October 26th: the day before.
On the improvised altar on the table in the living room they have added a small box with gems that Walter Lebender gave to his daughter, Doerte Lebender, when she was a child, as well as a photo of Elke, her friend, with her daughters at the top of an Alpine mountain. They have finished the bottle of Baileys and are about to do the same with a box of Daskalides chocolates brought by Jorge, a friend who has come to say goodbye. Because there are “goodbyes and tears, but without big dramas ,” says Artur Rettenberger, her carer. This morning he arrived at 6 o’clock: “She slept with Maximilian Theodore, his teddy bear. She had a sweet awakening and ate a croissant for breakfast.”
They finalize the preparations. They were visited by the coordinator of the City Council, who will inform the assistant that she will no longer go to the house to shower Lebender. They will remove the hospital bed the day after. And they met the medical team, two nurses and a doctor. Each one introduced personally introduced herself. Each one explained her task. With gentleness and tenderness. They detailed the procedure. They will put in two IVs. It can’t be in her arms, because it’s difficult to find her veins. They’ll do it on the back of each hand. Lebender will put her fingers on the key that opens the passage of the first dose that induces the coma. They’ll have to help her, as she’s not even strong enough to turn it. They looked at the living room and kitchen, where they will prepare the drugs. They will place the armchair with its back to the small round table on which they will place the syringes in order, so that Lebender will not see the medical paraphernalia. The aim is to create a cosy atmosphere. They tested how far the chair can be tilted so that, if necessary, they can quickly access the groin. The basic aim is to be effective, first and foremost not to cause harm or pain (Primum non nocere). Transit must be smooth. Death must be dignified.
These last hours begin to take their toll on Rettenberger. He mentally reviews each act that will take place the next day: “Doerte will tell me ‘now’ to indicate the moment when he opens the spigot. It may happen that in any of the steps her heart stops, because very high doses are applied. Even in the first one, when a coma is induced. But I doubt it: what is strong is precisely her heart”. It will only last a few minutes. “I want to be with her afterwards, but I don’t want to see her body being taken away. Rafa Alcántara [her friend] will stay. I’ll go out and walk Jacky. When I get back this will be empty”.
For the full article, please visit Diario de Ibiza website here.