Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis , MND and Dignitas

This blog is my opinion and my opinion only. It is not to encourage assisted Suicide or Euthanasia. Nor am I advocating assisted dying.

Although I think in certain circumstances Physician Assisted Suicide should be more readily available per the patients request, my blog is about choice and what can be done legally.
The reason I've mentioned Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or Motor Neuron Disease (MND) in multiple entries is because over half of the assisted Suicides I have seen  on YouTube were people suffering from these devastating illnesses.  I've read multiple ALS and MND blogs and sadly this is a topic that comes up repeatedly at the beginning of the diagnosis.

One of the devastating things about ALS/MND is It's so unpredictable. There is a beginning to the disease with some troublesome symptoms or inconveniences but most assume it might be from a past injury they had or assume it is because of aging.

And then more symptoms present themselves or the person notices they're weaker in certain places on their body. The Drs start running test to rule out other diseases. Sometimes it's months between new symptoms so ALS is not suspected unless the patient had a  biological family member who died from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. The SOD1 gene is present in some familial ALS.

Because only a small percentage of new diagnosis had family members die of ALS , it's hard to diagnose until a few unrelated symptoms present themselves.  And then starts the process of elimination to make sure it's actually ALS and not another condition. ALS and MS share similar symptoms. Lime disease share some symptoms with ALS and MS and vice versa. Once other diseases are eliminated as possible causes for the symptoms and every test done, a patient is given the diagnosis of ALS.

It must be very difficult for a Dr to give this diagnosis and tell the patient there's No Cure but harder for the patient that receives it. Most will look up ALS/MND to get a general idea what they might face and search for possible cures or new research.

"Most people with ALS die from respiratory failure, usually within three to five years from the onset of symptoms. The median survival time from onset to death is around 39 months, and only 4% survive longer than 10 years.

The best-known person with ALS, Stephen Hawking, has lived with the disease for more than 50 years, though his is an unusual case. " Information and paragraph found on Wikipedia.

Because of the unpredictability of ALS those who seek help from Dignitas are forced to go too soon because of the fear of ALS progressing too fast. In order to take their own life the person must take the medicine by themselves. In the program "Choosing to Die " hosted by Sir Terry Pratchett, Peter Smedley went earlier than he had to, in order to protect his wife from prosecution because she accompanied him to Zurich.  In the Suicide Tourist , Craig Ewert had Bulbar onset ALS and ended his life at Dignitas. Ewert's lungs and arms were affected. The program never did say why Ewert chose to go when he did but I'm assuming he might of been losing the ability to swallow or feared that might be next to go.

If Assisted Dying was available in the U.K. both might have waited  or enjoyed their families longer. It's just a thought.

This blog is my opinion and my opinion only. It is not to encourage assisted Suicide or Euthanasia. Nor am I advocating assisted dying.