‘I held my husband’s hand as he took his own life – having the choice gave me peace’

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At home, Mary-Kate Pickett sat next to her husband John’s hospital bed and held his hand till his quiet death.

In Tasmania, he had taken a drug as part of a volunteer assisted suicide program. John, a native of Letherhead, Surrey, died eight minutes after ingesting the drug and fell asleep eight minutes later.

John, 71, had stage four colorectal cancer and had been ill for 17 months. Mary-Kate, 64, explained that it had happened five weeks after he had called to say he wanted to die.

Following a rigorous procedure, John was had to submit three different requests, the last of which was in writing. On the actual day, a doctor was with John and Mary-Kate, but two different doctors had to approve it.

“Everybody grieves differently but I believe because John was able to die in a way that was a reflection of his values and of his commitment to being intentional about how he approached his life I feel like it has been less of a trauma.

“That may not be the same for everybody but I was 100% supportive of John’s decision and so the two of us were on a path together and that was very special, in a way. I sat with him while he took the substance and he was relieved and calm as he relaxed into sleep.”

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