KATE TOBIN WAS diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis two years ago and has deteriorated very quickly.
Speaking on Ireland AM on TV3 Tobin said, “I now have spasms and fall three or four times a day. I’ve got a burn on my leg where I fell with the kettle of boiling water and there was nothing I could do about it.
“I live on my own and nobody can know the pain I’m going through.”
Kate takes 42 tablets a day and an injection every other day. “I take 16 at breakfast with yogurt.
“I want to get to the point where I can say, I’m stopping my treatment and I want the right to die in this country. I do not want my family to have to suffer if they help me to die.
It’s something I have put a lot of thought into…I didn’t just decide I wanted to die. I know the progression my illness is going to take – I will end up taking up a hospital bed and taking treatment that will keep me comfortable.
Tom Curran, the partner of Marie Fleming who died last year after her battle with MS, was also with Kate this morning. He became visibly upset as Kate spoke about her illness, he said:
I’m not sure that I’m able to say anything at the moment…it’s just bringing back so many memories.
Speaking about Tom, Kate said, “He’s been a terrific support. He is somebody I will lean on. He has walked the path I’m about to embark on.
Tobin was a nun and was asked about her religious beliefs .
I believe God put me on this earth for a reason, I have cared for people and did all sorts of jobs. I don’t think when I arrive in heaven Saint Peter is going to say ‘sorry Kate you’ve arrived early’.
“I want legally to die in this country, I’m too ill to travel. I know I’m not going to get it… I know I’m going to die. This disease is going to kill me.”
Kate made the point that if she was an animal and had to go to the vet,”I’d be put to sleep.”
Message to the Taoiseach
When asked what she would like to say to Taoiseach Enda Kenny, Tobin said:
I would ask him to live 24 hours in my live, to fall and struggle to get up, to be in tremendous pain, to live on a low income and pay the bills and live a life…to be incontinent, not to have anybody calling on the door – see how he would feel after 24 hours,
Curran added that, “We are preparing for a bill to be presented to the Dail on assisted dying.
“That will give him the opportunity to show his compassion.”
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