WEBVTT
Kind: captions
Language: en

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The accident I had was a car crash.

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It happened July of 1990.

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And it's cost me. I'm a C4 tetraplegic,
which basically is very little movement in my

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limbs and means I have to be sat in a
wheelchair for the rest of my life.

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I suffer pain all the time. The pain has
gradually got worse over the years

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but all the pain tablets I take, they've all got
different side effects. Unfortunately.

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Whether it's pain tablets, whatever
tablets, they all seem to just work on

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one thing, making you sleepy,
which at times isn't good, because you

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can't think straight, so.

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I certainly don't want to end
my life now. I value life. I like to

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love life, so no, definitely not. But to have
it there when the time is right to me.

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That's what I'm chasing, not just for
myself, I believe for thousands of other

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people that, over the years,
I've been talking to.

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To have assisted death in the UK is
so important to me and, I believe,

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thousands of people, because it will give
you the right to be able to choose the

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death in the comfort of your own home
with the people around you that you want

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around you. The people that you love, and
that they love you. So when I make the

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decision to end my life when I want,
where I want, it will be probably the

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biggest peace of mind that I could
possibly wish for. I've been in hospitals;

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I've seen people suffering. You, absolutely,
you wouldn't even watch a dog suffering like it.

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I think it's just disgusting that I don't have
the right to make this decision when I

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want to. I mean, do they think I'm not
capable? I've got a sound mind. So, you

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know, it's something that I don't
take lightly, because I love life, so why

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on Earth should I want to die? It's not
something I want to do. But if it becomes

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necessary in my mind, then to have the
permission and be able to do it in the

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right way, it means everything to me,
everything. It would take away from myself

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and I know it would be with a lot of
other people, the worry. The worry

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about what happens if I get too worse and I'm
not able to do things and then I'm in

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the hands of professionals, telling me
what I can and I can't do. I think, you

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know, that's a nightmare in itself.
Yeah, it's very scary.

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Quality of life is what it's about and
while you've got a quality of life, I think

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life's worth fighting for. But when
the scales tip away the

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quality of life, that's gone 
right out the window.

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There isn't any left, and all you're
faced with it constant 24 hours a day

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pain. Nobody else knows what pain I'm
going through, only I know what I'm going

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through. Only the people suffering 
know what they're going through.

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It just angers me. It angers me that
the minority of people don't want to

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change the law - the majority does - so
where do we have to go to get this change?

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How many more percent do we
need before something will be done?

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Well, if I can just help with
a teeny-weeny little bit of

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upping this percentage, that's what I want
to do. I feel it's the right thing to do.

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And I'm actually proud I'm doing it. So for
while ever I've got strength, I'll be fighting this.