Single mother, 48, with early-onset Alzheimer's explains why she's choosing to end her life after explaining symptoms
A woman who has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's has spoken out about why she is choosing to end her life.
It was just two years ago that mother-of-two, Rebecca Luna was living her fast-paced life with a satisfying, yet stressful job.
However, after experiencing some ‘blips’, she knew that things were about to change.
The 48-year-old was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s - also known as young-onset - after she walked into her neurologist’s office last November, having already been tested against the criteria twice before.
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She'd been having some mental ‘blips’ which saw her memory short-circuit, mid-conversation blackouts and more for two years, putting it down to stress.
But after seeking advice, she realized that it was something a lot more than simple burnout.
Rebecca told the Daily Mail: “I'll just be fully engulfed in a conversation, super confident in what I'm saying, and oftentimes it's like retelling a story, and then mid-sentence, out of nowhere, it's just gone, like the information is gone.
“It feels black for some reason, and blank. Now I'd say it's 80 percent of the time I can't recall what I'm saying.”
The single mother works in child protective services and initially believed that she could have been experiencing signs of ADHD, or early menopause.
But after failing cognitive tests, MRIs showed the truth of the matter.
Parts of her brain had shrunk, and proteins were detected in her spinal tap.
Sadly, this disease typically has an eight-year lifespan from the moment of diagnosis, leaving the mother with potentially less than a decade left to live, while her cognitive abilities decline.
Because of this, Rebecca has made the choice to end her life before she reaches the stage of being debilitated.
She has opted into Canada's medical assistance in dying (MAID) early, as MAID was previously only limited to those who had six months to live.
This allows people to petition for legal euthanasia.
However, she can now opt into the service to use at a later date.
Since then, Rebecca has documented her adjustment to her diagnosis on social media, with many offering her support on her TikTok page.
Speaking of her choice to end her life, the mom shared that her older daughter, 28, has already discussed the future, but Rebecca hasn’t spoken to her younger daughter about the same plans.
“It's harder to talk to her about that, but my older daughter is a planner, so she's much like me, where it's not emotional, it's planning,” she said.
Rebecca has also been grieving with having her time cut so short with her children, stating: “They may not want to admit that right now, but I have been their beacon, and I have been their rock... and only thing that I am proud of myself for my entire life is how I've been able to show up for my children. And for them to lose that security terrifies me.
“I've worked in palliative care, and I worked in hospice, and death and dying does not scare me.
“It's actually the most beautiful thing I've ever witnessed. So I don't have fear around that at all.”
As for being open about planning to die, Rebecca shared that it’s ‘definitely a big part of my sharing my journey, is talking about that as well, because I know it's fairly controversial, but that's the route that my family and I have chosen’.
According to MAID, she could opt to have a nurse practitioner administer an injection to end her life, or prescribe drugs so that she can self-administer.
To be eligible, a person has to meet all of the criteria, which includes being eligible for health services funded by a province or territory, or the federal government, be at least 18 years old and mentally competent, have a grievous and irremediable medical condition, make a voluntary request for medical assistance in dying and give informed consent to receive medical assistance in dying.
Rebecca also opened up about the ways her life will change on her GoFundMe page, where she spoke about what the future will likely entail for her and how she needs support.
While she knows how her life will likely end, for now, she is taking time off work and updating her followers on her journey.
“Asking for help for help is not easy but I’ve learned that allowing others to support me is part of the journey too. Whether you can donate, share or just send encouragement - thank you from the bottom of my heart,” Rebecca wrote.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in a mental health crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.
If you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Britt Jones