The parents of Tafida Raqeeb – the brain-damaged five-year-old written off by NHS doctors – have revealed their daughter is now able to breathe on her own and has been deemed well enough to move out of intensive care in hospital in Italy.
Three months ago Tafida’s life hung in the balance as British doctors asked the High Court to sanction her life-support being switched off, saying she had no hope of recovery and it would be kinder to let her die.
But Tafida’s parents won a High Court battle which allowed them to take her to Italy for treatment
Miss Begum told the Daily Mail: “It shows that the medical opinion that was placed before the court in the UK is being proved wrong – by Tafida herself. Today is a very special day for us. Tafida was moved from intensive care. It’s a big step, and it means a lot for us. We are delighted.”
She said Tafida’s artificial ventilator, which helps her breathe, was being gradually withdrawn.
“They are trying to ween Tafida off the ventilator. She is being taken off for two or three hours a day, so she can breathe by herself,’ she said. “She has also come off the catheter. She is in control of her urinary function now. All these things were not going to happen in the UK.”
Dr Andrea Moscatelli, head of the neurological department, said Tafida had been given a tracheostomy – where an opening is made in the neck to place a tube directly into the windpipe – to make it easier for her to breathe on her own.
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She also underwent a procedure to ease pressure on her brain and to stabilise her breathing, he said, adding: “Our task was to support the vital functions of Tafida, with the aim of making it possible for the family to take care of her at home.”
