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Married woman, 27, suffering from chronic pain condition starts fundraiser to undergo euthanasia in Switzerland after practice is banned in Brazil
A Brazilian veterinary school student suffering from a rare disease that can't be cured is proceeding with plans to die by euthanasia in Switzerland because the procedure is outlawed in the South American nation.
Carolina Arruda, 27, a native of the southeastern city of Bambuí, was diagnosed with bilateral trigeminal neuralgia 11 years ago.
Arruda was just 16 years old when she first experienced the pain while sitting on the grandmother's couch.
The condition, which affects four out of every 100,000 people in the world, generates extreme pain, which she compares to being shocked on both sides of the face with 220 volts.
The illness impacts the trigeminal nerve, which transmits signals from the face to the brain.
Carolina Arruda, a 27-year-old veterinarian school student, is raising funds to cover the cost of her travel to Switzerland, where she plans to die by euthanasia. The married mother of a 10-year-old girl was diagnosed with bilateral trigeminal neuralgia 11 years ago.
Carolina Arruda suffers from bilateral trigeminal neuralgia, a condition which affects the trigeminal nerve that transmits signals from the face to the brain. The illness generates a pain, which she compares to be shocked with 200 volts, on both sides of her face. Chewing food, brushing the teeth, drinking and simply sneezing can cause pain
The pain can be caused just by chewing food, brushing the teeth, drinking and simply sneezing.
'Imagine a pain that makes it impossible to speak, smile, eat. It's the simplest things that this pain limits and incapacitates me in a way that I can't describe,' Arruda recently told CNN Brasil.
'There are times when all I can do is lie down and curl up in a corner and wait for this pain to go away, but it never really goes away. I live with this pain 24 hours a day.'
Arruda, who last month celebrated the three-year anniversary of wedding to her husband and has a 10-year-old daughter, attempted suicide on two occasions.
She has undergone four operations, tried alternative treatments and improved her diet and exercised.
It was not too long ago she began to experiment with cannabidiol. While it there was some slight 'improvement,' it did not provide her 'complete relief.'
Carolina Arruda came to the decision of choosing to dying die by euthanasia because she believes she has exhausted all of the options that have been brought forward by doctors treating her for bilateral trigeminal neuralgia, an illness that doesn't have a cure
Carolina Arruda said that her 'decision to have euthanasia was the hardest decision and, at the same time, the clearest for me.' The practice is banned in Brazil but allowed in Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain and all six states of Australia
Carolina Arruda with her husband
'I tried several pharmacological treatments, from conventional medications to more experimental options,' she said. 'I invested time, money and an immense amount of energy in the search for anything that could alleviate my pain.'
Arruda believes she has exhausted all options that have been offered by her medical team and is seeking the assistance of a charity in Switzerland, one of nine countries in the world that allows euthanasia.
She started a fundraiser on the Brazilian crowdfunding site, Vakinha, to cover the medical and travel costs that surpass $27,000.
'The decision to have euthanasia was the hardest decision and, at the same time, the clearest for me,' she Arruda said. 'Even with the support of my family, and all the possibilities for a happy life, the constant pain turned my life into a real torment.
'Every day, I tried to find meaning, to find hope, but the pain was always there, without stopping,' she added. 'It's not a lack of love for life or for the people around me, it's simply a cry for compassion, for a dignified end, you know?'