Annaliese Holland: A Warrior’s Final, Dignified Choice
At just 22, Annaliese Holland was forced to make a decision of unimaginable courage and sorrow.   Her entire young life was a battlefield against a rare, terminal neurological disease that was relentlessly shutting her body down.

Imagine enduring 25 brutal bouts of sepsis, relying on constant IV nutrition, and surviving broken bones and lost teeth—all while facing a level of excruciating pain most people will mercifully never comprehend. Every day was a fight for survival. Every breath was a testament to her fierce spirit.

Then came one final collapse. After another harrowing resuscitation, bruised, terrified, and utterly exhausted, Annaliese looked at her father and whispered the heartbreaking words: “I’ve had enough. Please let me go.”

Choosing Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) was not a defeat. It was not a surrender.

It was, powerfully, the first moment in years she regained control. It was the first time she finally felt peace.   Her life was no longer defined by the terror of the next medical breakdown.

Annaliese fought harder than anyone should ever have to. Her life was defined by courage, and her final choice was made with profound dignity. Let her story remind us to live fully and choose peace bravely.