(Quebec) Since her poignant testimony in parliamentary committee nearly a year ago, Sandra Demontigny says she felt her illness progress. She has memory lapses, she repeats herself.
Posted at 1:21 p.m.
At 42, the one who suffers from an early and hereditary form of Alzheimer’s is demanding a change in the law to be able to make an advance request to receive medical assistance in dying (MAD).
She believes that Quebec now has all the tools in hand to introduce a bill, and finds it difficult to understand why it has not already been done. The Legault government assures that it will do so “in due time”.
“Of course it’s tough, but from the moment you do stage 1, stage 2 and stage 3, […] I don’t think it’s time to step on the brakes and stay there,” she laments in an interview.
A few weeks before the end of the legislature, the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, is still analyzing the unanimous report that was submitted to him on December 8, according to what The Canadian Press has learned.
Minister Dubé is also currently piloting three bills, as well as a health system overhaul plan for which he was granted $5.2 billion in the last budget.
“Does it absolutely have to be the Minister of Health? asks Sandra Demontigny, who urges the government to continue to show “political courage” and to find solutions.
Because time is running out, not only for her, but for all those who receive an Alzheimer’s diagnosis and who do not want to go to advanced forfeiture.
My father who walked on all fours on the ground, who licked the floor, who could dance the jig for five hours in line while jigging, […] it does not appeal to me.
Sandra Demontingny
The Lévisienne, mother of three children, and grandmother since last October 24, ideally wishes to be able to sign an advance request for MA, which would be enforceable.
For the time being, in Quebec, you must be able to consent when obtaining MA, with some exceptions. Those who have lost their capacity to consent due to a neurocognitive disorder are not eligible for MAID.
“What I would like would be […] to be in the summer, at home, in my yard, by the river, with my loved ones, my two kitties, music that I love, […] a small glass of rosé.
“Then after that, when I feel ready, I leave with the people I love and who have marked my life, […] rather than leaving […] lying on my left side in my bed without speaking and grunting.
“I find that the shock is less steep for everyone,” says Mme Demontigny.
Until then, she intends to take advantage of her time with her grandson Ezra, “a beautiful gift of life” which “just comes at the right time”.
“I’m really happy to be able to spend time with [ma fille] and with him. It is really very valuable. »