It’s possible, I suppose. But I hypothesise that once the last nurse leaves the room, even leaving everything in situ, Archie will have seconds before his heart stops, even if no one does anything else. They aren’t just ‘looking after him’ they are actively working ON him, all the time. If someone any less skilled were to try to move him, he’ll arrest. He’s just too fragile, too unregulated without the team’s constant attention.
I know people think the ventilator just pushes air in and out, and that’s ICU. It’s nothing, nothing like that simple anyway, but in this case, it’s like a more like he’s actively in surgery. There’s a whole team basically being his body for him, all the time.
And they can’t just let Mum take him, in her naivety, knowing it comes to the same thing in the end and he won’t know. They HAVE to do what’s best for Archie, or they won’t be medical professionals anymore, at least in their own heads, and possibly by their registrant bodies. They are legally and morally bound by Archie’s best interests. It defines you. They probably already go home and question how to get out between this rock and hard place with their sanity, professionalism and humanity intact. Someone said up thread that swathes of staff just leave after a case like this. It’s too much to bear. I do feel for his mother, but her wilful ignorance of what is being done for her son is staggering. Understandable, but bordering on malice. Those poor, poor staff.