'I will end my life to limit my kids' trauma'

Emma Bray, 42, has decided to starve herself when her daughter leaves school as she can no longer be the parent she wants to be

- WORDS: LUCY THORNTON PHOTOS: JON ROWLEY

A remarkable mum has just weeks to live after making the heart-breaking decision to starve herself to death when her daughter's exams have finished.

Emma Bray, 42, who has motor neurone disease, will move into a hospice this summer and voluntarily stop eating and drinking.

The former charity worker, who has helped hundreds of domestic abuse victims and homeless people, is determined to shield her "amazing" children, aged 15 and 14, from the "brutal" death she faces.

She says she can no longer even comfort her children with the "hugs they crave".

When she was given the bleak diagnosis two years ago, she was left "howling like an animal" because she realised the impact it would have on her son and daughter.

"I've had four different health professionals tell me I've got the worst disease possible," she told us.

MND is a terminal neurological condition that affects the brain and spinal cord leading to muscle weakness and wasting.

Now after going on a "bucket list holiday" to the Maldives and having an End Of Life Party, she has decided the time has nearly come to do her "last bit of parenting" and spare her children the horror of seeing their mum suddenly choke to death.

Instead, she wants a "calm and peaceful death" and has already planned her funeral and written her eulogy.

Talking to us through her eye gazing machine, she said, "I now feel I am at the stage where my quality of life is very affected, I can no longer use any of my limbs. My talking is severely affected, I struggle to eat and it's getting harder to breathe. I am only really comfortable in bed and social visits are exhausting.

"I have carers multiple times a day, can't be left alone overnight and can no longer do basic tasks; scratch an itch, push up my glasses, move a sheet if I'm too hot or cold.