A mother’s final moments before she ends her life at Dignitas aged 56 will be shown in a powerful documentary about assisted dying on Monday.
Kim Whiting had progressive supranuclear palsy, a rare neurological condition affecting balance and movement.
She is one of five people who bravely share their experiences with terminal illness and make the case for changing the law on assisted dying in ITV’s A Time To Die. The call is also backed by the Daily Express’s Give Us Our Last Rights crusade.
Kim, who was born in Saigon during the Vietnam War, cries as she worries how her husband Andy and their two sons, Josh and Sean, will manage without her.
But her wish to die at a time of her choosing is unwavering. Asked how sure she is on a scale of one to ten, Kim replies immediately: “Ten.”
She adds: “I am fed up of this life because of the pain in my legs, in my calves, in my toes. I’m quite sure because there is no alternative.”
Kim’s family is supportive but reminds her repeatedly that she can change her mind at any point, even booking her a return flight from Switzerland.
As the date of their trip to Dignitas approaches, 19-year-old Josh says: “It’s like knowing the date of a car crash, or when a murderer is going to come into your house. It’s unnerving, it’s scary.”
Kim and Andy make a video discussing her decision to go to the Swiss assisted dying clinic in anticipation of a police investigation.
Describing her condition as “unbearable”, Kim adds: “I want to die, and I don’t want them to put you in jail because it’s not your fault. I decided this and you helped me to achieve it.”
The cameras follow their emotional journey to Dignitas’ “blue house” near Zurich and keep rolling until after Kim has taken her last breath.
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Andy was interviewed by the police four months later and is awaiting a decision on whether he will be prosecuted.
The film also features the heartbreaking story of 68-year-old Trevor Syrett, who was left in constant, untreatable pain and unable to walk, speak or eat due to motor neurone disease (MND).
He uses an iPad to communicate as he and wife Di explain how they began the application process for Dignitas.
But it is later revealed Trevor’s condition deteriorated and he ended up in a hospice. During a day’s visit home, he suggested Di take their dogs for a walk.
While out, she received a text from him which began: “My dearest friend, lover and wife, I am so sorry for what I have done. I cannot continue with my life the way it is now.”
The message added: “I am only bringing forward the inevitable…Of course, I wouldn’t have to do this if this stupid country allowed assisted dying!”
He had taken an overdose in his workshop but it did not kill him. Trevor died 11 days later, after refusing all nutrients and water.
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Others featured include Phil Newby, 53, a father-of-two with MND who previously shared his story in the Daily Express, and Dan Monks, 47, who has MS.
Dan says: “If I was able-bodied, I would be able to drive myself to Beachy Head and throw myself in the English channel. But I’m not in a position to do that.
“I wouldn’t have done that when I was able to do it, because I haven’t got a death wish.
“Is it better for my kids to say goodbye to me in the nearer future, get over the grief and get on with their lives, or to have me kind of there, ill, for possibly years?”
Mandy Appleyard also tells of the police investigation she faced after helping her mother go to Dignitas.
Janet, 83, had suffered two suspected strokes which left her significantly disabled and “completely turned the tables on who she had been”.
She recorded a video message in which she made her wishes clear. But Mandy and her sister still faced a 22-month police investigation, during which the possibility of being jailed left her feeling suicidal.
Mandy says: “I regarded what we had helped mum to do as an act of love and that was criminalised. It made it feel dirty and it drove it underground.
“We were distracted again and again from mourning our mum.”
The film also hears from opponents of assisted dying – Baroness Ilora Finlay, a professor of palliative medicine, and disability rights activist Phil Friend.
A Time To Die is on ITV1 at 10.45pm on Monday and will be available on ITVX.
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