ARCHIE Battersbee's mum has insisted her brain-damaged son is "very much still there".
Life support for the 12-year-old, who has been unresponsive for almost four months, had been due to be switched off at midday today – but he was given a last ditch reprieve with minutes to spare.
His desperate parents launched a Supreme Court appeal at the eleventh hour, granting them all more time.
Judges will now examine the application to allow the UN to consider their complaint that doctors should not withdraw his life-sustaining treatment.
Speaking after the noon deadline was pushed back, Archie's mum Hollie Dance said: "I know Archie's still with us.
"He's showing very different signs to what the clinicians are actually putting over to the courts.
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"He's very much there, he's progressing in so many ways."
She added: "We are having to battle over every decision with the hospital.
"There is nothing dignified in how we are being treated as a family in this situation.
"We do not understand what the rush is and why all of our wishes are being denied.
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"We pray for an encouraging response from the Supreme Court."
A spokesman for the Christian Legal Centre, which is supporting the legal action brought by Archie's parents, said the hospital trust has confirmed it will not take any steps to withdraw treatment until the Supreme Court has reached a decision.
A Supreme Court spokesperson added: "We are aware of the urgency of this matter.
"A panel of three justices will consider the application for permission to appeal 'on paper', in the usual way."
Archie was found with a ligature over his head after a social media dare at home in Southend, Essex, on April 7 this year.
The youngster suffered brain damage and has been unresponsive ever since, being kept alive by mechanical ventilation and being fed through a tube.
A High Court judge previously ruled that stopping treatment was in Archie's best interests, after experts declared him "brain stem dead".
This was delayed due to a UN committee issuing a request to the UK Government on Friday urging it to "refrain" from taking him off life support while his case is under consideration.
He's very much there, he's progressing in so many ways.
However, Sir Andrew McFarlane said on Monday the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, under which the UN committee made its request, is an "unincorporated international treaty" and not part of UK law.
"Every day that [Archie] continues to be given life-sustaining treatment is contrary to his best interests and, so, a stay, even for a short time, is against his best interests," he added.
Archie's care was due to end at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, east London, yesterday, but his family was granted a short delay.
Then today, barely 30 minutes after his life support was meant to be turned off, the Supreme Court confirmed an appeal had be lodged.
Hollie has said she feels "extremely let down" by the justice system and "continues to be shocked and traumatised by the brutality of the UK courts and the hospital trust" – but hopes things will go her way after this final appeal.
'WE MADE A PROMISE TO ARCHIE'
Hollie, who with Archie's dad Paul has continually vowed to "fight to the end" for her son, said: "We made a promise to Archie.
"I’ve got my son’s best interests at heart — Paul, and the siblings — nobody else has got Archie's best interests at heart.
"And I say, and I still stand by it, Archie’s best interests would be to allow that child time to recover.
"If he doesn’t recover, he doesn’t recover, but give him time to recover."
Describing today how her son has "shown" her he's improving, Hollie told Kate Garraway and Richard Madeley on Good Morning Britain: "He has a very good, stable heartbeat, he holds his own blood pressure, and he is gaining weight.
"Archie held my hand. He squeezed my fingers so tight they were red. All he needs is time.
"He hasn't been given long enough. We just want time."
A friend of the family said they were hopeful about the court's decision.
Speaking outside the hospital, Ella Carter said: "Hopefully we should hear back if not today, hopefully tomorrow, whether that's been accepted.
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"We're hoping that they will accept our appeal and that they will hear our case – it's been really frustrating.
"I think it's hard to get hopes up after time and time again of disappointment, but we're as hopeful as we can be."
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