A British woman who has flown to Switzerland to end her life at a controversial assisted dying clinic has recounted the tragic moment she performed CPR on her son after he choked on a tomato in his sandwich. Wendy Duffy, 56, has been approved for assisted dying at the Pegasos clinic, unable to bear the heartbreak of losing Marcus, her only child, four years ago. She stated that she does not wish to remain in this world without her son and had previously attempted suicide unsuccessfully.
“I don't care about anything any more. I exist. I don't live. When Marcus died, I died too, inside. On my deathbed I'll wear his T-shirt, which still smells of him,” she shared with the Daily Mail. The former care worker from the West Midlands, who has medical training, described her desperate efforts to save her son and her screams for help. She noted that his birth was the happiest moment of her life, but his death left her devastated and unable to continue living.
Marcus, who loved music, had fallen asleep on the sofa eating a sandwich while nursing a hangover. “I'd been making myself one. Cheese and onion, and he said he'd have one. ‘Throw a couple of those cherry tomatoes on mine,’ he said.” Wendy cut the tomatoes in half and left him to his sandwich while she prepared for work. However, upon returning to the room, she found him purple. Initially thinking it was a heart issue, she used her medical training to assist him. She screamed for help and performed CPR until paramedics arrived. At the hospital, it was discovered that half a cherry tomato had lodged in Marcus's windpipe, requiring specialist equipment for removal. Tragically, his brain had been deprived of oxygen, leading to his death.
“They think he must have fallen asleep when he still had food in his mouth. That's the only comfort, that there was no struggle,” she said. Wendy remained by his side for five days before life support was turned off. By then, his organs had been donated. “Afterwards, I got a letter from the man who got his heart. He said that thanks to Marcus he was able to play with his kids again.” Another recipient was a four-year-old child. “That was a comfort, but it also ripped at me.”
Nine months after his death, she took an overdose and is now preparing to travel to Switzerland. She acknowledges that Marcus would likely tell her to “Get a dog, Mum, buck up your ideas,” but ultimately believes he would understand. Wendy purchased a one-way plane ticket today, with no intention of returning from Pegasos, a suicide clinic that has agreed to help her end her life. Her plan has been a year in the making, costing £10,000. She has written letters to loved ones, chosen a deathbed outfit, and selected the music that will be the last thing she hears—Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ “Die with a Smile.”
Wendy will be cremated in Switzerland, and her ashes will be returned to her family to be scattered by her son’s bench. In the UK, the assisted dying bill would not permit such cases, as it only applies to terminally ill individuals with six months to live and sound mental capacity. The more famous Dignitas clinic in Switzerland would also have rejected Wendy. However, Pegasos reportedly accepted the grieving mother after a panel of experts, including psychiatrists, approved her application following months of assessment and access to her full medical records.
