I held my boy’s hand & told him he has more time after we were given a second chance, says Archie Battersbee’s mum

ARCHIE Battersbee’s mum revealed she held her boy’s hand and told him he “had more time” after they were allowed to challenge a court ruling.

Hollie Dance’s son Archie, 12, has been at the centre of a High Court dispute after suffering brain damage earlier this year.

The mum, 46, found the youngster unconscious at the family home in Southend, Essex, on April 7 this year.

He has not woken since, and doctors say he should be removed from life support after suffering “brain stem death”.

A High Court judge last week ruled Archie is legally dead and stands no chance of making a full recovery.

Mrs Justice Arbuthnot said doctors could begin to withdraw life support.

But his parents Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee have now been given the go-ahead to take their fight to the Court of Appeal.

Hollie, a former fitness instructor, told : “I’m so relieved that someone is giving him a chance.

“That’s all we ever wanted, more time to heal. I’m so emotional.

“I watched it from Archie’s bedside – I made sure he couldn’t hear or see it but I was with him through it.

“When it finished I held his hand and told him he had been given more time.

“I can’t stress this enough, if a parent doesn’t want to hold on to hope or they believe it’s not in their child’s best interest, that’s absolutely fine.

“But I won’t give up hope and it should be a parent’s decision.”

It comes after mum Hollie claimed Archie has squeezed her hand from his bed at the Royal London Hospital.

She begged medics to give the schoolboy a chance to recover and says she knows with her “mother’s instinct” that he is still alive.

Hollie added: “His heart is still beating, he has gripped my hand, and as his mother and by my mother’s instinct, I know my son is still there.”

Yesterday Mrs Justice Arbuthnot said there was a “compelling reason” why appeal judges should consider the case.

In a statement outside court last week, the hospital’s Group Chief Medical Officer Alistair Chesser said Archie will be given the “best possible care” while life support is withdrawn.

He added: “We are also ensuring that there is time for the family to decide whether they wish to appeal before any changes to care are made.”