WITH legislation on voluntary assisted dying expected to come before the WA parliament in August, a young Perth woman is raising awareness of the issue by walking across Australia in honour of her late mother.
Belinda Teh, 27, set off from the steps of Parliament House in Victoria, the only state where VAD has been legalised, on May 28. She is due to arrive in Perth on August 6.
Her epic walk is a tribute to her mother Mareia, who suffered a harrowing death with cancer two years ago, unable to explore the end-of-life option she wanted.
Mareia died aged 63, just two months after she was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer that had metastasised into her spine, causing excruciating pain.
"The chemo treatment was killing her and she was literally wasting away," Belinda said.
Twice Mareia asked medical practitioners, "Can you help me to go quicker, can you speed up this process?"
Belinda said her mother was a devout Catholic, so it was a shock to hear her ask this.
"Her facial expression and demeanour were very calm. I know if she believed she was saying something that would slap God in the face, she would have been upset and distraught.
"The fact that she was calm and confident made me think she'd had a conversation with the man upstairs and they had figured it out between them.
"She never spoke about it to me, but I realised she didn't need to. It was her choice and up to her alone.
"The conversation with her doctors was over in seconds because assisted dying was not an option."
Belinda is haunted by her mother's last hours in a hospice, growing weaker with each round of morphine.
"Her breathing was laboured, she had to fight to breathe. Her eyes were open and pointing in different directions. She was twitching so much the bed was rocking, her tongue was sticking out, she stank, there was no dignity for her.
My mum experienced a horrific death that the best palliative care could not save her from.
"This is the truth, the reality. It is sad that I have to share this in order to create change."
Belinda said she has received more than 1000 messages of support and along the way people have pulled over and walked alongside her.
But she is worried about what will happen once she reaches WA.
"I know this is a hotly debated issue. I have worried what if I do this and fail? What if the Bill doesn't pass? It is a real fear.
"But at the end of the day I will have tried my best.
"The reason I get out of bed every day is I don't want this to happen to someone else's Mum.
"Whether or not the law gets passed, I have stood up for what I have believed in and stood up for Mum. I will have done everything I could."
You can follow Belinda's journey at belindasbravewalk.org.au
