UK ME patient mom on trial in January for aiding assisted suicide

[Robin]

I don't think this has been mentioned here before, not sure though, so apologies if it has been brought up. I'm sure some of the UK people here are familiar with the case but I hadn't heard of it.

Lynn Gilderdale came down with severe ME/CFS as a teenager. She had the bedbound, bedsore, paralysis, feeding tube, not-being-able-to-speak type of severity, that was unremitting until her early 30s. Her mother says she had been hospitalized many times for serious complications.

Her Mom, Kathleen, quit her job to take care of Lynn. Lynn had attempted to kill herself twice, and finally Kathleen helped her by dispensing fatal doses of morphine. Kathleen was arrested and charged with Lynn's murder. She plead guilty to a lesser charge but is being tried for attempted murder, despite the advice of the presiding judge.

No matter what my personal feeling about assisted suicide, I only have compassion for Kathleen. What a horrible tragedy.

 

[V99]

I agree with you Robin.

The family of Lynn Gilderdale do not deserve this, they really have been through enough.

How dare the CPS pursue this case. It is not in the public interest what so ever. Especially since she has pleaded guilty to assisted suicide.

I don't doubt for one second that Lynn and her mother loved each other a great deal.

 

[flybro]

Cheers Robin

Hi Robin

I didn't know about this and I'm in the UK.

The treatment ppl continue to recieve is so so unreal.
I think Kay has great heart and courage in doing what she did for Lynn.

My heart goes out to both mother and daughter.

 

[Dx Revision Watch]

Hi Robin

I didn't know about this and I'm in the UK.

The treatment ppl continue to recieve is so so unreal.
I think Kay has great heart and courage in doing what she did for Lynn.

My heart goes out to both mother and daughter.

Fly Bro,

If you go to my site and click on the Category tab:

http://meagenda.wordpress.com/category/gilderdale-case/

most of the national media coverage has been archived since news of Lynn's death, last December (in reverse date order).

In case you are not aware, Lynn was the "face" of the 25% ME Group. It is Lynn's picture on the Home Page.

In 2006, the Daily Mail had published a sensitively written report on Lynn's experience of the illness.

You can read that article here:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-393915/Trapped-bed-14-years-chronic-fatigue.html

There had also been an article by the BBC in 2001:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1234297.stm


I do not know the family, personally, but have contacts who do - but there is nothing I can add to that which has already been published around the case.

Since the case comes to court, in January, I shall be archiving media coverage on my site, in the New Year.

It is a very tragic situation.

 

[fresh_eyes]

I continue to be shocked by what you all are going through in the UK. I thought it was bad in the US, but my god...

 

[Min]

This is heartbreaking. Not only has she lost the beautiful daughter she loved and cared for so well, and who I understand had made previous attempts at suicide, she has had to mourn her the horror of this trial hanging over her.

Surely it should be certain member of the UK psychiatric profession on trial for denying this young woman effective treatment based on biomedical research all the years she lay in agony, by their grabbing all the funding for themselves whilst insisting that a serious, debilitating physical illness is merely a somatoform disorder. I hope this dreadful situation will be discussed at the trial, but have no faith that it will.



If you're reading this Kay, we are all on your side wishing you well.

 

[condra]

What can people do to show support for Kay?

 

[MEKoan]

This is heartbreaking. Not only has she lost the beautiful daughter she loved and cared for so well, and who I understand had made previous attempts at suicide, she has had to mourn her the horror of this trial hanging over her.

I cannot comprehend how this must feel. "Horror" is not to strong a word to describe the situation of this loving and devoted mother.

What can people do to show support for Kay?

Yes, condra, thank you for realizing that we may be able to offer support. What can we do?

 

[Quilp]

Wessely et al

Wanted people like this young lady to exercise, saying that it was impeding their recovery.
There are some that suggest Ashok Gupta's DVD could have helped her. Very sad, very tragic.

Kind regards, Mark

 

[alice1]

How very tragic.
Maybe we could right letters to the Court House or Judge sharing the suffering we've endured and with a little insight understanding the decision that they both came to.

 

[V99]

As my mum has said, it's a witch hunt.

 

[Robin]

How very tragic.
Maybe we could right letters to the Court House or Judge sharing the suffering we've endured and with a little insight understanding the decision that they both came to.

From what I understand, the judge is sympathetic.

Judge Richard Brown invited the CPS to drop the other two charges in light of Gilderdale’s guilty plea.
He said: “It strikes me that it may not be in the interests of justice to pursue the other counts when the defendant has pleaded guilty to a substantive count like that.
“It is a serious charge that appears to address exactly what happened.

However, it's the prosecution that's out for bear. I wonder if it's the nature of how ME is treated in the UK -- they're not recognizing Lynn as someone who suffered from a serious illness?

This site mentions that there is a support fund for Kay at the 25% ME group she and Lynn campaigned for, but I'll email them directly to make sure (in case anyone wants to contribute.) I'll also ask if they'll pass on letters and emails of support.

 

[flybro]

Cheers MEagenda

Your site is the most amazing archive of information about ME. http://meagenda.wordpress.com/

I was really shocked about the lock down on the ME papers from the MRC until 2071 this is so ex-files. Its so odd that they have had the original 30yrs extended, what could be so dangerous for puclic knowledge to do with ME.

I leave a link here incase anyone wants to check it out, http://wp.me/p5foE-2vm

It feels like we're living in the dark ages.

 

[Min]

letters to Kay and money for her support form can be sent to via the 25% M.E. Group for the severely affected:

http://www.25megroup.org/News/news.htm

25% ME GROUP

21 CHURCH STREET

TROON

AYRSHIRE

KA10 6HT

UK

although they are very good (I have been a member for years) I do find that they don't answer emails, perhaps because they are such a tiny charity and maybe struggling as they have lost their lottery funding

 

[Robin]

although they are very good (I have been a member for years) I do find that they don't answer emails, perhaps because they are such a tiny charity and maybe struggling as they have lost their lottery funding

Yeah, the mail I sent got returned for "no known address". But, if you're a member and can vouch for their validity, that's good enough for me. I just didn't want to direct people to donate money or send letters without verifying the charity.

I'm sure anything sent Kay's way would be appreciated.

I shared the article with my Mom, who has been so there for me all these years, like Kay was there for Lynn. She was just as shaken up as I was by the story! She understood though and wants to help Kay, too.

 

[Min]

I read that they were struggling to pay their phone bill earlier in the year. They have just been left a legacy of 75,000 in a will so that will help lots.

The most severely affected are completely neglected in the Uk, when they are not being abused by the people paid to help them.

 

[Dx Revision Watch]

Thank you for the compliment, Flybro.

If people wanted to offer help, another person to speak to would be John Greensmith. John put the following out on Co-Cure on 17 August 2009.

His email address is at the end of the post


PERMISSION TO FORWARD, RE POST AND USE IN NEWSLETTERS FOR MAXIMUM EFFECT

Following the death of her beloved daughter, Lynn, for whom she cared for 17
years, Kay Gilderdale has pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting suicide,
though not guilty to attempted murder and another count of aiding and
abetting attempted suicide.

Regrettably, the Crown Prosecution lawyer declined the invitation of Judge
Richard Brown to drop the charges because he said it was not in the public
interest and a trial is scheduled for 12 January 2010.

The Crown Prosecution Service, however, could choose to drop the case at any time.

The Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer, QC, did intervene in the
case against Mark and Julie James, the parents of Daniel James, the rugby
player who sustained dreadful injuries and wished to die.

Since MS sufferer Debbie Purdy won her case in the House of Lords for
clarification of the law about assisted suicides, it would be an appropriate
time to write to the DPP with your views about assisted suicides and appeal
for his intervention in the case against Kay. May I suggest that you
emphasise that you do not wish to discuss anything about the case, since it
is before the courts but just plead that the DPP intervenes to have the case
dropped.

Since there will have to be a debate in the House of Commons before
any change in the law, you should copy your letter to your MP.

My appeal is for at least one person in each of the 650 constituencies to
write, in order to reach every MP and maximise support for Kay.

The address for letters is

Keir Starmer, QC,
The Director of Public Prosecutions
Crown Prosecution Service
50 Ludgate Hill
London
EC4M 7EX


You can find your MP here http://findyourmp.parliament.uk/
The Postal Address is
Name of your MP
MP for Your Constituency
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA
(Your letter will reach your MP even when the House is not sitting)

If you wish to make your support public and to encourage others to follow
your example, please forward it to me and we shall put it on a section on
our website with all the others who do the same.

There is also a page on Facebook called Prosecuting Kay Gilderdale is NOT in
the PUBLIC interest

Click here

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=103575747984&ref=ts

Will you do it now? I can't think of anything more important just now.

Love & best wishes
John
drjohngreensmith@mefreeforall.org
Dr John H Greensmith
ME Free For All. org

 

[Michael Dessin]

This story

is so incredibly sad. I'm so angry that this neglect continues. I understand that severity level all too well. Her mom should not be charged, rather most of the medical community for sitting on thier asses and doing nothing to help ME/CFS patients in the U.K.

Mike

 

[starryeyes]

This is such a tragic situation. It is WRONG to convict Kay Gilderdale of anything other than being a loving mother and doing the hardest thing she's ever had to do to stop the suffering of her daughter.

tee