Dementia’s a long, lonely walk, one I never want to go on. Take me to Switzerland, press the red button, that’s what I want..
TV host would opt for suicide clinic if he develops disease
Eamonn Holmes has revealed that he would rather die than live life with dementia. The TV presenter, 58, says he has told his family to take him to a suicide clinic.
He says of the disease: “It’s what everyone dreads. It’s a long, lonely walk – one I would never want to go on.
“I genuinely say to all my children and my wife, ‘Take me to Switzerland and press the red button. That is what I want.’
“I have no desire to lose my dignity. I just don’t want that to happen to me. However controversial that may sound, that is my genuine wish.”
Eamonn has four children, including son Jack, 16, who he shares with his wife Ruth Langsford, 58. But he admits that Ruth, his co-host on ITV’s This Morning, is not quite so matterof-fact about things.
“Ruth puts her fingers in her ears when I talk about it,” he says.
Asked if his family would carry out his wishes, he responded: “Would they ever do anything? I don’t know. But they know it’s what I would want.” After learning he had lost 30% of his hearing at the age of 50, Eamonn also discovered that his chances of developing dementia could be higher due to his hearing issues.
This, along with the fact that he watched many relatives deteriorate slowly, led him to think about his own mortality.
Ruth’s dad, Dennis, passed away after battling dementia and Eamonn believes his aunts and uncles also suffered from it.
“I’m pretty sure two of my uncles, my grandfather on my dad’s side, and my aunt, Phyllis – who died last year – all had it.
“You watch them deteriorate. I watched my aunt for 10 years.
Eamonn believes the law in the UK should be changed to allow for assisted suicide, which is currently illegal.
He says: “I don’t understand this country. The constant excuse not to let people die as they want.
“The questions asked are to protect the few: ‘What about the weak?’ ‘What about the vulner- able?’ What about the rest of us? Everyone has the right to live as they like, but when it comes to death we put restrictions on that.
“If you have at least two doctors who agree with the diagnosis, it should be your choice.”
Eamonn said of his mum, Josephine: “My mother is 92 now and some days I say to her, ‘You need a nurse, you need a bit of help.’
“But her mind is sharp and she replies, ‘I won’t lose my dignity.’ She does everything alone, and I understand that.”
Speaking of his own health, he said: “I’ve had both hips done, but at least I still have my mind.”
But he has suffered hearing issues for some time. He says: “It’s been a problem since I was in my 30s, really. Crowded restaurants were awful because all I could hear was a load of babble.
“Parties were just as bad. Watching movies – terrible.
He continues: “There are only so many times you can wind back a film and try to lip-read, or meet someone and say, ‘Pardon, what did you just say?’.”
Eamonn says of his test results: “I’d lost 30% of my hearing, although it’s not unusual for a man in his 50s. You don’t think those sort of things happen to you unless you’re in your 80s.”
Now, he wears a hearing aid when he needs it. “I felt terribly defiant at first, so I didn’t put hearing aids in.
“But now I wear them in any situations I know I will have a problem hearing.” Read Eamonn’s full interview in Best magazine, on sale now.