EMMA BRAY, WHO HAS MOTOR NEURONE DISEASE, PLANS TO MOVE INTO A HOSPICE THIS SUMMER AND VOLUNTARILY STOP EATING AND DRINKING 21:00, 01 Jun 2025 A courageous mother has chosen to end her life

following the conclusion of her daughter's exams, a decision she believes will spare her children from witnessing a "brutal" death. Emma Bray, aged 42, has motor neurone

disease (MND), and is preparing to relocate to hospice care in the summer and take the drastic step of stopping all food and liquids. The former charity worker's decision to take

control of her death is motivated by a desire to protect her "amazing" two teenagers, 15 and 14, from a "brutal" end that awaits her. Diagnosed two years ago, Emma

attacking both brain and spinal cord, which leads to progressive muscular deterioration. Emma has marked to decision to end her life with a "bucket list holiday" to the Maldives as

well as hosting an 'End of Life Party'. She says that it is now time to perform her "last bit of parenting" with a hope of sparing her children from experiencing her

traumatic death. Instead, she wants a "calm and peaceful death" having already arranged her funeral service and penned her own tribute. Emma communicated with the Mirror using her

eye-tracking device, detailing the challenges she faces. She explained: "I now feel I am at the stage where my quality of life is very affected, I can no longer use any of my limbs. My

talking is severely affected and I struggle to eat and it's getting harder to breathe. I am only really comfortable in bed and social visits are exhausting." Article continues

below Adding to the heartbreaking reality of her condition, she said: "I have carers multiple times a day, can't be left alone overnight and can no longer do any basic tasks. I

can't scratch an itch, push up my glasses, move a bed sheet if I am too hot or cold. I feel like I am losing the essence of me, I am still so loved but I can't be myself and I see

that grief on everyone's faces." Reflecting on the toll it has taken on her role as a mother, Emma expressed: "This whole journey has been brutal but I have still been able to

be a parent and I now realise I can't be a bit of the parent I need and want to be. Watching your children grieve you and not be able to hug them is the most painful feeling ever. This

disease takes from everyone and it will take the children's mother from them bit by bit. "My last bit of parenting I can do is to limit the suffering and trauma they have to

witness. I made a promise to myself that I wanted to wait to see my daughter finish high school and my son grow up a little so I can picture the man he will become." She concluded:

"So this summer I will voluntarily stop eating and drinking when I feel ready and I will be supported by a hospice to be comfortable during this time." Emma has made the

heart-wrenching decision to end her life by voluntarily ceasing to eat and drink, a practice known as VSED (Voluntary Stopping of Eating and Drinking). This method, which involves a mentally

capable adult choosing to hasten their death by completely stopping their intake of food and fluids, typically takes between 10 to 14 days, according to Compassion in Dying. Emma shared her

thoughts with the Mirror, stating: "VSED is not an easy death but with the current law in England this is the only way I can have control over my death." She expressed her desire

to shield her children from witnessing her struggle to breathe and choke, saying: "I want to protect my children from seeing me choke and struggle to breathe. I don't want to die

but I am going to and have come to terms with my impending death and I know I want to die surrounded by loved ones, music and laughter not in an emergency way after further decline."

Emma, of Barnstaple in North Devon, is advocating for the Assisted Dying Bill, which has sparked intense controversy. Her support for the bill stems from her wish to spare other families the

agonising choice she faced between two "painful and potentially horrific" ways to die. Emma emphasised: "This bill will have offered me protection for those I love who have

already spent two years living with anticipatory grief and watching me suffer. "Imagine seeing your children crying and upset and not be able to hug them or curl up in bed and wipe

their tears away. This is hands down the thing I hate the most about motor neurone disease. It's taken my children's mum from them little by little. "They struggle to remember

the mum I once was and we all silently agree, as sad as it will be, life will be easier for them when I'm dead." Emma recounted how her ordeal began with hand cramps five years

ago, leading to a protracted search for answers. It wasn't until July 2023, when she found herself walking with aids, struggling up stairs on all fours, and unable to drive, that she

was handed the "devastating diagnosis" of MND. Upon receiving her diagnosis, Emma shared: "I had been told my symptoms were all to do with stress for years and that I would

get better. I went to a private neuro rehab in Leeds who instantly told me that it was something more serious. "I then did some research and became fixated on MND as it matched all my

symptoms. Going into the consultant appointment MND was the worst case scenario and to hear him say that's what it was was crushing. I remember howling like an animal when I realised

the impact it would have on the children. "My best friend was in the appointment with me and as we left I said that I wish it was cancer because there would have been potential surgery

or treatments, with MND there is nothing." Opening up about her final wishes, Emma revealed: "My end of life wish is to be at the hospice surrounded by my friends and family. I

want to have music playing, to hear people laugh and watch them playing card games over me. "My children are amazing and have spent so much of their childhood witnessing me decline.

"They watched me crawl around the floor for a year before diagnosis, they help me with everything as I have no working limbs, they live in an environment where there is a constant flow

of carers coming into our home. "They are obviously struggling. They struggle watching me fade, they are already grieving for the mum I once was. How they are still attending school and

laughing astounds me and is a credit to what amazing people they are." She continued: "They have a village of people around them but I know they desperately miss me. They are

living in limbo land, they know they will have to move house to live with their dad but they don't know when and that uncertainty is hard for them. "I can see their pain and grief

on a daily basis and I would do anything to take that away from them. They are desperate for a hug from me and that hasn't happened in years." Emma disclosed that her health is

deteriorating with each passing day. She concluded: "Its becoming harder to take full breaths, my appetite is small and I struggle to not choke. I hide these symptoms as much as

possible so people are sheltered from my reality. "I plan to stop eating and drinking this summer, my reasoning behind this is to offer the children the best chance to grieve and

process without having to concentrate on education. There is never a good time to lose your mum but all my maternal instincts want to make that horrible reality as easy for them as I

can." Article continues below Emma is now vocally advocating for stronger support of the Assisted Dying Bill, expressing: "I urge MPs to realise that this bill will not end my

life, motor neurone disease is doing that but they can help me and others with less than six months to live to die with peace." She also extends her heartfelt gratitude to the MNDA for

their contribution towards a nurse who she feels has become "her rock".