A mother of two requested euthanasia in Canada because she feels alone and separated from her family and friends.
Jacquie Holyoak, 60, is not terminally ill but suffers from pain sensitivity which she says has left her bedridden, depressed and wanting “a way out”.
He has spoken to DailyMail.com as Canada considers extending its assisted dying laws to those suffering from mental illness, which would give people like Ms Holyoak the ability to legally commit suicide.
Mrs. Holyoak has fibromyalgia, a disease suffered by 4 million Americans that causes muscle and bone pain and is treated with painkillers. She has also been diagnosed with depression.
The former nursing assistant, who has been unemployed and receiving disability benefits for a decade, says the pain of her condition has left her unable to do anything but stay in bed and watch TV all day, making her extremely alone.
Jacquie Holyoak, 60, does not suffer from a terminal illness but wants to end her life because she lives in pain and poverty and would like to find a way out.
Mrs Holyoak, pictured above with her two daughters, Haley (left) and Michelle, is separated from her family and lives alone in social housing.
Ms Holyoak told DailyMail.com: “I don’t really have anyone in my life… there is absolutely no quality, not even money to go out and have a cup of coffee.”
“So I sit at home and watch football games.”
“My life is deteriorating more and more, but society dictates that I will have to stay here.”
She is separated from her two adult daughters.
Nowadays, he relies on deliveries and rare visits from friends as his only social interaction in his social housing in Fergus, Ontario.
Ms Holyoak told DailyMail.com she had requested assisted dying in mid-2022 solely because of her fibromyalgia, but was denied.
He planned to apply again this year, as Canada was set to relax requirements to also give the option to people who had been struggling with mental health issues.
But that decision was postponed while officials began training psychiatrists to ensure only suitable candidates were offered.
The graph above shows the number of people who have undergone assisted dying in Canada per year since the option became available in 2016. In 2021, the rule was relaxed to give the option to people with an “incurable condition” instead of terminal.
Oregon in the US is now seeing a record number of people ending their lives in the state, after it became America’s first suicide tourism destination in 2022.
Holyoak said she was “upset” about the delay, adding that she already refuses to take her high blood pressure medication because she doesn’t want to continue.
In Canada, assisted dying for the terminally ill was available in 2016, but was later revised in 2021 to make it available to those suffering from an “incurable condition” and a “low quality of life.”
To request assisted dying, Ms Holyoak will first need to submit a written request to her doctor, signed by a witness, such as a social worker.
Two independent doctors, such as psychiatrists, will then review your application and decide whether it meets the threshold for assisted dying for mental health reasons.
Patients must have suffered from a mental health condition that is “serious and irremediable” for a prolonged period.
If her application is approved, Ms Holyoak will have the opportunity to withdraw her application and will also be directed to mental health services for further advice.
If you are fully approved, you will be given a lethal dose of anesthesia.
Since assisted dying became available in Canada in 2016, the number of people choosing this route has increased to 13,000 people in 2022, up from 5,600 people in 2019.
A small proportion of them (less than three percent in the last year) are among people who are not terminally ill.
Holyoak described the happiest years of her life as those in the 1980s, when she had a husband and lived with her two children and two dogs in a house in St Thomas, near the US border.
But then she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia and also suffered from depression, causing the peaceful family unit to fall apart.
Ms Holyoak added: “When you’re a mother, it was all about being a mother and suddenly I’m not a mother anymore.”
‘I just fell, I kept falling every year, every year I went lower and lower.
“This is eating away at me and rotting me, so of course I would choose (assisted dying).”
The above shows your pantry and refrigerator. Holyoak says he receives about $1,300 a month from the Canadian government, or the equivalent of about $200 a week after rent.
This image shows your social housing property where you live. In this picture he was decorated for Christmas. He said this year he did not decorate for the festive period.
Ms Holyoak had previously worked as a nursing assistant and managed to buy her own home before suffering from depression which left her unable to work.
Ms Holyoak later retrained as a nursing assistant and got a job at a local clinic, eventually managing to buy her own home.
But then fibromyalgia and depression struck again, leading to her gradually losing everything and receiving benefits.
She now receives $1,300 from the government each month to cover everything, including rent, which she says is too little.
“I don’t have enough to get good food, or have enough coffee with someone,” he said.
“For a long time, I survived on one and a half meals a day, one of which was cereal and the other, boneless chicken thigh on a bun.
‘When I get up, I wait three hours before eating. And then I hold on, hold on as long as I can until I have my dinner. I spend the whole day trying not to be hungry.’
Fibromyalgia is a condition believed to be caused by damage to the body’s nerves.
Doctors diagnose the condition through a process of elimination, with no direct test available to identify patients.
Symptoms include severe pain in the body and pain from activities such as walking, sitting, or even from hugging.
Announcing the delay to the law change in February, Health Minister Mark Holland said: “What is at stake here is the question of preparedness.”
“What we want to make sure is that the system is trained.”
About 13,000 people use assisted dying in Canada each year to end their lives for medical reasons. It’s unclear how this figure would change if it were also approved for mental health.
Assisted dying is also available in ten US states, and two of them, Oregon and Vermont, now allow people from other states to travel there to end their lives.
There are currently no plans in any US state to expand the option to people suffering solely from mental health issues.