Assisted dying – a personal story
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In May 2003, Lesley Close accompanied her brother, who had advanced Motor Neurone Disease, to Switzerland where he chose an assisted death with the help of Dignitas. Here she relates her experience and belief that there is a need for serious debate about the right to die for people with terminal illnesses.
In March 2001 my brother John Close was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) at the age of 53. He had a limp and some difficulty speaking and swallowing. Compared to many victims of what David Niven called ‘this bloody awful disease’, John’s decline was slow.
John was prepared for every diminution of his abilities before I became aware of it. His mobility deteriorated from using a walking stick at diagnosis to having a Zimmer frame by late summer 2001 and he was a full-time wheelchair user by spring 2002. Similarly, his speech went from difficult to understand in spring 2001 through being garbled by autumn 2001 to just a series of aspirations coupled with extraordinary facia...
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