A Terminal Illness At 26 & Choosing Voluntary Assisted Dying: Uncut with Annaliese Holland

Content note: This episode discusses terminal illness, death and voluntary assisted dying.

Hey Lifers. Today’s episode is one we will never forget, and we’re so grateful you’re here for it.

Our guest is 26-year-old Annaliese “Annie” Holland from Adelaide. You may know her from social media or the news, where she has become one of the most honest and powerful voices on voluntary assisted dying (VAD) and patient advocacy in Australia. Annie lives with autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy (AAG), a rare autoimmune disease that attacks the nervous system responsible for everything our bodies do without us thinking: digestion, heart rate, blood pressure, bladder. She first got sick at 13. It took five years to get a diagnosis, and by then she was already in multi-organ failure. 

Annie takes us through the moment she looked in the mirror and didn’t recognise the girl looking back, why she chose quality of life over quantity, and the heartbreaking conversations she has had with her family. She also tells us about her friend Lily, who had the same disease, and the extraordinary honour of holding Lily’s hand as she died through VAD. That was the moment Annie promised to keep saying Lily’s name. She explains how VAD actually works in Australia, why she hates the term “assisted suicide,” and why she decided to stop her nutrition. 

Annie, you will always be Annaliese to us. Thank you for spending some of your precious time with us. Check in on your people today, hug them, and tell them you love them. 💛

If this episode has brought anything up for you, please reach out to Lifeline on 13 11 14.

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS

• 0:00 — Welcome Annie to the studio
• 2:00 — A normal childhood, getting sick at 13 and the experimental treatment
• 5:23 — What AAG is and the five-year wait for a diagnosis
• 7:15 — Turning 21: the resuscitation conversation and choosing palliative care
• 18:35 — Lily: holding her friend’s hand through VAD
• 31:44 — How VAD actually works in Australia
• 44:02 — Why Annie made the decision to stop her nutrition
• 54:38 — The bucket list: a wedding dress, a helicopter ride and witnessing a birth
• 1:06:10 — How Annie will know when it’s time

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