Woman, 65, recorded final video and left heartbreaking note before ending her life with assisted dying
Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.
An arts and crafts influencer shared a heartbreaking video and post detailing how she was going to end her life at an assisted dying facility.
65-year-old Amanda Bloom, whose real name was Amanda Machin, had amassed almost 50,000 followers on Instagram, sharing crochet creations and behind-the-scenes snaps from workshops held at her North Yorkshire shop, The Craft Room.
However, just days after marking the anniversary of her daughter Jenny Machin’s death, the woman revealed she was heading to Switzerland to take part in a voluntary assisted dying programme.
Advert
While euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are deemed illegal in the UK under the Suicide Act 1961, Swiss law legally condones assisted suicide, which can be performed by non-physicians, as per the National Institutes of Health.
The British Medical Association stated that the Swiss Criminal Code 1942 permits individuals to assist in another's suicide as long as the motive for doing so is not 'selfish'.
In a now-deleted video reportedly posted to social media, Bloom said: "By the time you see this, I'll be with my Jenny."
"I know this is going to be a bit of a shock," she added, as per the Daily Mail.
Jenny was only 19 when she died from a brain tumour in 2017.
In one of her final Instagram posts, the crafter marked the eighth anniversary of her death, writing: "The world is a cruel place without you. I love you and miss you every day."
Bloom’s penultimate Facebook post was dedicated to accusing a ‘little group of crafters in Bentham’ - where she ran her business - of making her life ‘miserable for months’ with ‘b****y comments, cruel Facebook memes and untrue gossip’.
"Please don't think it's ok to pass me in the street with a cheery smile and hello… as if nothing has happened," she continued.
"You’ve cost me my new business, my financial security and my home. Please don’t kid yourself that what you’ve done is a bit of harmless fun. It isn’t. There are consequences."
Six days later, Bloom returned to Facebook to announce she was ‘giving up’ on life because she wanted to reunite with her daughter.
"I just long for Jenny with all my heart… the laughter, the feeling of loving her unconditionally and being so loved in return. She was the one wonderful thing in my life and without her it’s just too hard," she said.
The businesswoman revealed she’d checked into Pegasos Swiss Association, a non-profit Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) organisation based in Basel, Switzerland.
She claimed that she’d informed her ‘nearest and dearest’ ahead of time and that while her decision wasn’t ‘very rock and roll’, it meant she left ‘no mess or trauma for anyone to deal with’.
One of Bloom’s friends, Julie, confirmed earlier this week via Instagram that Bloom’s funeral has yet to go ahead.
"Another week has gone by and still no news from Switzerland. It’s 8 weeks today," she typed.
After revealing she’d spoken to the woman ‘until the last time when she was in the clinic’, Julie claimed her friend’s longing for her daughter was ‘overpowering’.
"And even if she was heading for oblivion, she said she was walking through a door that Jenny had gone through and that nothing else mattered," she wrote. "My friend Amanda. So brave. So determined. I miss her."
A creative bursary the woman championed during her life has now been renamed in her honour.
The Yarndale Festival start-up bursary was launched in 2022 to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Skipton craft and wool festival and will now to presented in memory of Bloom and her daughter, Jenny Machin.
The Yarndale Start Up Bursary in Memory of Amanda Bloom and Jenny Machin honours Bloom’s ‘commitment to nurturing new creative talent’, according to Kate Beard from the Yarndale team.
She added it was a ‘beautiful way to carry’ their memories forward.
The bursary is designed to help emerging fibre artists and fledgling creative businesses, with winners being awarded a single stand at Yarndale, Skipton Auction Mart, in September.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123.
Topics: Business, Facebook, Health, Instagram, Mental Health, Social Media, UK News
Ella Scott