The Story Of Marieke Vervoort, The Paralympic Athlete Who Requested Her Euthanasia

Marieke Vervoort is a fighter. In 2008, this 37-year-old Belgian athlete prepared her papers for euthanasia, and even though she knew it “was not yet time”, the time of her death will come. And she knows how she will be.

We all know we don’t have control over what life throws at us sometimes. Illnesses, accidents, unexpected events… These are like blows that shape us and put us to the test.

We can’t choose what life has in store for us, but sometimes we can choose how to die.

Marieke Vervoort once again opened the debate on euthanasia by launching the false rumor that said that after the Paralympics she would say goodbye to this world.

She did not do it. But his words, full of courage, wisdom and sensitivity, impressed everyone.

Whether or not we agree with the principle of euthanasia, the only thing this woman deserves is our great respect and absolute admiration.

Today in this article we want to tell you his story.

Marieke Vervoort’s last race

Marieke Vervoort moves in life with the intensity of who wants to speed up everything. Each new day, each image, each sound, each breath of fresh air are experienced to the full.

• She practices athletics, sand yachting and before illness prevented her from moving normally, she was a triathlete. You should also know that she won a silver medal at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games but that it was not the first.
• She also competed in the London 2012 Paralympic Games. She won two medals: one gold and one silver.
• In her country, she has also been awarded many times. According to her, the prize that made her the happiest was the one offered by the Flemish Association of Sports Journalists, who recognized her efforts, her character and paid tribute to the example she represents.

However, according to her, the Rio games were probably her last.

Degenerative disease

Marieke suffers from a degenerative muscle disease that has forced her to live in a wheelchair from a very young age. The real problem in her life is not in her disability but in the physical suffering she has to struggle with every day. 

• She has already lived for more than 20 years with this daily struggle, and with the passage of time, she sees her body respond less and less.
• She suffers from fainting spells, seizures, severe pain and in a short time she knows she will stop seeing. Today, she only sees 20%. In a few months or years it will be total darkness.
• A life condemned to permanent disability, blindness, total disconnection with what she loves so much: life.

Euthanasia papers

She knew very young what was going to happen to her. After being diagnosed with the disease, and in her own words, she thought about suicide. But something has happened.

• Her doctors have told her that in order to gain quality of life, she has to stay as active as possible. Sport for her is struggle and survival, and that’s what saved her.
• She started playing wheelchair basketball. Then she tried diving and swimming but it was in triathlon that she found herself, and the first prizes came, as well as the recognition.
• In 2006, she became the Para-Triathlon World Champion, an award she received two years in a row.

But in 2008, his illness worsened to the point that it prevented him from continuing the triathlon. His life stops. But her country mobilized for her, and asked her to tell her story. So she testified on television.

Marieke Vervoort has also published a book: “ Wielemie, sport for life”. She also did something else: prepare her papers for her euthanasia.

Her body could no longer do the sport she loved so much and she knew that in a few years it would be extinct forever.

His “moment” has not yet arrived, but it will come…

After leaving triathlon aside, she started sand yachting, races where floats move in the wind, and she became runner-up in 2011.

Then came another specialty: wheelchair athletics. It was integrated into the T-52 category where it smashed all records.

• Her success at the London 2012 Olympic Games moved her a lot. She still had reason to live despite the pain that accompanied her.
• So much so that today, she can only sleep 10 minutes at a stretch because of the severe pain. 
• The epileptic seizures are more and more intense. She knows her time is running out but in her own words, she will continue to make the most of life.

When she reaches complete blindness, when her body will no longer be hers but is overcome by pain and paralysis, she will say goodbye. Euthanasia is not a renunciation. It is a rest for the bravest.

She chose her funeral: her ashes will have to be thrown into the Lanzarote Sea (Canary Islands, Spain).

She wants her loved ones to remember her with a smile, because that is how she will see them all when she rests in peace. Without suffering.