Mother admits ending sons life

[vacay]

apple.news/AdFP-kitNRnSVPSjVgV0T_w

I'm not sure how I feel about this?
On the one hand she didn't want to see her son suffer anymore. But surely a 7 year old when he asked his mom to take the pain away didn't mean to end his life?

Sorry if there is already a thread going I haven't checked

Have nothing but compassion for her.

What a brave lady to speak out. This will have weighed heavily in her thoughts since her son's death. The natural instinct of a mother to protect and save your child certainly came in to play on this occasion.

I have been in her shoes and would not wish this situation on anyone. I hope they leave her in peace.

This

All of us will die. When death is soon and inevitable, and quality of life, through pain or otherwise, has declined to be very poor, I think that assisted dying is the sane and humane choice. I would want someone to do it for me. I hope I would have the courage to do it for my child.

I think this woman was so brave, it was 1981 the number of pain killers and knowledge about childhood cancer isn’t what it is now. She said herself he had 3 months to live and she couldn’t bear seeing him in pain so much.

she’s had a lifetime of grief for her child

@Summerose who says we have to preserve life, even at its worst and despite the cost? Unless you're talking from a religious viewpoint which I still would say is ridiculous

I totally support this mother who did the most selfless thing she could:

Yes, this shows real mother love.

I think she did the right thing. I can't even imagine being in that incredibly difficult position. Heartbreaking.

Interesting you mention bone cancer. My mum had a friend who died of lung cancer and she visited him in his hospice a few times. She said that there was another chap there with bone cancer and he was in agony - the hospice staff wouldn't give enough pain relief, because post-Shipman, they can't risk being accused of hastening his end. It is inhuman and ridiculous - the law has to change!

@Summerose I have no time for a religion that believes people should suffer whatever the cost.

And in this case, the little boy wasn't going to get better.

Why keep him alive and in pain? What's the point?

Treatment for brain tumours hasn't really moved on since then, either.

I would take my chances against your cruel "God" before I wilfully allowed my child to suffer needlessly. You demanding a child be left in agony is far more cruel than anything this mother did.

He was dying

friebd if mines niece died of a brain tumour and the symptoms are like the worst nightmare you’ve ever seen

vomtiing every 4 mins. Excruciating pain blind and deaf and paralysing one side every so often

spinning so bad it meant she vomited every single min of every single day.

it was horrific and any parent wouldn’t want to see their child suffer like I saw her suffer at the end

Who says? Has God said that to you directly?

It's quite clear to me now that my own mother, in a hospice at the very end of her life, was pumped with extra morphine over the course of 3 days to help her slip away more peacefully. I don't doubt that it also speeds things up. It was awful watching her suffer for the last few month of her life and shocking how calm she was at the very end. I think this mother did what was best for her little boy. I hope I would have the courage to do the same for my child if ever I was in that position.

Antonya co-founded Neuroblastoma UK (www.neuroblastoma.org.uk) after the death of Hamish, which directly funds medical research into neuroblastoma so if you feel moved by her story and are able, please consider donating.

Neuroblastoma is one of the worst childhood cancers - 5 year survival for children diagnosed with high risk neuroblastoma is still only 40%! And because treatments are so harsh, the children who do survive are regularly left with long term effects (hearing loss, infertility, stunted growth, permanent damage to other organs etc)

I say this all the time

its an honour that we can make happen for our animals but we can’t do it for humans and children

horriric

Life is sacred. No one has the right to take it because no one creates it other than God.

I'm extremely happy to be atheist in that case. It's inhumane to let people suffer.

This is exactly it for me. There needs to be laws to protect vulnerable people. Many disabled children lead very happy lives but have very high care needs.

I do not judge this mother at all, she ended her child's suffering. But when assisted dying is allowed, it is taken advantage of, like it has been in Canada.

Recently I watched my D Uncle go through this, none of us could tell if he was actually alive or dead towards the end. But I’m glad he went this way rather than be in pain until the end.

I actually do support euthanasia, I think it’s very cruel to keep people alive who are suffering. The problem is how it’s implemented is too hard for authorities to deal with.

When my DF got his terminal diagnosis he opted for less quality time over prolonged suffering. It was hard as his loved ones we wanted as much time as possible, but it was his choice and after our initial reactions we all agreed. In the end he got to see friends & family, do what he loved which was laugh. Had he asked me to pull the plug, so to speak, I would have.

My DH already knows my wishes, I don’t want to suffer and let my children see me suffer if it ever comes to it.

i think this lady was very brave, her son had 16 months of extra time but he was done with being in pain, what she did was clearly of of love.

But I have strong suspicions that the medical team looking after my grandad, who raised me, gave him ‘too much’ morphine and I thank them for it. We should be able to ease human passing the way we do for animals, without fearing prosecution.

When my mum was in hospital 30 years ago with hours to live, from bowel cancer, I remember my brother, who was a nurse, asking the nurse on duty to whack up the morphine so ,my DM didn’t feel any pain. She did, and my mum died within a couple of hours of this. For me, this was an act of compassion by the medical staff and my DB.

I watched both parents die of cancer with great suffering. I had my dog PTS and saw his suffering end immediately. The difference was stark.

The brain cancer my friends niece died of

no chimd has ever survived it.

the last days were her just screaming in agony. Every heard child just scream in agony for days? No sleep no rest vomiting.

horrid.

That's your opinion, and it's valid, for you. You don't need or want that option. It fulfills the religious doctrine that suffering is good for the soul. Most people don't believe nor agree with that.

Really?

My daughter was born with brittle bones, several broke during birth, some had broken and reset during pregnancy.

She couldn't move, couldn't breathe, she was in pain every single minute she lived, because she was so small she couldn't have much in the way of pain medication either.

She was on a ventilator, she would have been forever laid there in a hospital bed, in agony, getting respiratory infections, and suffering.

If real, your god can fuck off, why would a supposedly loving entity create such a life filled with agonising pain?

If I had pushed harder and preserved her life for my own selfish reasons what would it have meant for her? She was worth so much more than being laid up in pain looking at life through a hospital window.

We are required to make the best choices we can, however difficult those choices are for us.