Ani George, from North Uist, explains why she is in favour of Liam McArthur’s new assisted dying bill.
I was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in July 2022. When I heard the news, my very first thought was that I don’t want to spend the end of my life suffering for however long this disease decides to trap me in my own body.
I know that what some people consider suffering is different to others. But personally, I find the thought unbearable.
The one thing I can control
So far, this disease has taken my abilities to walk, care for myself totally independently, continue with my craft business, drive and visit my friends who do not have accessible homes. I am doing everything within my power not to allow MND to take the ONE and ONLY thing I can control and that is my inner peace, happiness and my mind.
As my abilities decrease, the battle to keep my mind positive and happy becomes more difficult. The reason I am in full support of Dignity in Dying for Scotland is that I believe a person with a 100% sane mind should also have 100% say as to when their suffering is beyond a life worth living.
‘This is unimaginable suffering’
At this time, life will have become torture, a struggle beyond words and the one thing left – our minds – are no longer living, but trapped in a body that wants to let go. Held in a prison cell of our own inner struggle to try to cope with being forced to find a way to deal with a body that no longer has any function.
I will need my loved ones, my carers and machines such as catheters and a feeding tube to do 100% of my daily care. I will not be able to move a single muscle, scratch an itch, eat or drink, speak or even breathe, clean myself, use the toilet, blow my nose, smile, hug or kiss those I love.
This is not life, this is not living…this is unimaginable suffering with no hope of getting better, just waiting to die to be set free.
