AIBU to think that thousands of people loving charlie and bradley is some what false.

[Lonelymummyof1]

I know exactly what It is like to have a poorly child same as hundreds more parents in the uk.
Set aside my belief that I believe that bradley has very little dignity and both him and charlie are now used as some weird sort of click bait.

The supporters I do not understand it ?

We love you, we are heart broken and we will miss you.

Now I get empathy but this is not empathy this is media posts just gone crazy to write the most heart breaking post they can.
I wish neither of these children would have to lose their life and can undetstand the parents pain just like the rest of the terminally ill children in this country.

You can feel sad that these things happen but this just seems weird and could not imagine allowing a nation of people watching my child pass away.

I mean how many of them 2 years from now will wake up on the morning of their anniversary and automatically remember them ?

PotteringAlong

No, I'm with you. Both of them seem to be being exploited to me.

That is exactly how I fell, too.

...feel

The Charlie's Army FB page is horrifying. They have whipped themselves into a moral panic and have the potential to cause real harm.

Lonely, you already know I agree with you and I know what absolutely horrible decisions you have had to make, and will have to continue to make.

I agree with you, I live very close to one of the children mentioned and some posts on FB I've seen are making the tragedy all about them.

Slightly different as my son was a baby but I withdrew his life support hearing the hospital staff and doctors called murderers daily is upsetting to say the least.

(I withdrew because it was the right thing to do, if

Sorry

If i could back in time I'd do the same thing again.

I'm not having a go or making a dig at Charlie's parents, just saying calling the doctors murderers is wrong.

Being from a neighbouring village to where Bradley is from, I've followed the story from the start. The response from the community was amazing, and from Sunderland themselves. I also understand the need to give updates as to his condition, but ever since they announced Bradley was terminally ill, I thought the thing to do would be to withdraw him from Facebook and Twitter and let the boy go peacefully.

Instead we've had videos of him gravely ill promoting a single and also pictures and updates where it's absolutely awful to look at. I just wonder what the parents motivation is for having Bradley in the public eye still at this stage in his life, it seems nothing is private anymore.

Also, the local people continually post on Facebook about cannabis oil and alternative therapies, which they've asked to stop. I've seen posts asking for Bradley to have x or his brother to have x and it seems it's more for their ego and being told they're doing a kind thing and likes rather than the actual deed of what they're asking for. A lot of people on FB are very fake about the whole thing. It's about attention and likes from people who think they're connected to the family.

I don't think GOSH is above reproach but we are so, so lucky to have it and they do such amazing work. I'd hate to think this frenzy harms donations or detracts from other children's care.

Bradley Lowery lives in the next village to me, literally two miles away. We're all behind him and have been from the beginning and it's nice to see updates on my newsfeed

Totally agree with you Jane Eyre and I'm so sorry for your tragic loss.
I am however livid at the wat GSOH is being smeared and accused of murder. Their first and only interest is the child.
They are totally dedicated and caring. They have also lost an intensive care bed for 10 whole months and who knows how many other children had to suffer becasue of that or be transferred round the country.
This whole charade must have cost the hospital hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Agree. A lot of it's just mindless bandwagoning, which is annoying and deeply unhelpful, but quite a bit of it is really horrifying. Some of the comments mirror the worst kind of threats abortion clinics get, and more and more people seem to be working themselves up into full blown, deranged rage.

In Charlie's case I'm genuinely concerned some nutjob is going to attack the staff that were named or actually attempt to 'storm' the hospital. The fervour is reaching a level you don't usually see with even the most high profile cases like this, and yes, part of that's because his parents are contributing to the worst of it.

I find this really upsetting. I've been in the situation where life support needed to be withdrawn, it was the best option really. Very hard but definitely the kindest thing to do. I'm so sorry for other posters who have had to do similar. I think the media has a lot to answer for in these cases.

I don't think the two cases are comparable at all.

I hadn't seen anything about Bradley Lowery, I've just seen some of his pictures and am sat here sobbing, which seems ridiculous seeing as I don't know him. But I've got a 7 year old son.

I agree with you OP.

You can have sympathy with the kids and their parents but shouts of "we love you" and "we're fighting for you" etc ... usually from people who have actually done nothing other than post a blue heart on Facebook and then forgotten about it. It's attention seeking.

I watched the video of the parents yesterday and was moved to tears - not because "I love Charlie" (how could I? I've never met him) but because I feel so sorry for them. However to then post something like "I'm fighting for you Charlie" on Facebook would be largely hypocritical as I've done fuck all other than watch a video.

I said this on another thread but I think Charlie's parents are being very badly advised and supported in completely the wrong ways. Obviously I don't mean by medical staff but by these idiots on social media who are stupid enough to be calling GOSH murderers. They don't care to find out the facts, they are just enjoying the frenzy. It's disturbing. The parents are doing nothing to stop this which you can almost excuse because they are acting out of grief. I have to assume they know the truth rather than the half truths and lies they are choosing to present on their social media but they are just so desperate to save their son. They are not motivated by what's best for him, they are blinded by heartbreak and grief. If their supporters were just showing love for Charlie then that would be fine, but they are on the whole a rather dumb bunch of people who don't care, or possibly even realise, what harm they are causing. That's not love at all.

Wrt to Bradley that's slightly different as he is a child and not a baby who may well have gained some small amount of happiness by the care strangers have for him.

The people on Charlie's Army Facebook page seem to be completely deluded and unhinged. I dread to think what will happen when Charlie's life support is eventually switched off.

The Daily Mail article featuring pictures of Bradley today are horrible - he's not even awake in any of them, and his family have felt the need to share a child's dying moments. Sorry but that's just wrong on all levels. Bradley deserves privacy, rest and calm in his last days, not posing on a bed for photos with a celeb. I actually found it too upsetting to read.

Some people get overly involved in these family tragedies to a really distasteful degree. It reminds me of when the hunt for missing RAF man Corrie McKeague was at its height, perfect strangers (mainly young women) got ridiculously over invested in it all, treating it almost as if it were a soap opera. They were all over social media poring over every aspect of this poor man's disappearance, feeding off it emotionally.

@Lonelymummyof1 I've been thinking about setting up a small charity donation each month, GOSH sounds like a good idea. We already do an annual donation to our local neonatal unit.

JaneEyre - I agree entirely. I think what changed my attitude towards it was a few days ago. There was a video posted of Bradley, very weak and looked jaundiced, tired and in pain saying to buy his single? And then pulling one of his smiles - which is of course adorable but completely orchestrated by the family in order to gain more publicity for the single.

I really do think all social media in regards to Bradley should stop and he should be allowed to go in peace and surrounded by his family.

I thought it was really cruel when they paraded Bradley around at the Sunderland football match weeks ago. He looked really ill then and was obviously in pain. He needs to be allowed to go in peace and with dignity. Time for the media circus to stop.

The same applies to Charlie. Although he should have been allowed to go months ago. He has not been living during all that time, just existing.