'Please be happy for me': British mother to end life at Swiss clinic after paying £10,000 following the death of her son
Wendy Duffy has already travelled to the Swiss clinic after making the decision to end her life
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A British woman with no physical medical condition is travelling to Switzerland to end her own life four years after the death of her son in a tragic accident.
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Wendy Duffy, 56, has paid £10,000 to the assisted dying clinic at Pegasos and said she "can't wait" and will have a "smile on my face" when she does.
The former care worker, from the West Midlands, has undergone years of therapy and antidepressants but has struggled to come to terms with the death of son Marcus, 23, who choked on a tomato that had become lodged in his windpipe.
Wendy said: "I won't change my mind. It will be hard for everyone but I want to die, and that's what I'm going to do.
"And I'll have a smile on my face when I do, so please be happy for me. My life, my choice."
Read more: The Assisted Dying Bill hasn’t flatlined, but its survival hinges on political will
The heartbroken mother even went as far as opening a digital timer on her phone which counted down the days until the time came for her to make the trip.
She has also sorted out written letters to family as well as choosing what music will play on her deathbed, revealed to be Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars' 'Die With A Smile.'
Wendy has already tried to take her own life once, which she says almost left her in a "vegetative state," and this time wants to avoid having to put the person who finds her through the traumatic experience.
She said her six siblings all know of the trip but aren't aware of the timings of it for their own protection. They will receive a phone call from their sister, who described it as being "a hard call where I'll say goodbye and thank them".
Speaking to the Daily Mail, she added: "But they will get it. They know. Honestly, 100 per cent, they know that I'm not happy, that I don't want to be here."
The case adds further scrutiny to the UK’s assisted dying bill, which has been making its way through parliament for more than a year, and is likely to hit the buffers in the Lords on Friday.
The proposed law would have allowed adults in England and Wales with fewer than six months left to live to apply for an assisted death pending approval from two doctors and an expert panel.
Last month, over 100 Labour MPs wrote to the Prime Minister asking him to stop peers from purposefully blocking the passage of the assisted dying Bill.
Wendy, who waited until her two dogs died of old age before she set a date to travel to Pegasos, also said she had "seen death a million times" during her work in the care sector and that she wants a "nice, gentle one".
The retired worker split from Marcus' dad when he was very young which led to the mother and son forming a tight bond during his upbringing.
Wendy recalled the night he died, after making him a cheese and onion sandwich with tomatoes after Marcus had returned from a night out.
But on returning to the room, she found him "purple". Despite the best efforts of CPR, doctors said a tomato had become stuck in his windpipe which would have made it impossible to remove manually.
She sat with him for five days before life-support machines were switched off, before his organs were donated for transplant.
She said: "Afterwards, I got a letter from the man who got his heart. He said that thanks to Marcus he was able to play with his kids again," and another recipient was a four-year-old child.
Wendy added: "That's when I died too, inside. I'm not the same person now as I was. I used to feel things.
"I'd go to funerals after Marcus died, and I'd feel nothing. It's why I had to give up work. You can't be a carer if you don't care, and I'm sorry, but I don't. I don't care about anything any more. I exist. I don't live."
Asked what she thinks Marcus would think of his mother's decision, Wendy said: "I think he'd probably say 'Get that dog, Mum, buck up your ideas,' but ultimately he would understand."
Pegasos confirmed that she was deemed to have full mental capacity during her final psychiatric assessment, which took place this week.
Founder Ruedi Habegger said "What I can confirm is that four siblings have been informed. They gave their blessings.
"Wendy is very decided. I had a long talk with her and with the psychiatrist that is going to see her a second time before the VAD [voluntary assisted death].
"He is very confident that we are doing the right thing letting her go, that we should not stand in her way. She is absolutely not in a depressive state. I'm very experienced in this field. There are no worries with Wendy, none at all."
When life is difficult, Samaritans are here to listen – day or night, 365 days a year. You can call them for free on 116 123 or visit samaritans.org