Life, Death on Her Own Terms
I had the conversation with my parent.
Amazingly, I found that each day Mom's spirits grew lighter and more peaceful. There was an immediate and dramatic change the day after Mom made her choice. It was as if she realized that she no longer had to struggle - that she had taken control - and she found comfort in that.
I wrote an article about my mother’s end of life decisions and it was published in the Philadelphia Inquirer. It describes her decision to voluntarily stop eating and drinking to hasten her death and provide her with a peaceful and dignified passing. I think it would be informative for your readers to know that VSED (voluntary stopping of eating and drinking) is not the painful horrific death that many think it is. The name of the article is Life, Death on Her Own Terms and the link to the article is below:
http://articles.philly.com/2010-07-25/news/24970048_1_life-expectancy-mom-active-life