My husband John died on 30th May 2006 at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, aged 56. He had been admitted on 10th May and I was with him for as much of each day as possible. My twin Shelagh and partner Kev both visited and spent hours with him, enabling me to take occasional breaks and not leave John alone. We were all with him for the last 14 hours of his life and held him as he died.
John had decided he'd had enough since becoming bed ridden and totally dependent. He never wavered from his decision to refuse artificial feeding and refused subcutaneous hydration when all attempts to regain IV access failed. He'd been refusing to eat for a long period and began refusing to drink just prior to his hospital admission. Bizarre as it sounds, he enjoyed much of the time in hospital. He watched the activity on the ward with interest, communicated as normal through kisses and head shakes, and enjoyed the television which pulled down and pivoted to enable good viewing whatever his position.
Like his father before him, John donated his brain for research as he'd requested when writing his will in 1992.
Below are the last pictures of John taken in April 2006. |
