey, don't. Please don't cry.
Don't cry.
You'll ruin your make-up.
Please don't use your veto.
I won't.
SHOWER RUNS
Nicci?
Just a minute.
Let's try and put on a show.For Katie.
If we can.
Yeah.
Agreed.
You've still got your socks on.
Why are you being weird?
It's going to be shit.
Do you not think I know that?
So, did you bring them?
Yeah.
I thought the idea was we'd, um...
..like, do it together?
Yeah, and we will.
Play well, OK?
Oh, my God.
That smell takes you back,doesn't it? What is it?
Odour de School.
Cabbage, corned beefand confused hand jobs.
Deputy head's spotted you.
You should just weara brown paper bag.
It's the only way to containthe man!
Hey! Hi! You came!
Yeah, well, Hannah sort of insistedthat we, er...
Oh, yeah. Nice.Not humiliating at all.
I think she misses the place,you know.
Ex-queen bee round here.
Well, I mean, it's a big do.
The thing to look out for is ifMr Glenny comes onstage
eating Maltesers before he conducts.
Ah, so if he does... He's drunk.
Yeah. Oh, that's clever, really,
because Polo mints you'dsort of guess, wouldn't you?
But Maltesers is much more subtle.
I like it. I do.
ORCHESTRA TUNES UP
It's on silent, yeah? Yeah.
APPLAUSE
ORCHESTRA PLAYS
PHONE BUZZES
Give me the car keys.Give me the car keys!
Or you come.
BEEPING
Marnie, you're OK.
Turn the oxygen up.
We're here, Marnie.
Can we have some diazepam?Thank you.
OK. Five milligrams in.
OK.
It's OK.
Saturation is 100.
Ready for the big date?Looking good!
The make-up? YouTube.
OK.
A few things we need to discuss.
First things first, boys smell.
Thank you, Dad.
Secondly, they're mean...
No, they're not!
And third thing, I wash regularly...
He doesn't. I'm not mean, and I willneed reassurance at all times
that I am the most importantboy in your life.
OK, Dad.
OK. Now, is that a yes? Yes!
OK, then I can start the car.
See? Simple as that.You ready ready?
They can't sit together, I'm afraid.
But that's ridiculous!
It's company policy.
Then you need to change something.
How hard is it to removeone of these seats?
I don't have the authorisation.
Yeah, well, we can do it.
Looks like a screwdriver job.Have you got a screwdriver?
She's actually pretty good at DIY.Dad.
We...we don't mind.
We don't mind.
Dad.
Please.
Yes! Get in!
Sorry, can I...?Who's in charge now?
All hail my son Emperor Nero!
Nero! Nero! Nero!
You know, I took a girl on a dateonce to see The Remains Of The Day.
She kept trying to kiss me.
But the film was too good.
What? You just cut her dead?
No, I asked her on a date again.
This time I took her toSchindler's List.
I never really thought throughthe whole cinema date game.
This is nice.
PHONE RINGS
It's Mercy.
She's stable.
What was it?
A seizure. A bad one.
So now her brain...? Jesus.What? How did... How...
It's likely because of the hypoxiaand the extent of the brain damage.
So will this happen more often now?
We're just cleaning her up.
You'll be able to see her soon.
Hi. Hello.
We're here, Marnie.
Hey.
You gave us a real fright there.
Can you squeeze my hand, honey?
Marnie,will you give my hand a squeeze?
Do you want to read someAdrian Mole?
I think I can feel her smiling.
You know, just in her eyes a bit.
OK.
All right.
"Friday, February 12th.
"I'm not sure how I will vote.
"Sometimes I think Mrs Thatcheris a nice, kind sort of woman..."
It's not too old for her, no? No.
"Then the next dayI see her on television
"and she frightens me rigid.
"She's got eyeslike a psychotic killer,
"but a voice like a gentle person.It is a bit confusing."
No, your embouchure's all wrong.
My embouchure? God, get you!
Um, put your lips together.
What, like a fish? No.
Make an "emmmm" noise.
Emmmm.
You're being a dick.
OK, no. Emm.
And then you sort of stuff your lipsinside the inner rim.
Hmm. Now where haveI heard that before?
You're allowed to be pissed offwith them, for missing your show.
Yeah.
I'm fine.
Let's go up to my room.
Well, I do prefer your room.
MUSIC PLAYS FROM UPSTAIRS
HE SIGHS
MOVEMENT UPSTAIRS
Oh... Oh, hi. I wasn't expecting...
Er, yeah. I thought I should stay.
You know, she's a bit worried,you know?
It's kind.
It's kind of you.
Is she...
Marnie, I mean?
Er...
A seizure.
Can I give you a lift home,or are you staying, or...?
I'm sorry, I feel like I should begiving you a hug or something,
but that would probably bea bit weird.
I'm OK, Hannah.
You know, or weed?I've got some weed.
And don't pretend you don't smoke,because, you know, I have nostrils.
And it's probably better thanthat shit you get.
Yeah, well.I doubt that very much.
Um, is Katie OK?
Because she doesn'twant to come to the hospital.
No, she's fine.
Strong.
Look, it's a nice night.
You know, I can walk home.
OK.
DOOR CLOSES
KNOCK ON DOOR
Ah, sorry.
I just didn't want you wakingand not knowing.
She's OK.
Good.
Gutted to miss your gig.
It was one of our best. Oh.
Rub it in, why don't you?
He got throughthree packets of Maltesers.
Jesus. That good! Yeah.
Hannah got you home OK?She just left.
Oh.
Yeah.
Nice girl.
I think.
Bit strange.
Not that strange.
She just doesn't have anyoneher own age to hang around with.
You were always kindto waifs and strays.
And half-eaten birds.
Didn't you bring home a worm once?Yeah, it was dying.
I'm pretty sureworms are invincible.
There are some nights
I just want to curl up in here
and sleep on your rug.
You could sleep on the rug,if you like.
No...
No, my back wouldn't take it.
Hmmm.
Goodnight, sleep tight.
And I'll see you in the morning.
I love you, I love you, I love you.I love you too.
Thanks for arranging to see me.She'll be home in a minute.
She sleeps at the hospitalsometimes.
Ah, yes.
Happens a lot in PICU.
Lines of parents, staring offinto the middle distance
beside them little beds... Hi!
Ah!
I hadn't forgotten.
Hi. Sorry. She had a bit of a...
She had a bit of a turn last night.Did Andrew tell you?
Shall we fix this for another time?
No, it's fine. I've slept.
I haven't washed, but...
As long as you can handle a bit ofbody odour, I'd rather get it done.
Orange juice? Coffee? Tea?Ah, yes, all of it.
Toast. Gotcha.
Do you mind if I faff arounda bit while you're, um...?
No, not at all.
Now, there are a lotof misapprehensions about mediation.
I think of it as a chanceto get an understanding
of everyone's position becausein clinical environments...
Yeah, I had arbitration at my oldjob, when Marnie was born.
I had to take a bunch of time off
and so they called me in toresolve the matter.
This isn't arbitration...
So I sat oppositewhile they lied about, you know,
what I'd done,how often I'd come in.
I tried to do my best by them,but they just couldn't see it.
All they could see was howI affected them.
So we left.We just lost the money.
Um, you know, I wasn't going to sitthere and defend myself.
They were arseholes.
But, you know, Harriet isn't one,and nor is Samantha.
Do doctors ever change their minds?
We will be examining every aspectof the process, to work out...
Yeah, but do you look at...do you look at the decision?
Do you look at the decision thatthat ethics committee made?
We weren't even in the room for anyof that. Nicci, that's not fair.
They've talked to us.They haven't!
They haven't. They told us!
I wonder if it would be helpful...
It seems to me thatthis whole process
is about...about making me OK...
Us. ..with your decision,and that's just...
Do you understand? That's... I'm notgoing to be tricked like that again.
Well, I think she liked us.
I think she wants tomove in, to be honest.
I'm off to Tom's for lunch.
If you fancy it? It's his birthday,you know. He'd love to see you.
He would resent every secondI was there.
He only wants to see you.
OK, shall I stay, then?
I mean, we've gota lot to talk about.
Will we just...?
Will we just talk when you're back?
I need to think.
So you are thinking, then?
What the fuckis that supposed to mean?
I think I should stay.
We'll talk when you're back.
It's only me!
Oh!
Letters on the mat again.
I open the important ones,don't worry.
Happy birthday!
One from Katie.
One from me.
Ah. OK...
Ah, well...
THEY CHUCKLE
OK.
HE MUTTERS
Time for lunch.
You're looking healthier.
Weetabix.
Is that it?
I shit every morning at 8am now.
Were you not regular before?
Definitely not.
Oh. That's great news.
Fish and chips?
Only if you promise to keeptalking about your bowel movements.
Thank you.
You remember when your mum died,
how...Dad fussed about?
Five minutes after she'd gone
he was starting to prepareher funeral,
who'd say what.
He wanted you to read thatKipling poem.
Yeah, well, you know...
She wasn't my mum.
But she really liked you.And Kipling's a racist.
Anyway,
my point is...
..then Dad died...
..and neither of us did anything,
organised anything.
And the funeral was shit,I remember.
Your fault.
Never been good at...
..doing somethingI don't want to do.
You're not dying, are you? No.
No. If you died I'd probablykill myself.
No, you wouldn't.
I said probably.
Marnie is very sick.
Why are these chips so good?
Lard.
They tried to ban me from here.
I threatened a man. But I saidsorry because of the chips.
Well, they are that good.
Hey.
I think Samantha's still here.
We could hunt her down together?
I just wanted some timealone with Marnie.
Sure.
I put a playlisttogether for your birth.
Did you know that?
I bought some...
..mini battery-powered speakers.
Plugged them in.
The tune as you were born,
um...
..Your Star Will Shineby the Stone Roses.
It was beautiful.
# Your star will shine again
# One day
# Through deep blue velvet skies
# Shine for all the world to see
# The universe in your eyes
# When the storm outside is raging
# And the dogs, they howl your name
# Lay down, sleep, I'll kiss you
# Your star will...
# ..shine again. #
HE SOBS
Hi, it's me.
I've been trying to call you.
Tom said you left ages ago.
You went and had a drink?
Well, I didn't know you wereexpecting me back.
We've got a visitor.
Hello. Hello.
My name is Brenda Haskins.
I am here on behalfof Every Christian Life.
Oh.
Who? We're here to help.
We've been lied to.
It, um, it costs anywhere between£250,000 to £500,000 a year
to keep a child in paediatricintensive care.
You think this is financial?
Well, they've denied a tracheostomy.
And the NHS,and it's not entirely their fault,
they've had to ration,and in this cruel world of ours,
the seriously ill are disposed of.
Your daughter's life is sacred.
Medical science has no rightto decide whether she live or die.
This is eugenicsand it can't happen.
We can raise the resourcesto fight this case
and we can raisethe resources to help her.
Help her?
Financial and legal helpto win the case.
It's a case now.
And, once we've won,
get access to the drugs andtreatments that she's been denied.
There's so much that's possible now.
Vamorolone, risdiplam is having goodresults with kids with SMA -
it could... It's...
I mean, you see what thiscould mean for us?
Out of interest,how did you find us?
That's your question?They contacted me,
and I was interestedin saving our daughter's life.
Look, I've takeneverything in that you've said,
Brenda, and I'm really gratefulfor your help,
but I think Andrew and I need to...
Yeah, absolutely. Of course.
Um, listen, let me give you my card.
Um, there's peoplefrom all professions
that are ready to talkwhen you're ready.
What's your profession?
I used to work in PR for the charitybut I now run the outreach arm.
I'm not hiding anything from you,Andrew.
No pressure.
But the help is thereif you'll take it.
And call any time as well.
I'm famous for neverturning my phone off.
OK. Um, I'll show you out.
Yeah, thank you.
That's great. Thanks.
Where did you park?Are you out in the street?
Yeah, just outside.OK, all right.
Thank you so much.
I think for Marnie's sakewe should at least consider it.
Pro-lifers. Oh, great.
So you've just jumped to...I'm going to google them.Yeah, google them!
I'm sure that'llconfirm your every prejudice.
Prejudice?What, we're anti-abortion now?
No! Pro-Marnie.
We're pro anythingthat is going to help her.
Is Katie upstairs?Yeah, I think so.
OK. Let's talk outside, shall we?What? In the garden.
Outs...
Well, no, let's go for a walk. OK.
You know the hospital's only goingto go along with mediation.
We don't have to agree withEvery Christian Life on everything.
I came home today ready to say...
I came home...
I think we should consider it.
Consider ending it, the treatment.
For her sake.
We knew right from the start,there was going to come a point...
Yeah. ..when we'd have to decide...
Yeah. We did. But that isn't...
This is not that point.
The doctors are advising...
Two months ago, she was smiling.
She was looking out her bedroomwindow at the birds.
We were there, OK?
The robin was backand she was delighted.
And that was two months ago,you know?
She's brain damaged.
She's having bloody seizures.
It's not always going to be likethat.
You know they can stabilise her.
The seizures, they can help.
The brain, you know,can repair itself.
She'll be backlooking at birds again!
We were told... We were toldas soon as she was diagnosed...
What do you mean, diagnosed?
We don't even know exactlywhat's wrong with her!
We were told her conditionis progressive without cure.
And she's beaten the oddsevery time.
OK? When she was sevenand the doctor told us
that she was going to, you know...that she'd be better off dead...
..we said no!
She's done remarkably well.You've done remarkably well.
Yeah, when she was nine years oldand that fucker said
she wouldn't smile or laugh again,we said no, and she did smile.
And she did laugh.
You asked me once to make sure thatyou weren't one of those mothers.
One of those who asksto keep their child alive...
No. Don't... One of those that wasblind to the pain of her child.
No! You don't do that.
..and just wants to cling to...They say she's in pain!
They say she's in a lot of pain.She is still your child!
Yes! Yes, she is!
Yes, she is.
I knew you were feeling like this.
You know that? I could feel it.
Oh, so why did you make itso difficult, then?
What? You think this should be easy?
This isn't about us decidingif a doctor is right or not.
This is about decidingif our child should die.
Fuck off!
You know what the trouble is?
The trouble is, you've always...
You've always wanted her dead.
You know? If you're honest.
You never wanted her,and then she came out damaged.
Please don't say that. No.
I've been fighting for herall my life.
Just me.
Not you.
Me! That's just not true.
Well, prove it, then, you fucker.
Prove it and just stand with me.
Dad?
Dad, what are you doing?
I'm going to stay at Tom'sfor a bit.
Why?
Er...
I can't explain. Not right now.
No, Dad. Don't go.Don't leave me here.
Please don't. Come with me, then!
What? No. Then she'll be on her own.
She can't have me in the house,and I can't be in the house.
But that doesn't meanI don't love her, or you,
or Marnie, OK?
Dad!
Dad, don't be a coward. Dad!
This isn't fucking cowardice.
I'm sorry, but it's not.
I love you.I'll be back soon.
DOOR SLAMS
Hi.
Sorry to, er...
..barge in.
Um...
So, there's somethingwe need to tell you.
It's a bit difficult.
Um...
You know George has been sick.
Is he OK?
It was very sudden, honey.
They decided to...
Yeah, he passed away.
I'm so sorry, love.
Does that mean he's dead?
Yeah.
But we were just talking.
I know.
Was he in pain?
No, the doctors werelooking after him.
Am I going to die?
Um...
Well, everyone's going to die.
You rememberwhen Grandpa passed away.
Am I going to die soon?
We don't think so.
Dad.
There's a chance.
Andrew.
There's a chance that you mightdie sooner than some.
I'm really sorry about that.
I don't want to die.
Oh, sweetheart.
Hi.
It's been a while.
It's been one year,
three months,two weeks and a day.
I just wanted to, er...
I needed to...Now you need me.
You'd better come in.
I've started volunteeringdown at Happy Smiles.
Haven't seen your Marnie there.
Yeah, she's had a tough few months.
Poor thing.
The doctors want toturn off the machines.
Ah.
Biscuits?
How did you do it?
Do what? Agree to it?
Yeah, I mean, how did you...how did you know?
What's happened to her?
Some respiratory issues.
Some things - heart, bit of brain...
..mainly respiratory.
They won't fit herwith a trachy, so...
George made me promiseI wouldn't let him have a trachy.
What?
He saw some kid with one.
Said he looked like a supervillain.
So you talked to him about...Death?
Yeah. Always.
He started it.
Was obsessed by the idea.
And I can't do lying, so...
I always avoided it with Marnie.
I just never could...
She tried to bring it upa few times, but I could never...
That's OK.
When Georgie hadwhat was his last seizure...
..they told me it was unlikelyhe'd be able to communicate again.
But...
I put on some telly he liked -
The Worst Witch...
..and he squeezed my hand.
He did.
But they convinced me,
convinced me...
..that he was just in too much pain.
It's all right.
So...
Can you still see her?
That's the question.
People hate disabled people.
Sometimes I thinkthey'd kill them all.
But we know.
We know what life looks like.
And if we don't?
Oh, you do, love.
You do.
Morning, Nicci! Oh, thanks, love.
Morning, my love.
Did you have any dreams?
There you are.
There we go.
Have I understood right, thatyou've refused to attend mediation?
Yeah.
They're not going to change theirmind, so there's nothing to say.
OK.
That means thisis going to go to court.
The hospital don't have your supportin their decision.
They've tried and failed to mediate,
so they'll need legal backingfor their decision, otherwise...
..it can get messy for themdown the line.
Right.
Well, let's do it. Um...
I've got all of Marnie's...
I've got everything.
Here's her red book... Whoa, whoa.
You need to understandwhat we're facing here.
Have you ever beento court before, Nicci?
Er, yeah.
Yeah, my dad. When he was mugged.
He's a taxi driver.
A best interests casewill be different
from what your dadencountered there.
There'll be at least threelawyers in front of the judge.
One, who'll be representing you,
two, the hospital's barrister,
and three, a barristerspecifically appointed
to represent Marnie'sbest interests.
Someone's representing Marnie?
It's the way it's done.
You need to understand,
it'll be very convoluted and...
..the odds are against us.
Yeah, well...
..just tell me we might win.
That's all I need to know.
Charlotte Wyatt.
The judge actually, um, actuallydecided for the doctors,
but in the time it tookfor the case to be heard,
she'd improved so markedly,
the hospital had to ask himto revoke his judgment.
And Ashya King.
Not technically best interests.His parents removed him
against doctors' orders to get someexperimental proton beam therapy.
They were jailed,but the judge subsequently ruled
that the parents should be allowedto take him to Europe.
He got the proton beam therapy.
He lives.
And then there's Tafida Raqueeb.
The doctors thought she'd be on aventilator for the rest of her life.
She went to Italy, and last yearshe came off life support.
That's three.
Out of how many?
It's possible.
That's all you need to know.
It's possible to fight the notionthat you have to surrender
parental responsibility
as soon as your child crossesthe threshold
of a hospital for treatment.
And we're going to have to useeverything at our disposal,
but this is going to be a fight,Nicci.
We need funds to help Fred -that takes public support.
We need pressurein and out of the courtroom -
that takes public support.
That means you, Nicci.
You're going to beat the front and centre.
The mother that doesn't wanther child killed.
Press and social mediaare going to be our best weapon.
Are you ready for that?
I'm, er...
I'm pro a woman's right to choose.
I mean abortion.
I think you should know that.
All we want isto save Marnie's life.
OK?
Then, yeah.
I'm ready.