Brave mum-of-three ends her life in Swiss clinic
A mother-of-three who battled a debilitating illness for nearly two decades has ended her life at an assisted suicide clinic in Switzerland.
Rachelle Linz, 50, known as Shelley, fought with multiple sclerosis for nearly 20 years. She died after taking a fatal dose of barbiturate at a Dignitas clinic in Zurich two weeks ago.
She leaves behind husband Jonathan and three children – Joshua, 24, Hannah, 22, and Jason, 20.
All four were by her side when she passed away. Jonathan, 51, from Bury, said the family had always hoped a miracle cure for MS could be found, but his wife had feared she would ultimately die from the condition and made the decision after her health badly deteriorated.
Before her death, Rachelle wrote a moving statement explaining her decision. She wrote: “I was always a very active, mentally-positive person with a busy work, social and family life. “But over the last 17 years, this illness has destroyed everything I loved about my life, to the point that I am now virtually a recluse, unable to face going out or even seeing friends much.
“The situation has become too physically and mentally challenging and this is why after serious consideration I requested the assistance of Dignitas. “It was a very difficult decision which has been ongoing for many years.”
Rachelle first experienced symptoms of MS in June 1997, after she woke up with pins and needles. After an MRI scan confirmed she had the condition, she tried to continue life as normal, telling few people and staying active. After falling and breaking her leg in three places, she was forced to use to a wheelchair.
Jonathan told the Jewish Telegraph: “I did not want to think about losing my wife and the kids losing their mother. Shelley was such a strong and proud person that she was not going to let it get to the stage where she could not do anything for herself; where she had no quality of life whatsoever.
“It reached a point where there had to be something else. Everybody around her ultimately felt the same – that she deserved to choose.”
Describing the procedure in Switzerland as being “respectful”, Jonathan paid tribute to his wife, adding: “Shelley was bubbly and lively and always laughing. Everyone who knew Shelley loved her.
She was a warrior.” He said the family’s last days together were “peaceful and touching,” adding: “We were all together – her children, parents and siblings. We had some real quality time together and there was a lot of reminiscing.”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
