Tired of battling long Covid, Canadian woman applies for euthanasia
Before and after pictures of Tracey Thompson, 55, from Toronto
A Canadian woman named Tracey Thompson, suffering from long Covidis seeking assisted suicide after the disease robbed her off of all herlife savings and the ability to get out of bed.
Thompson applied for the country's legal euthanasia programme after it became apparent she was stuck with an incurable disease and that her condition would not improve.
"My quality of life with this illness is almost nonexistent, it’s not a good life.I don’t do anything. It is painfully boring. It’s profoundly isolating,” she was quoted as saying by DailyMail.
Thompson hasn't been able to work a single day since 2020 when she first caught the virus. She is so sore and fatigued that she stays in bed for up to 22 hours a day.
Her symptoms developed as an ordinary COVID-19 patient - losing her sense of taste and smell while developing a sore throat was the first stage.
)
Zelensky says Russia ‘not in the mood for a ceasefire’, warns ‘Ayatollah Putin’ of ending up in ‘decay’
)
'Shattered by missile from evil regime': Israel's ‘crown jewel of science' targeted by Iran | What was destroyed as missile hit Weizmann Institute
)
BREAKING | Israel-Iran War: Iran launches new barrage of missiles at Israel
)
F-35 stuck in India: 'Stealth code' talk, ‘OLX listing’, Modi-Starmer memes swirl about UK fighter jet stranded for 6 days
)
Israel claims top IRGC commander Mohammad Saeed Izadi, who armed Hamas for Oct 7 attack, eliminated in Qom airstrike
)
Israel-Iran conflict | In a special gesture, Iran opens airspace to evacuate Indians
)
'Do you remember me?' Deeply eerie, creepy voice greets people calling homes in Iran
)
1,000 kg nuclear bombshell: Why attack on Iran’s Bushehr plant could trigger catastrophic fallout
)
Did Iran test Israel’s limits? Israel deploys Barak Magen air defence system for the first time
)
‘Won’t stop until we remove threat’: Israeli FM says delayed Iran’s nuclear bomb by ‘at least two or three years’
)
‘Iran doesn’t want to speak to Europe’: Trump says European powers can’t help in ending Israel-Iran conflict
)
Marathi actor‑director Tushar Ghadigaonkar commits suicide, reports cite career worries
However, a few months later, the illness caught up with her. Instead of getting better as most COVID-19 patients do, Thompson's health started deteriorating. In May 2020, she went to the doctors who couldn't diagnose her as nobody knew what long Covid was as the concept did not exist
As a result, she was sent back home and her health continued to tumble. In the fall of the same year, she had to be rushed to the hospital after suffering intense chest pains and struggling to catch her breath for over 36 hours.
Thompson somehow managed to survive that particular onslaught but the treatment depleted her finances. With her health not improving, she kept losing money without any source of income.
Once a professional chef and full of life, Thompson now mostly only consumes various medications and a meal replacement shake because long Covid has caused her to become “allergic to everything".
Notably, in Canada, there are euthanasiarules which state that anyone suffering from an incurable medical condition can apply to die, even if the disease like long-Covid is not terminal.
As a result, the programme, first introduced in 2016 remains a controversial topic in the country. It recently came under more scrutiny after the government considered adding another eligibility criterion: terminally ill minors.
The change would allow those under the age of 18 to be euthanised, a procedure the current policy blocks.
(With inputs from agencies)