Andrew Dyson Credit: . To submit a letter to The Age , email [email protected].
au . Please include your home address and telephone number. No attachments, please include your letter in the body of the email.
See here for our rules and tips on getting your letter published. I lost my mother, who was living with Alzheimer’s, in January last year. Mum had a bad fall about six weeks before her death, and post surgery for her broken femur never regained her appetite.
She was a strong believer in people like her, 88-years-old, and living with a terminal disease, to have the right to decide when they wanted out. Unfortunately, she did not qualify for Voluntary Assisted Dying due to her neurodegenerative condition, though she was alert, oriented and very capable of making this decision despite her memory deterioration. Although Mum got the outcome she so desperately hoped for, it was a very painful process for all involved to go through, especially the last few days of her life as she entered the actively dying phase.
As a psychologist who works with older adults in aged care, I hear from many of my clients that they have lived too long. They, like my beautiful mum, I believe, have earned the right to choose a dignified, peaceful and painless death. I stand in solidarity with Cherryl Barassi’s pleas for us to review and improve upon the VAD laws.
No one should have to go through what we still allow so many to endure until they reach the end of their lives. It is cruel and unnece.
