For over 30 years, Edina Slayter Engelsman resided in Scotland. Last month, she went back to her native country of The Netherlands to end her life due to the unbearable suffering she had been experiencing with severe ME.
Under the country’s euthanasia and assisted suicide laws, individuals are allowed to kill themselves.
Prior to her death, her relatives approached BBC Scotland to share her experience as she struggled with the illness, which is known as chronic fatigue syndrome.
It is believed that around 250,000 individuals in the UK suffer from this condition.
The exact cause of this condition is not known. However, many people with it experience extreme fatigue.
According to NHS guidelines, the condition can be categorized into four levels.
The mild stage allows patients to carry out simple tasks, while the severe stage requires assistance feeding and getting out of bed.
According to studies, around one in four individuals with this condition will experience severe symptoms.
In a series of videos, she narrated her experience with the condition, which made it hard for her to leave her bed.
She was bedridden for a couple of weeks after she was diagnosed in February 2020.
In her videos, she described how her condition felt like she was trapped inside a spider’s web.
She returned to the Netherlands in 2023 for various psychiatric and psychological assessments. The institute of chronic fatigue in Amsterdam also conducted evaluations.
Specialists concluded that there was no treatment for her condition.
With the help of her family and husband, doctors in the Netherlands were able to give her a lethal injection.
The country has some of the most liberal euthanasia laws in the world.
Just before she died she said ” ‘I exist but I don’t live’ “
