Family's Delight As Ashya Begins Treatment

Ashya King has arrived in the Czech Republic for specialist proton treatment on his brain tumour.

The five-year-old and his parents Brett, 51, and Naghmeh, 45, travelled from Materno Infantil hospital in Malaga, where he was treated for nine days, to Malaga airport.

Ashya travelled with his mother in an ambulance and his father followed in a taxi.

They flew by air ambulance for the three-hour flight to Prague “with all the guarantees regarding the care this youngster needs,” said a spokesman for Materno Infantil hospital.

The Proton Therapy Centre, where he will receive the specialist treatment, gave the go-ahead for him to travel after reviewing documentation from the Spanish hospital.

Sky’s Lisa Holland, in Malaga, said Ashya will receive the treatment “pretty quickly”.

“He (Mr King) clearly looked very, very relieved,” she said. “This is a man who told us in a press conference a few days ago how pained he was by this whole situation.

“How he heard his wife crying in a police cell while they spent three days in custody, and they overnighted in a Madrid prison cell awaiting extradition.

“So things have really turned round now for the King family after their separation from Ashya. They’ve got what they wanted which is essentially to be making that journey now to Prague.”

Ashya will be assessed by doctors at Prague’s Motol University Hospital, five miles from the private clinic.

They will decide whether he should receive chemotherapy before starting proton therapy, which is more precise than traditional radiotherapy, allowing doctors to deliver higher doses while causing less damage to surrounding tissue.

Professor Jan Stary, head of children’s oncology at Motol University Hospital, told a news conference that Ashya’s proton treatment is expected to begin next week, and will take place almost daily for the next month.

“It should be benefit for such a small child with such a kind of tumour,” he said.

It is unclear who will pay for the treatment, which is expected to cost between £40,000 and £60,000.

Mr and Mrs King were arrested in Spain after they took Ashya from Southampton General Hospital on August 28 without medical permission.

They were released when prosecutors withdrew a European arrest warrant.

Portsmouth City Council, which has responsibility for Ashya’s welfare, launched family court action against his parents.

Mr Justice Baker, at a hearing in the Family Division of the High Court on Friday, ruled Ashya could be taken to the Czech Republic .

Source Article from https://uk.news.yahoo.com/doctors-decide-ashya-fly-prague-233638981.html

Family's Delight As Ashya Begins Treatment