Missouri woman, 79, reveals the tragic reason she is traveling to Switzerland to be euthanized – and what her daughter really thinks

A Missouri woman describes the tragic reason she travels to Switzerland to be euthanized.

Gayle Hendrix, 79, spoke about her decision in an emotional interview with her daughter Charlene Foeste on Friday. Fox 19 Now.

The mother of two said she was diagnosed with lupus and interstitial lung disease years ago and that her lung capacity has declined recently.

She is now on oxygen 24 hours a day and can only walk short distances, she says, so bad that she has decided to end her life.

“My body, my choice, my death,” she said.

Missouri law does not allow euthanasia, but does allow for life support to be removed in certain cases, such as for people experiencing intense pain. However, since Hendrix is ​​not on life support, this does not apply – hence the need to travel.

The Missouri woman spoke about the decision alongside her daughter Charlene Foeste in an emotional interview with Fox 19 Now

“I’ve had a great life and I want to have some dignity as I move into the next phase,” Hendrix said, as she spends her final days surrounded by friends and family.

“It just feels like this is the right thing to do,” she added.

She recently retired after a long career in HR and as a contact tracer, and will be traveling to Switzerland in a few days.

Both recall that before the diagnosis, Hendrix led an active life: “always busy, always,” her daughter said.

Ironically, it was this energy that led her to choose euthanasia, she said, describing a procedure that is legal in only 10 states and the District of Columbia.

Missouri is not one of them, but a trip to New Mexico, for example, could be the answer. However, the rules and regulations in those states also require patients to have a maximum of six months to live.

“I’ve had a great life and I want to have some dignity as I move into the next phase,” Hendrix said of the decision, as she spends her final days surrounded by friends and family. She will die by medically assisted suicide on Sept. 26

“I don’t want to wait that long,” Hendrix said of the years she has left.

“I don’t want to get this sick. I don’t want to get to the point where this exists, doesn’t live.”

She chose Switzerland because euthanasia has been legal there since the 1940s. Last spring, she arranged the paperwork for a one-way trip in August.

“But they were fully booked,” Hendrix said, which is why she chose September 26.

In a few days, the operation she faces will be as painless as it is simple.

“They put an IV in your arm, and the first drug that goes in puts you to sleep,” she explained, showing vintage photos of herself in happier times.

“The second one stops all bodily functions,” she added. “There’s some kind of button on the IV.

“You should be able to press that button, and then the fluid starts. It’s done in five minutes.”

Her daughter, who supported her, said she disagrees with the decision but will still be by her mother’s side as she takes her last breath.

She chose Switzerland because euthanasia has been legal there since the 1940s. “I’m just at peace with my decision and it’s the right thing for me and my body,” she said, after lupus left her largely unable to move or breathe.

She will then be cremated, she said, and her remains can be shipped back to Missouri in a few weeks.

Her daughter tried to support her, but she said she doesn’t agree with the decision. However, she will still be by her mother’s side as she takes her last breath.

“It’s not my choice,” she said, holding back tears.

“I love her and support her, and there is no way my mother can do this alone. No way.”

Mother and daughter will make their final journey together in the coming days, at peace with the decision.

Meanwhile, activist groups like Death with Dignity continue to push for changes to assisted suicide laws, a controversial concept in much of the US because of its religious and ethical implications.

Assisted suicide, also called medically assisted suicide, is legal in states including California, Colorado, Hawaii, Montana, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington state, as well as Washington DC