Warning: This article discusses suicide and assisted dying, which some readers may find upsetting.
A 26-year-old Australian woman has shared the experiences she hopes to have before she undergoes voluntary assisted dying.
Annaliese Holland, who is from Australia, has dealt with serious health problems since childhood. She was later diagnosed with Autoimmune Autonomic Ganglionopathy, also known as AAG.
According to Cleveland Clinic, AAG is a rare autoimmune disorder in which the immune system mistakenly attacks the autonomic nervous system.
This part of the nervous system helps regulate essential bodily functions, including breathing, heart rate and blood pressure. The condition is extremely uncommon, with only around 100 diagnoses reported each year in the US.
Annaliese is expected to undergo voluntary assisted dying in Adelaide in the coming months.
Speaking to A Current Affair, she described how much her illness has changed her.
“I look in the mirror and I don’t see me anymore,” she told A Current Affair. “I see a frail body.”
Annaliese explained that her decision has come after prolonged suffering, while stressing that she does not want to die.
“This isn’t me just choosing to end it, I’m going to die anyway,” she said.
She has also created what she calls a ‘f*** it’ list, her own version of a bucket list, filled with moments she wants to experience.
The list includes several meaningful milestones, some of which she has already completed. She told A Current Affair these have included renting her own apartment, having her father see her wearing a wedding dress, and being present for the birth of her friend’s baby.
“Not being able to have children and never being able to feel that motherly soul, I thought that maybe if I witnessed it, it would kind of help that little hole in my heart,” she said.
“It was the most amazing moment of my life, the body is incredible. It was the most amazing moment of my life. So beautiful and now I’m an auntie.”
Another wish on Annaliese’s list was to take a helicopter ride, which she later managed to do after being invited by A Current Affair.
Although Annaliese knows the date of her planned death, she has chosen to keep that information private between herself and those closest to her.
People wishing to support Annaliese can donate to her GoFundMe.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in a mental health crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.