Final Farewell

John Shields, 78, recently decided to end his life via medically assisted suicide. Shields, a former Catholic priest, did not allow the stance of the church to influence his final decision. Shields was diagnosed with amyloidosis after he blacked out while driving. Amyloidosis is a disease causing an abnormal buildup of proteins in the tissues and organs which may eventually lead to paralysis and organ failure. Doctors believe this buildup caused Shields’s heart to stop and was the impetus for his blackout. Fearing paralysis and the loss of dignity as an almost certain part of the disease’s progression, Shields opted for Canada’s medical assistance dying program. He allowed the New York Times to video his final days as he said goodbyes to family and friends before lethal injection. 

See Cheyenne Roundtree, Former Catholic Priest, 78, Takes His Own Life with Assisted Suicide After Being Diagnosed with Incurable Paralysis Disease – and Films His Dying Moments, Daily Mail.com, May 27, 2017.