Rhianna Benson
Despite having resided in the UK for the last three decades, a Dutch woman last month returned to the Netherlands to legally undergo euthanasia following a diagnosis of severe ME (Myalgic encephalomyelitis).
Following her death in June, Edina Slayter-Engelsman's family have released a final heartbreaking message that the 57-year-old issued, opening up on her decision to end her life on her own terms after 'unbearable suffering'.
Edina first received her diagnosis back in 2020, though she never expected the life-long condition - also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - to take such a destructive hold on her day to day.
ME is an incurable condition which affects at least 250,000 people in the UK, with symptoms ranging between four different levels of severity.
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While some patients tend to suffer mild tiredness while carrying out basic domestic tasks, others are left bed-bound and can require assistance when feeding and dressing themselves.
Tragically, the latter became the case for Edina, who previously boasted a healthy lifestyle as a frequent hillwalker, cyclist and swimmer.
After living with her life-altering condition for three years, Edina opted to travel to her home country of the Netherlands.
There, she would undergo both psychological and psychiatric assessments by Amsterdam's institute of Chronic Fatigue.
Tragically, however, medics at the facility concluded that treatment for Edina's diagnosis would be impossible, leading her to consider assisted dying for the first time.
In the Netherlands, doctor-assisted death is allowed if a doctor is satisfied a patient's suffering is 'unbearable with no prospect of improvement' and if there is 'no reasonable alternative in the patient's situation'.
Having concluded that she couldn't go on living in agony, the mother-of-two moved from Aberdeenshire to Almere, near the Dutch capital, where she filmed a final message.
In a video which has since been released by her family in a bid to raise awareness of the lack of research into the condition by UK health facilities, Edina described being trapped in a spider's web.
"Every time you try to get out, the web just gets tighter and tighter around you," she told viewers.
Edina went on to explain: "This disease has taken everything from me. I feel trapped physically, cognitively and emotionally.
"I exist but I don’t live and this condition has become unbearable to me and has been for a long time now, to the point where I want to end my life.
"I am isolated from the world outside but also from my own family and friends."
Describing her final goodbye, she added: "I am very sensitive to sound, noise, any kind of stimulation, so I can’t really have any kind of get together.
"I have not been able to read books, or watch telly - everything is too much."
Scottish Parliament will soon debate the possibility of allowing adults suffering with terminal illnesses to end their own lives through euthanasia, but currently still draws the line at life-long health conditions like Edina's.
In her final message, Edina thanked Dutch medics for their support in her decision, describing it as a 'great achievement'.
Edina died with her husband, two sons and close family surrounding her after doctors administered a lethal injection.
"A recognition that there are no further treatment options available to me, there is no cure for CFS and that sense of recognition and relief, it means so much to me and my family," she said in her final video.
"On the one hand I am very sad about this of course, but on the other hand I feel a huge sigh of relief that I am allowed to die with dignity."