Latest news with #MND
Daily Mirror
4 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mirror
Mum who starved rather than suffer 'worst death' leaves behind powerful message
Emma Bray wanted to protect her children from seeing her die a "terrible" death from motor neurone disease, so made the heartbreaking decision to starve herself to death instead A remarkable mum with MND - who made the heartbreaking decision to starve herself to 'spare' her children - has left a final heartbreaking message saying goodbye to the world. Emma Bray, 42, a Dignity in Dying campaigner, who bravely told The Mirror about her plans to move into a hospice this summer and voluntarily stop eating and drinking, has died. The proud and devoted mum left a touching and powerful final message on her Instagram account, under a photograph of her lying in a hospice bed in Devon looking out over the trees. She wrote: 'If you are reading this then I've finished my final spin round the sun .I've lived a very good life, surrounded by love, music and laughter and I want this to continue in my memory. "Rather than shed a tear (or whilst you do) please plant a tree or call a friend, do a random act of kindness or take time to watch a sunset. For moments of doubt please ask 'what would Emma do?'and run with that probably inappropriate answer. Hug everyone a little tighter and love openly. Please surround those who were closest to me with love, time and patience. 'And to quote Frank Turner - Remember you get to dance another day but now you have to dance for one more of us. Love you, bye.' Days before the post Emma and her friends had gone to see Alanis Morissette in concert, which she described as being on her 'bucket list'. She wrote: 'After 29 years of true love I wasn't going to let a little inconvenient terminal illness let me miss this.' Emma had been using the Instagram page 'supid_mnd' to show her ' MND journey' including the 'good, bad and ugly' Her message was met with outpouring of love and grief, with one healthcare professional, writing about meeting her during training. "You have greatly impacted my own practice, and I'm sure many other professionals too. Your life was too short, but the impact you made was huge." Earlier this year in May, the former charity worker, who has helped hundreds of domestic abuse victims and the homeless during her career, told us how she wanted to shield her 'amazing' children, aged 15 and 14, from the 'brutal' and 'terrible' death she faced. 'I've had four different health professionals tell me I've got the worst disease possible,' she told the Mirror. MND is a terminal neurological condition that affects the brain and spinal cord leading to muscle weakness and wasting. She wanted to spare her children the horror of seeing their mum suddenly choke to death. Instead she wanted a 'calm and peaceful death' and had planned her funeral and written her eulogy. 'My last bit of parenting I can do is to limit the suffering and trauma they have to witness. I made a promise to myself that I wanted to wait to see my daughter finish high school and my son grow up a little so I can picture the man he will become.' Emma had decided to die using the Voluntarily stopping eating and drinking (VSED) practice. This is where an adult makes a decision to hasten their death by completely stopping all food and fluids. They say dying from VSED can typically take between 10 to 14 days. Emma, from Barnstaple in North Devon, had endured extra pain during her trips to London to back the Assisted Dying Bill. She said she wanted other families to avoid the horrifying decisions she had to make between two 'painful and potentially horrific' ways to die. She said: 'This bill will have offered me protection for those I love who have already spent two years living with anticipatory grief and watching me suffer. 'Imagine seeing your children crying and upset and not be able to hug them or curl up in bed and wipe their tears away. This is hands down the thing I hate the most about motor neurone disease. It's taken my children's mum from them little by little… 'I urge MPs to realise that this bill will not end my life, motor neurone disease is doing that but they can help me and others with less than six months to live to die with peace. '
Daily Mail
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Dignity in Dying campaigner Emma Bray dies after vowing to starve herself to death 'to protect her children'
A mother battling motor neurone disease (MND) has died after vowing to starve herself to death to protect her children from witnessing a 'brutal' and 'terrible' death. Dignity in Dying campaigner Emma Bray spent her final days in a hospice this summer after voluntarily deciding to stop eating and drinking. The devoted mother-of-two, who has tragically died aged 42, previously revealed how she could no longer hug her children or wipe away their tears, but was determined to fight for a law change to help others. On Monday, Emma posted a heartbreaking final photo of her lying in a hospice bed in Devon, looking out over a row of trees. In a prepared message on her 'Stupid_mnd' Instagram account, she said: 'If you are reading this then I've finished my final spin round the sun. 'I've lived a very good life, surrounded by love, music and laughter and I want this to continue in my memory. 'Rather than shed a tear (or whilst you do) please plant a tree or call a friend, do a random act of kindness or take time to watch a sunset. 'For moments of doubt please ask 'what would Emma do?' and run with that probably inappropriate answer. Hug everyone a little tighter and love openly. 'Please surround those who were closest to me with love, time and patience. 'And to quote Frank Turner - Remember you get to dance another day but now you have to dance for one more of us. Love you, bye.' MND is a progressive illness that affects the brain and nerves, impacting the person's ability to move, eat and eventually breathe. Just days before the post, Emma revealed she had completed the 'bucket list' goal of seeing Alanis Morisette in concert with her friends. She wrote: 'After 29 years of true love I wasn't going to let a little inconvenient terminal illness let me miss this.' In May, the former charity worker who helped hundreds of domestic abuse victims and the homeless during her life, told The Mirror that she wanted to shield her 'amazing' children from the 'brutal' death she faced. 'I've had four different health professionals tell me I've got the worst disease possible,' she said. She wanted to spare them watching their mother suddenly choke to death and had planned her funeral and written her eulogy. She said they were forced to watch her crawl around the floor and deal with a constant stream of carers. 'My last bit of parenting I can do is to limit the suffering and trauma they have to witness,' she said. 'I made a promise to myself that I wanted to wait to see my daughter finish high school and my son grow up a little so I can picture the man he will become.' She also revealed her plans to stop eating and drinking when she moved to a hospice. The 'Voluntarily stopping eating and drinking (VSED) practice typically takes between 10 to 14 days to die. Emma had also backed the Assisted Dying Bill, arguing it would have prevented her loved ones suffering for two years with anticipatory grief. She added: 'Imagine seeing your children crying and upset and not be able to hug them or curl up in bed and wipe their tears away.'
Daily Mirror
7 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mirror
Brave mum Emma Bray's final days after deciding to starve herself to death for sake of her kids
Dignity in Dying campaigner Emma Bray has died after making the heartbreaking decision to starve herself to death. Just last month, she spoke with the Mirror about her poignant hopes for her final days A courageous mother has shared a heartbreaking message from beyond the grave after making a difficult decision. Emma Bray, who lived with Motor Neurone Disease (MND), previously spoke with the Mirror about her plans to voluntarily stop eating and drinking after moving into a hospice. The Dignity in Dying campaigner explained that she wanted to shield her 'amazing' children, aged 15 and 14, from the 'brutal' and "terrible" death she faced, in what she regarded as her "last bit of parenting". Now, an Instagram post has revealed that the 42-year-old has sadly died, just one month after she opened up about her wishes for her final days. The pre-written message was accompanied by a photograph of Emma lying in her hospice bed in Devon, looking out over a tranquil tree-lined view. Expressing gratitude for her time on this earth, Emma, from Barnstaple in North Devon, wrote: "If you are reading this, then I've finished my final spin round the sun. "I've lived a very good life, surrounded by love, music and laughter, and I want this to continue in my memory. Rather than shed a tear (or whilst you do), please plant a tree or call a friend, do a random act of kindness or take time to watch a sunset. "For moments of doubt, please ask, 'What would Emma do?' and run with that probably inappropriate answer. Hug everyone a little tighter and love openly. "Please surround those who were closest to me with love, time and patience. And to quote Frank Turner - Remember you get to dance another day, but now you have to dance for one more of us. Love you, bye." Back in June, Emma, who helped hundreds of domestic abuse victims and homeless people through her career as a charity worker, reflected on how she'd like to spend her final days. She shared her longing for a 'calm and peaceful death', and revealed that she'd already planned her funeral and written her eulogy. Emma continued: 'VSED is not an easy death, but with the current law in England, this is the only way I can have control over my death. 'I want to protect my children from seeing me choke and struggle to breathe. I don't want to die, but I am going to and have come to terms with my impending death, and I know I want to die surrounded by loved ones, music and laughter, not in an emergency way after further decline.' "My end-of-life wish is to be at the hospice surrounded by my friends and family. I want to have music playing, to hear people laugh and watch them playing card games over me.' As per Compassion In Dying, VSED is a process whereby an adult 'with mental capacity to decide to do so and in the absence of control or coercion, makes a decision to hasten their death by completely stopping the oral intake of all food and fluids'. Death can take between 10 to 14 days. Emma was first diagnosed with MND two years ago. She told us: 'I've had four different health professionals tell me I've got the worst disease possible." MND is a terminal neurological condition that affects a person's brain and spinal cord, resulting in muscle weakness and wasting. As her condition progressed, Emma was left unable to hug her two children or wipe away their tears, and she was left fearing the possibility of choking to death in front of loved ones. The devoted mum, who spoke with the Mirror using her eye gazing machine, discussed the severe difficulties she was facing day to day, stating: 'I now feel I am at the stage where my quality of life is very affected, I can no longer use any of my limbs. My talking is severely affected, and I struggle to eat, and it's getting harder to breathe. I am only really comfortable in bed, and social visits are exhausting. 'I have carers multiple times a day, can't be left alone overnight and can no longer do any basic tasks. I can't scratch an itch, push up my glasses, or move a bed sheet if I am too hot or cold. I feel like I am losing the essence of me. I am still so loved, but I can't be myself, and I see that grief on everyone's faces." Expressing her support for the Assisted Dying Bill, Emma said: 'This bill will have offered me protection for those I love who have already spent two years living with anticipatory grief and watching me suffer. 'Imagine seeing your children crying and upset and not be able to hug them or curl up in bed and wipe their tears away. This is hands down the thing I hate the most about motor neurone disease. It's taken my children's mum from them little by little… 'I urge MPs to realise that this bill will not end my life, motor neurone disease is doing that, but they can help me and others with less than six months to live to die with peace. '
Daily Mirror
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Emma Bray dies after vowing to starve herself to death 'to protect her children'
Dignity in Dying campaigner Emma Bray, who revealed she intended to starve herself to death to protect her children from witnessing her 'terrible death', has left a final heartbreaking message A mum with MND has died after she made the heartbreaking decision to starve herself to death to spare her children. Emma Bray bravely told the Mirror of her plans to move into a hospice this summer and voluntarily stop eating and drinking. Last month Emma, 42, told us how she was devastated she was unable to hug her two children or wipe away their tears - but although it was too late for her, she wanted to fight for a law change to help others. On Monday the proud and devoted mum posted a touching final message on her 'Stupid_mnd' Instagram account under a photograph of her lying in a hospice bed in Devon. Looking out over the trees, she wrote: 'If you are reading this then I've finished my final spin round the sun. 'I've lived a very good life, surrounded by love, music and laughter and I want this to continue in my memory. Rather than shed a tear (or whilst you do) please plant a tree or call a friend, do a random act of kindness or take time to watch a sunset. For moments of doubt please ask 'what would Emma do?' and run with that probably inappropriate answer. Hug everyone a little tighter and love openly. 'Please surround those who were closest to me with love, time and patience. And to quote Frank Turner - Remember you get to dance another day but now you have to dance for one more of us. Love you, bye.' Days before this post Emma revealed she and her friends had gone to see Alanis Morissette in concert, which she described as being on her 'bucket list'. She wrote: 'After 29 years of true love I wasn't going to let a little inconvenient terminal illness let me miss this.' Earlier this year, at the end of May, the former charity worker, who has helped hundreds of domestic abuse victims and the homeless during her career, told us how she wanted to shield her 'amazing' children, aged 15 and 14, from the 'brutal' and "terrible" death she faced. 'I've had four different health professionals tell me I've got the worst disease possible,' she told the Mirror. MND is a terminal neurological condition that affects the brain and spinal cord leading to muscle weakness and wasting. Emma told us she wanted to spare her children the horror of seeing their mum suddenly choke to death. Instead she wanted a 'calm and peaceful death' and had planned her funeral and written her eulogy. 'My last bit of parenting I can do is to limit the suffering and trauma they have to witness. I made a promise to myself that I wanted to wait to see my daughter finish high school and my son grow up a little so I can picture the man he will become.' She told of her plan to voluntarily stop eating and drinking when she moves to a hospice. Emma had decided to die using the Voluntarily stopping eating and drinking (VSED) practice. According to Compassion in Dying this is where an adult 'with mental capacity to decide to do so and in the absence of control or coercion', makes a decision to hasten their death by completely stopping all food and fluids. They say dying from VSED can typically take between 10 to 14 days. Emma, from Barnstaple in North Devon, had endured extra pain during her trips to London to back the Assisted Dying Bill. She said she wanted other families to avoid the horrifying decisions she had to make between two 'painful and potentially horrific' ways to die. She said: 'This bill will have offered me protection for those I love who have already spent two years living with anticipatory grief and watching me suffer. 'Imagine seeing your children crying and upset and not be able to hug them or curl up in bed and wipe their tears away. This is hands down the thing I hate the most about motor neurone disease. It's taken my children's mum from them little by little… 'I urge MPs to realise that this bill will not end my life, motor neurone disease is doing that but they can help me and others with less than six months to live to die with peace. ' Talking to the Mirror using her eye gazing machine, she told us: 'I now feel I am at the stage where my quality of life is very affected, I can no longer use any of my limbs. My talking is severely affected and I struggle to eat and it's getting harder to breathe. I am only really comfortable in bed and social visits are exhausting. 'I have carers multiple times a day, can't be left alone overnight and can no longer do any basic tasks. I can't scratch an itch, push up my glasses, move a bed sheet if I am too hot or cold. I feel like I am losing the essence of me, I am still so loved but I can't be myself and I see that grief on everyone's faces. 'This whole journey has been brutal but I have still been able to be a parent and I now realise I can't be a bit of the parent I need and want to be. Watching your children grieve you and not be able to hug them is the most painful feeling ever. This disease takes from everyone and it will take the children's mother from them bit by bit.' Emma told us: 'VSED is not an easy death but with the current law in England this is the only way I can have control over my death. 'I want to protect my children from seeing me choke and struggle to breathe. I don't want to die but I am going to and have come to terms with my impending death and I know I want to die surrounded by loved ones, music and laughter not in an emergency way after further decline.' '...My end of life wish is to be at the hospice surrounded by my friends and family. I want to have music playing, to hear people laugh and watch them playing card games over me.' Emma paid tribute to her children, saying: 'My children are amazing and have spent so much of their childhood witnessing me decline. 'They watched me crawl around the floor for a year before diagnosis, they help me with everything as I have no working limbs, they live in an environment where there is a constant flow of carers coming into our home. 'They are obviously struggling. They struggle watching me fade, they are already grieving for the mum I once was. How they are still attending school and laughing astounds me and is a credit to what amazing people they are. 'They have a village of people around them but I know they desperately miss me. They are living in limbo land, they know they will have to move house to live with their dad but they don't know when and that uncertainty is hard for them. 'I can see their pain and grief on a daily basis and I would do anything to take that away from them. They are desperate for a hug from me and that hasn't happened in years… 'There is never a good time to lose your mum but all my maternal instincts want to make that horrible reality as easy for them as I can. 'I urge MPs to realise that this bill will not end my life, motor neurone disease is doing that but they can help me and others with less than six months to live to die with peace. '
Irish Independent
a day ago
- Health
- Irish Independent
Hero award for Leitrim man (92) who was given five years to live 48 years ago after MND diagnosis
Andy McGovern is one of the longest living survivors of Motor Neurone Disease (MND) as he has been living with MND for almost 50 years. When he was diagnosed in 1977, he was given a life expectancy of just two to five years. Remarkably and in spite of his diagnosis, Andy has worked tirelessly to put the MND community first. He has written several books and has always put himself forward to raise awareness of MND and the work of Irish Motor Neuron Disease Association. Andy received his MND Hero Award from Taoiseach Michéal Martin at the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association's Global MND Awareness Day event. MND is a progressive neurological condition that attacks the motor neurones, or nerves, in the brain and spinal cord. This means messages gradually stop reaching the muscles, which leads to weakness and wasting. MND can affect how patients walk, talk, eat, drink and breathe. However, not all symptoms necessarily happen to everyone and it is unlikely they will all develop at the same time, or in any specific order. The cause of MND is not known. MND strikes people of all ages and currently there is no cure, however symptoms can be managed to help the person achieve the best possible quality of life. ADVERTISEMENT Andy was born on February 10, 1933 at Corroneary, Aughavas, Co. Leitrim. His early years were spent helping on the family farm and in 1954, he immigrated to London. He got married in 1961 and the couple returned to Ireland. He founded a machinery contracting business and was the father of six children. However, in 1976, Andy remarked that his little finger on his right arm was not moving. 'The circulation and sensation was perfect so I thought there was no need to worry; there were nine more left. 'After some time, another finger became affected and the bicep muscle on my right arm started to sag. 'So I went to my GP, who referred me to St Vincent's Hospital, Dublin at which point I was diagnosed in 1977,' said Andy. Andy said the first years with the disease were the worst and he found himself trying to hide his disability as the symptoms developed. He said the symptoms quickly began affecting his ability to complete every day tasks. 'My clumsiness. My embarrassment. Everything is falling to the ground. 'My piece of meat is going for my ear instead of my mouth. 'My coordination is all askew. 'It was torture, a lot worse than pain. 'My wife and children came to my rescue many times, and nobody outside the family knew what I was going through,' said Andy. At that time, there was no association in Ireland for MND while there was also no treatment or cure. However, since his diagnosis, he has seen major changes to how the disease is cared for. 'There was no treatment or cure. 'You were told life expectancy was two to five years. 'It was tough. 'Today, there is no medical treatment for MND but we have a wonderful organisation, The Irish Motor Neuron Disease Association, that provides us with care, technology, equipment or anything that may help us ease the burden of living with this terminal illness. 'Things have improved greatly in the last number of years with our Association becoming more involved and highlighting awareness of this terrible disease. 'People like Charlie Bird, Fr Tony Cook, the ice bucket water campaign and many more high-profile people getting involved in fundraising and awareness,' said Andy. Andy has been heavily involved in campaigning and raising awareness of the disease. He climbed Croagh Patrick Mountain on two occasions without a stick or balancing equipment in 1997 and 1998. He also wrote two books with voice recognition software - 'They Laughed at This Man's Funeral' which is described as his father's biology and later 'Against the Odds - Living with Motor Neuron Disease.' Andy said he does not campaign for credit, thanks, or personal recognition but rather to raise awareness in the hope of getting help for everyone who is diagnosed with the disease. However, Andy, who is 92, said he knows a breakthrough will not come in time to save him. 'We are very fortunate to have a person of the calibre of Dr Orla Hardyman and her team, working tirelessly to find something that might arrest this galloping disease. 'She is adamant that one day there will be a breakthrough. 'I know that it will not come in time to save me, but that does not worry me. 'If a cure or something is discovered, then I will smile from the heavens above knowing that I have contributed something to this breakthrough and that the people who are then diagnosed will benefit. 'It is very important that we continue to raise awareness and funds to help our colleagues living with this death sentence,' said Andy. Humbly, Andy said he felt very emotional receiving the Hero Award from the chairman of IMNDA, Howard Hughes. 'He spoke all too well about me and my long fight of almost 50 years living with this disease. 'I am grateful for the recognition given to me by the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association and I am also grateful to our Taoiseach, Michael Martin, for presenting the award,' said Andy.
