Catie Fenner was in her parents’ sitting room in Reading when her mother told her she had decided to end her life in Switzerland.

It was the usual Wednesday visit with her mum, Alison. Ever since the retired teacher had been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease, Catie had given up a day of work to spend with her.

Her mum was strong-minded and active; she loved music, walking and reading. But after her diagnosis at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford 2022, Alison had taken her husband, David, to the pub and told him she wanted to end the illness on her own terms.

‘She had kept it from me and my sister for a long time while they sorted out the mountains of paperwork,’ Catie, 37, remembers sadly.

‘When she finally told me her decision I remember turning to Dad and asking: “Is this real?

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