Now in hospice and unable to end his life, Hollister admitted, "This is far from how I wanted to spend my final days"
An Ohio man is opening up about not having the option to end his life while suffering from a terminal disease.
"I am dying," David Hollister, 64, wrote in a personal essay for the Columbus Dispatch. "My wife will watch my labored breathing, anguish. We deserve better."
Hollister -- a commercial real estate broker from Chagrin Falls, Ohio -- was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in early 2022.
ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a rare degenerative disease that causes progressive paralysis of the muscles. Patients first experience twitching or weakness in a limb, often followed by slurred speech. According to the Mayo Clinic, because the disease affects the nerve cells in the brain and spine that control muscle movement, patients slowly lose their ability to speak, eat, walk, and breathe independently.
There's no cure for ALS, and people usually live three to five years after diagnosis, according to the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
Despite his diagnosis, Hollister said he tried to make the most of his life before his symptoms became too severe.
"I lived the best life I could with a fatal disease," he said. "Along with extensive travel with my wife while I was still able, I realized some long-held ambitions, like taking voice lessons and self-publishing an album of 11 songs plus 26 more online."
"Two years ago, I co-chaired the 2023 Cleveland Walk to Defeat ALS fundraiser and got to throw the first pitch at a Guardians game on Lou Gehrig Night," he continued. "More recently, I've worked with an entrepreneur named Tom Meadows to help him raise awareness about little-known iPhone and iPad features that help people with disabilities communicate and function."
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However, Hollister's disease has advanced and he's now in hospice, which led him to making an important decision about his life.
"I wished to die peacefully on my terms," he shared. "It was a decision arrived at with the support of my wife. She didn't want to see me suffer extended consequences of this cruel and always-fatal disease any more than I want to experience them."
Hollister said he wanted to end his life through medical aid in dying (MAID). With MAID, terminally ill adults who are of sound mind and have been approved by at least two doctors can receive a prescription for a lethal medication. It is different from euthanasia because the patients themselves administer prescribed drugs to end their lives, rather than a doctor.
MAID laws have been authorized in California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Montana, Washington D.C., Hawaii, Maine, Vermont, New Jersey and New Mexico.
Because MAID is illegal in Ohio, where Hollister lives, his hope was that when he reached the point of having less than six months to live, he would travel to Vermont to end his life.
"Unfortunately for me, Vermont's law requires in-person administrative actions and my disease is now such that I can't tolerate a short car ride, let alone more than one trip to Vermont," he told the outlet.
Hollister expressed his frustration with the fact that his loved ones will now have to witness him deteriorating from ALS.
"My wife shouldn't have to watch me suffer," he said. "I know that, as I have chosen to opt out of medical interventions, hospice care will guide my wife and other caregivers on how to ease my pain, labored breathing and physical and mental anguish as much as possible."
"But here's the thing: I don't want to suffer needlessly, and I don't want my wife and friends to witness any more of that suffering than they already have," he added. "When my death approaches and when I decide my days are done, I would like the freedom and autonomy to die peacefully, in my home, at a time of my choosing and surrounded by those I love... I don't have that freedom."
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Now, Hollister is sharing his story in hopes of encouraging lawmakers in Ohio to legalize medical aid in dying in the state.
"This is far from how I wanted to spend my final days," he admitted.
"It is too late for me," Hollister said. "End-of-life autonomy is not an option for me in Ohio. But I can use my remaining time and capacity to speak up for other Ohioans who will find themselves in situations like mine."