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A MESSAGE TO ALL CANADIANS

Hello fellow Canadian,

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Let me start with this: I don’t want this message to come from a place of righteousness. This is a heartfelt message to you because we all have a choice. If, after reading the overview of the laws page, your choice is not to sign — I completely respect that. If, after reading, you decide you do want to sign because it’s something you believe in, then you’re exactly who I’m trying to reach. My hope is that you’ll also want to share this information so others can make their own informed decision.

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I’m not a politician, professional campaigner, website builder, or “tech guy.” I’m just another Canadian who’s been through horrific trauma because of our current end-of-life laws and lack of preparedness. Hopefully, you and I don’t have that in common… yet.

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I watched my mom watch her son — my brother Leonard — go through something no family should ever have to witness. His young adult children had to watch too. Not only did they have to process and accept his decline and death, but they also endured eight horrific days at the very end.

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Those eight days came after more than three years in a care home, where he no longer knew anyone and eventually became bedridden. When the end came, food and water were stopped, and morphine was given to try to ease his pain. For older, frailer patients, that can sometimes mean a quicker passing — but for Leonard, it meant eight long days of visible suffering. He died from dehydration and trauma.

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Wherever he went after this life, he went there carrying that trauma with him. And his family, including his kids, are now carrying the trauma of having to watch it happen.

The truth is, this problem will come knocking for you, your parents, your grandparents, or your children. Cognitive decline — including dementia and Alzheimer’s — is on the rise, which means this is only going to get worse. That’s a whole other subject, and yes, we do need to figure out why this is happening, but that’s not what this campaign is about. If it doesn’t happen to you, it will happen to them. And they’ll be the ones forced to live through your decline past a point you never would have wanted — seeing things they shouldn’t see and can never unsee.

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I know change will come someday — but if it doesn’t come from this campaign, it will be a travesty. Families between now and when the laws finally change will still suffer like mine has. Our goal is to get this right now, to prevent that needless suffering as soon as possible.

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This is our moment. Our one shot to make it clear to our government that Canadians want change — and that they need to act. This isn’t about forcing anything on anyone. It’s about protecting the right to choose the kind of end we want for ourselves.

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Please direct the people you know to this website updatemaidlaws.ca to sign as well — because this is going to touch them too. The more of us who speak up, the faster we can end stories like Leonard’s.

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In closing:

From one Canadian to another — nobody’s coming to fix this. Nobody’s coming to save us. The only way this will change is if we change it. So let’s do it together.

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