Zoraya (28) on waiting list for euthanasia for 2.5 years: 'Life doesn't work out'
Lene Makkink - August 10, 2023 09:37 Updated August 10, 2023 14:59
After ten years of mental health treatment and trying every possible therapy and medication, 28-year-old Zoraya Ter Beek came to the conclusion that life just wasn't working out for her. She decided to enter a euthanasia program to end her life. However, there she encountered a waiting list of more than two and a half years. And waiting lists for people with mental suffering continue to grow, the Euthanasia Expert Center confirms.
"I did my best," Zoraya tells RTL News. The choice to start a euthanasia process was not an easy one. "I don't want to die, but living is not possible. Then it's a choice between growing old sick with a lot of misery, or keeping the honor to myself and saying: I quit."
Zoraya from Twente used to be bullied very badly, resulting in a lot of gloom. "You carry that around with you as an adult too, unfortunately," she says. Although the mental health services and therapy helped her deal with emotions, she remained suicidal. "You do learn to give things a place, but therapy is not a panacea."
Expertise Center
Zoraya came to the Euthanasia Expertise Center because her own doctor and psychiatrist did not want to be involved in the euthanasia process for personal reasons. In the Netherlands, general practitioners are allowed to reject euthanasia requests due to principled objections, but then they must explain to the patient why they are not granting the request, explains doctors' federation KNMG.
"The general practitioner thought psychological suffering was too complex and the psychiatrist could not handle it emotionally. I understand that too," Zoraya says. "I have no hard feelings about it, they are also just people, lol."
Over two years of waiting
"Depending on the diagnosis and the region where the patient lives, the waiting time varies from a few weeks to over two years," said a spokesperson for the Euthanasia Expert Center. For patients presenting on the basis of psychological suffering, the wait time has increased because of the growing number of patients. "We have only a handful of psychiatrists on staff who can investigate these requests for help," the spokesman says.
According to the expertise center, the long wait time is a combination of the many requests by patients who cannot be helped by their own practitioner and the nationwide shortage of psychiatrists. In 2021, the expertise center received 868 euthanasia requests from people with mental suffering; in 2022, there were 781. Although the number of requests decreased last year, waiting lists are still growing as the previous increase in requests persisted.
"We also find the long wait times inhumane and that is not what we want. We are working with practitioners in the field to provide better care for patients who have euthanasia requests," the spokesperson continued. We are also looking at expanding the number of psychiatrists available.
Updates by mail
Zoraya knew what she was getting into when she applied to the center of expertise. Online, the waiting time was already indicated. But after two years of waiting, she still hadn't heard anything. On the phone, she was told to expect at least two to six months more waiting time. To pass the time, she continued with daily activities, such as going to the gym and shopping. "Life just goes on, it can't be put on pause," she said.
The waiting period did bite, because of all the uncertainty involved. "It's two and a half years of wondering: what am I doing it for? The longer the time passes, the harder it is to tell yourself to stick with it," Zoraya says.
Moreover, a doctor or psychiatrist can decide at any time that she does not meet the six legal requirements for euthanasia for mental suffering. In that case, her euthanasia request will be denied. "At the center of expertise, it is also known that if there is a rejection, I will probably do it myself," Zoraya says.
No doubt
She never doubted her euthanasia decision, not even because of the long wait. "Those around me were worried about whether I would stick with it," Zoraya says. During those two-and-a-half years, she had to regularly remind them that she would not just "do something crazy" and wait out the process.
She knows stories of others who stopped applying in the first place because of the long waiting list. "That does show how heavy that waiting list weighs. Once you get to the stage where you don't see the point, two and a half years in uncertainty is a very long time."
First interview
Meanwhile, Zoraya has had the first meeting with her 'team.' That team consists of the doctors, nurses and psychiatrists who assist her during the euthanasia process. She got the call that it was really going to start on the morning a friend of hers died by euthanasia. "That, of course, is very doubly so," she says.
"I wanted to jump in the air at first, but when I hung up I got nauseous," Zoraya says. The realization then sunk in that she had to start telling all her loved ones that her euthanasia process was entering the next phase. "For me it is great, but for the people I leave behind it is not. I realize that too."
Before her request is granted, many conversations are scheduled. The psychiatrist and nurse must come to the conclusion that Zoraya meets the six legal conditions for euthanasia for mental suffering. To do so, they must also consult an independent doctor for a second opinion. Finally, an SCEN doctor must look at the request. That is a family physician or medical specialist who is specially trained to provide expert and independent support and consultation to fellow physicians on euthanasia requests.
Once she has gone through all the steps - which take six to 12 months - the euthanasia will be performed within six weeks. Until then, Zoraya still tries to derive happiness from the little things, "for example having coffee somewhere with my boyfriend, or visits from friends. She can also definitely still laugh and occasionally have fun with others. "If it was really only misery, I would be long gone," she says.
Zoraya has a wish date for her death. The center of expertise is trying to get close to that. At least by Christmas, she will still be there. "I love Christmas and I've told everyone I'll still be here then," she said.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Care requirements
There are six care requirements for euthanasia in people with mental suffering:
* There must be a voluntary and deliberate request by the patient.
* There must be hopeless and unbearable suffering.
* The patient must have been informed of the current situation and outlook.
* The physician must be convinced that there is no reasonable other solution for the patient.
* At least one other independent physician must have been consulted.
* The termination of life or assisted suicide must be performed with medical care.
When the requirements are not met, a physician must deny a euthanasia request.
Translated with
www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
