Daniele Berna, suffering from ALS suffered a lot, decides to die with dignity

Today we face a much discussed topic, a difficult choice. We are talking about a man who has decided to end his life by resorting to deep palliative sedation.

Deep palliative sedation is a form of palliative treatment which is used to provide pain relief and relieve anxiety in terminally ill patients. It is a drug which is administered by intravenous injection or orally and which can have sedative, analgesic and anticonvulsant effects.

This treatment was originally designed as a way to relieve pain during the last stage of terminal illness, but has also recently been used as a psychological and spiritual tool to provide relief and consolation for the terminally ill.

Daniele Berna decides to die with dignity

This is the story of Daniel Bern, a man suffering from ALS, who died on March 9 in Sesto Fiorentino. Daniele suffered a lot and decided to put an end to his "non-life", as he called it, interrupting the forced ventilation and resorting to deep palliative sedation.

He brings it back there Republic, a newspaper to which the man had often turned to recounting his battle in 2021, to obtain the home physiotherapy. The man, manager in the dental implant sector, had discovered in June 2020 that he was suffering from Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which soon took away his ability to speak and move independently. After tracheotomy, the man had decided to interrupt the assisted ventilation therapy and to resort to palliative care. Daniele has always thought that there was no point in living a life without dignity.

In the case of ALS, the law 217/2019 allows you to choose whether to remain attached to the ventilator or stop forced ventilation by refusing medical treatment as provided for by article 32 of the Constitution. It's not about euthanasia but to be asleep and suspend a vital treatment for the patient.