As previously reported, Lily - who has Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS) - signed off on the paperwork to go ahead with voluntarily ending her life.
She will be using South Australia's recently passed voluntary assisted dying laws, which involve the government paying $18 million over the next five years to support safe access to the new euthanasia service.
The 23-year-old has an auto-immune autonomic ganglionopathy (AAG), which is an extremely rare condition in which the body's immune system attacks the nervous system, leaving her with a deteriorating quality of life since she was 17.
Explaining her decision to end her life, Lily told The Advertiser: "I’ll no longer have any pain, I will no longer suffer with any of these issues, and I’ll finally be free of all the suffering that I have endured for so many years."
She also shared with the publication that the decision was made because: "I realized that I can’t have any more anesthesia, so I [couldn’t] have any more feeding tube changes [or] surgeries."
Living with the condition means that she is in constant pain, with the illness affecting her joints, skin, and walls of the blood vessels. Also, because of the debilitating disorder, she relies on her father to do everything for her, "even the most intimate things".
Lily previously believed her poor health was the result of a spinal fluid leak, but even after she underwent treatment to sort out the issue, her condition stayed the same and doctors were unsure as to how to improve the state of her health.
At the age of 21, she traveled to Sydney to meet a surgeon who "specialized in spinal issues [for] patients with EDS." By that time, she weighed just 88lbs, was wearing a halo brace, and had to have a nasal feeding tube because she "couldn't keep anything down".
Today (June 21), medics will administer IV medication that will end the young woman's life within seconds. Needless to say, her family is heartbroken but ultimately does not want to see her suffering her entire life.
But, Lily had one final request before she passes away, and it was granted. An outing to the beach with her friend Danika Pederzolli, and eating McDonald's while gazing out at the ocean and listening to the waves, per News.com.au.
The young woman has been planning her own funeral as she awaits the day of her assisted dying. She has also been busy saying goodbye to all her loved ones.
She and her friend Annaliese Holland - another woman suffering a terminal illness at the hospice - hope that by speaking up about their illness, they will raise awareness about AAG so that it can be diagnosed earlier and more medical research can be done about the little understood condition.
Lily is also hoping that people will donate to the Hospital Research Foundation in her memory so a hospice for younger people can be established in South Australia similar to facilities in Perth and Sydney.
"Video game consoles in every room, beautiful views to make it feel more like a bedroom and nature … those things make it less clinical," she said, according to Daily Mail.
We wish Lily as well as her friends and family all the best at this time.
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