An outraged bereaved Christian family lays blame on the court for contributing to their teen daughter’s death after finally being able to name their daughter who died after being denied the opportunity to pursue specialist treatment abroad.
Sudiksha Thirumalesh a 19-year-old committed Christian died earlier this month after a long battle with a rare genetic mitochondrial disease. Prior to her death, she said she wanted to “die trying to live” amid a six months legal battle with NHS.
However, a judge ruled only weeks before her passing that she lacked the mental ability to make such choices after NHS lawyers claimed that she was “delusional” for questioning the NHS’s prognosis for her illness.
She was then put on an end-of-life pathway. Christian Concern says that the ruling had been made despite two psychiatrists proving evidence to the contrary.
Additionally, a court placed reporting restrictions on the case, making it illegal for the media to identify Ms. Thirumalesh and preventing her family from organizing a fundraiser to pay for her treatment abroad.
In a yesterday ruling, however, the Family Division of the High Court said Sudiksha could now be named.
After yesterday’s hearing, in a statement outside the court, the outraged family reportedly said:
“After a year of struggle and heartache, we can finally say our beautiful daughter and sister’s name in public without fear: She is Sudiksha. She is Sudiksha Thirumalesh not ST.
“Despite our grief and the continuing shock over everything we have been through, today a part of us is at peace.
“Sudiksha was a wonderful daughter and sister who we will cherish forever, we cannot imagine life without her.
“We seek justice for Sudiksha today, and for others in her situation.
“We are deeply disturbed by how we have been treated by the hospital trust and the courts have been gagged, silenced, and most importantly, prevented from accessing specialist treatment abroad for Sudiksha. Had she been allowed to seek nucleoside treatment six months ago it may well be that she would still be with us and recovering.
“Sudiksha said she wanted ‘to die trying to live’. This is what she did, we are so proud of her.
“We did not look for this fight, this fight came to us from a ‘system’ that too readily gives up on life. We were brutally silenced, intimidated, and taken to court in the hour of our need.
“It is shocking that a family in the middle of stress and tragedy had a threat of imprisonment hanging over their heads.
“Sudiksha was called ‘delusional’ for saying she wanted to live. The ruling from Mrs Justice Roberts was cruel, and no patient or family should be treated in this way.
“We have never been out for revenge, we just want justice and to be able to tell our and Sudiksha’s story.
“We want to thank the medical practitioners who did their best for Sudiksha. To those few clinicians who seemed only to care about Sudiksha dying, we forgive you.
“We are a Christian family who believes in life, love, and forgiveness.”
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, said:
“This Christian family has shown courage in their most difficult hour facing the loss of their beloved Sudiksha. They stood firm in defending Sudiksha’s life.
“This profoundly disturbing case has demonstrated the urgent need for an overhaul of how critical care decisions are made in the NHS and the Courts. There is an urgent need for a more open and transparent system. Justice is done in the light and not behind closed doors.
“We are concerned about how many other patients and families have been through similar ordeals and have had to suffer in silence.
“This case should be a wake-up call for the government to set up an urgent Public Inquiry into the practices of the Court of Protection and the Family Division surrounding end-of-life cases after a series of disturbing and upsetting cases.”