A boy whose parents are insisting they be allowed to use cannabis-oil to treat his epileptic seizures has been rushed to hospital.
Six-year-old Alfie Dingley has to endure up to 30 seizures a day because of his condition, but his parents say the oil, which is banned in the UK, helps to relieve them.
It is the second time he has had to be hospitalised since returning from Holland last month, where he was being treated with the substance.
Alfie’s mother Hannah Deacon has appealed to the Home Office and Prime Minister Theresa May to “act to help my beloved son survive and have the best life he can.”
“We need your urgent compassion and action now. Please don’t stand by and let my son suffer or die unnecessarily,” she said.
“To see him in distress in hospital with his life in danger yet again is traumatic and heartbreaking,” she added.
“My son is suffering.”
Alfie’s family even moved to the Netherlands in September because of the treatment, but were forced to return to Britain after running out of money.
Hannah and dad Drew claim the results of the treatment were “nothing short of a miracle.”
But the parents face being jailed if they use cannabis oil here to treat their son.
His grandmother Maggie said the treatment in the Netherlands meant “Alfie had gone from a death sentence to the prospect of a more normal life with school, friends and fun, in his own familiar home”.
Some cannabis oils are sold in the UK, but the type needed for Alfie’s treatment can be used here only for research purposes.
In a victory for the family, the Home Office announced earlier this month that it is considering allowing a medical cannabis trial to treat the little boy.
