Father issues emotional statement as daughter, 26, chooses to end life with assisted dying

Warning: This article contains discussion of health issues and assisted dying which some readers may find distressing.

The father of a 26-year-old woman who has chosen to end her own life spoke about the difficulty of living through what was happening with his daughter and his amazement at how she'd gone through it all.

Australian woman Annaliese 'Annie' Holland first became seriously ill at the age of 12, and it wasn't until six years later that she finally got diagnosed with Autoimmune Autonomic Ganglionopathy (AAG), an autoimmune disease that attacks the body's autonomic nervous system.

By that time her organs were failing and she was in constant pain, and a GoFundMe set up for Annie said that when she turned 26 at the start of this year it was 'likely her last birthday'.

Annie has applied for voluntary assisted dying, meaning she is seeking treatment that will allow her to end her life on her own terms.

Speaking to news.com.au last year where she said she'd been approved for voluntary assisted dying, Annie called it a 'safety blanket' as she said it was a 'relief' to know she could 'go when the time is right'.

Her dad Patrick Holland said he's seen his daughter fight for her life before and watched her going through so much.

He said: "This is not about us, it’s about Annie. Every time she goes to hospital she fights for her own life.

"It always goes the same way... something that is meant to be so simple goes pear shaped for her.

"The amount of times Annie has been in hospital and on her death bed... to have to sit there and watch her go through it.

"But she is amazing, anything we have to deal with goes into insignificance because we are not the ones going through it."

Patrick spoke about one time where the line Annie is fed through directly into her bloodstream got infected and had to be removed.

Annie has suffered sepsis 25 times and now there is only one viable vein in her chest to feed through, if it gets blocked she won't be able to get food or hydration and will starve.

The dad said the medical team treating his daughter wanted to pull the line, with Annie afraid and wanting to be put under general anaesthetic.

Patrick said: "I walked out of the room and said to them ‘you come in here and tell her’. Every time she goes to hospital she fights for her own life.

“For her, it’s so scary every time she has to go to hospital. It’s horrendous for her, its not fair. Every time you think she’s had enough she picks herself up. I couldn’t do it."

Annie said her dad had stayed with her during her times in hospital.

She said: "Dad has laid there with me in the hospital bed, he’s cleaned me up, he’s pressed the button for my pain meds when I couldn’t, he’s cuddled me, wiped away my tears, held my hand late at night."

The woman went on to explain that she'd told him after one of many trips to the hospital where she had been resuscitated that they talked about how she'd 'had enough'.

"Dad please let me go, I will not hate you if you let me go," she had told him.

"If this happens again I don’t want anything. Please know in my heart you are letting me go and saying ‘no’ to treatment... that’s what I want.”

Her dad had responded: "I understand. I don’t know how you do it, you’ve had enough. I understand."

For advice, support, and more information, you can contact the nurse-led specialist team at Compassion in Dying via their helpline 0800 999 2434. You can also email them at [email protected].