Healthy mum ends life at Swiss clinic after sharing heartbreaking reason behind decision

Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.

British mum Wendy Duffy has died as planned in a Swiss clinic after being left heartbroken following the tragic loss of her son.

The 56-year-old from the West Midlands was completely healthy and had no terminal illness diagnosis; however, she was able to pay £10,000 to the Pegasos clinic in Basel to end her own life.

She flew to Switzerland earlier this week, and it was confirmed today (24 April) that the life-ending procedure has gone ahead.

Ruedi Habegger, Pegasos founder, told the Daily Mail: "I can confirm that Wendy Duffy, at her own request, was assisted to die on April 24 and that the procedure was completed without incident and in full compliance with her wishes.

"I can also confirm that neither we nor any of the professional staff assessing her mental capacity had any doubt as to her intention, understanding, and independence of both thought and action. In historical terms at English law, hers was a case of 'sane suicide'.

Wendy ended her life through a company called Pegasos in Switzerland (Pegasos)

The Swiss government allows doctors to assist severely ill people in ending their lives with medication for several years as part of a practice defined in law as abiding by a patient's 'right to die'.

The most popular facility for this practice is Dignitas, which sees staff charge an average of £10,000 to £15,000 for foreign nationals, which includes travel, administration and medical fees.

However, because Wendy was physically fit and healthy, she didn't qualify there, and so opted for Pegasos, which has more liberal assisted dying practices.

The heartbreaking decision came after Wendy's only son, Marcus, 23, unexpectedly died four years ago after choking on a tomato that had become lodged in his windpipe while eating a sandwich.

He'd been hungover and had fallen asleep with the food in his mouth. His mother had attempted to save his wife with CPR before he was rushed to the hospital.

Five days later, Wendy made the difficult decision to switch off Marcus' life support.

Since his passing, she has tried both therapy and antidepressants to help her heartache, but devastatingly felt that she was unable to recover from the tragic loss.

Wendy chose to die wearing one of his T-shirts because, she said, 'it still smells of him'.

Explaining her decision to end her life, Wendy told the Daily Mail in an interview before she flew to Switzerland: "In the funeral home, I went in every day, and just sat with him, playing through his Spotify list. I broke when I saw him in there. My boy, on a metal table. You can't come back from that, you know."

"That's when I died too, inside. I'm not the same person now as I was. I used to feel things. I don't care about anything anymore."

Wendy's death was confirmed today (Facebook)

She added: "I could step off a motorway bridge or a tower block, but that would leave anyone finding me dealing with that for the rest of their lives. I don't want to put anyone through that."

Patients at Pegasos are usually required to supply a lengthy evaluation of a written request and a vast amount of medical information.

Additionally, they must prove their mental competency and that they're not being pressured into the decision during face-to-face meetings with doctors.

The procedure saw Wendy administer a lethal medication herself by turning a dial.

"I have to administer the medication myself, that's what the law says,' she explained, "They put the line in [to your arm] but you've got to turn the doobra [the dial] yourself to get it flowing. Then – ding, ding, ding – within a minute, you are in a coma, and a minute after that, you are gone."

Prior to her death, as well as paying £10,000, Wendy wrote letters to her loved ones, chose what she is going to wear, and picked out the music that would be the last thing she heard.

She said, "You can choose whatever song you want. I'm going to go out to Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars singing Die With A Smile."

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123 or contact Harmless by visiting their website https://harmless.org.uk.