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Holly Dominie is retired and lives in Readfield.
In June 2023, my late husband David was diagnosed with bulbar-onset ALS — a brutal, relentless disease that attacks the upper nervous system. He died just last November with medical assistance under Maine’s merciful Death with Dignity law. Yet, in his final days, David endured senseless and unimaginable suffering due to the law’s mandatory 17-day waiting period. LD 613 would enable a doctor to waive this requirement for qualified patients.
On the day of his diagnosis David talked with his neurologist about his desire to end his life on his own terms with the doctor’s help. He had read about ALS. David knew his own physical limits; his claustrophobia terrified him. He educated himself about the requirements of the law and welcomed its agency. He anticipated the progression of the disease — he willed his body to cooperate.
He was brave. He lived with grace, humor, and moments of joy. He thought he had more time. But when his body failed catastrophically, complying with the law’s waiting period became excruciating.
While I could not have imagined the brutality of this disease, the trauma stays with me. I could never have imagined the terrifying agony and loss of control David would endure — struggling to retain the dexterity to administer the medication through his feeding tube until the 17-day waiting period was finally over.
I urge you to imagine yourselves or your loved ones in David’s position. I ask you to imagine being trapped in a body at once drowning and suffocating. Imagine being claustrophobic.
Imagine, too, not being able to swallow, eat or drink orally, or even talk. Imagine not being able to expel toxic carbon dioxide from your bloodstream. Imagine the constant assault of muscle twitches, your body constantly overheated. Imagine the fear of losing the ability to push a syringe into your feeding tube while the 17-day waiting period was in force as your fingers weaken.
Imagine realizing your life is untenable but your suffering extends if you can no longer administer the medication yourself as the law requires. Imagine your doctor helpless to make your last days bearable.
The Maine Legislature and its Health and Human Services Committee have the power to spare others this brutal end. I implore you: Give patients and their doctors the ability to make compassionate choices in the final moments of life. Please vote to support LD 613.