At the end of 2024, the unbearable ordeal of Kyra Valentijn (23) from Zevenbergen came to an end. She opted for euthanasia because she was mentally and physically unable to cope anymore. A few months before her death, she had a special tattoo done together with her mother and brother. “The three characters from the cartoon Wonderteam, because that’s us too, the three of us,” says her mother Claudia Cappon-Van Meer.
Things had not been going well for Kyra for years. At the beginning of 2024, she was told that she could start the process at the Euthanasia Expertise Center. “She knew she would die that year, but it was not yet known that it would take so long,” says Claudia.
Kyra and her brother Youri both already had several tattoos, but Claudia did not yet. “In view of Kyra’s impending death, we wanted a joint, meaningful tattoo. Then the children talked about the Wonderteam series.” In 2008, Claudia divorced their father. She stayed behind with the two children and they always watched this cartoon series together.
Since then, the series has had a special meaning for them. “We got strength from that. The characters also correspond to who we are. I am the guinea pig, my son is the turtle and my daughter is the duckling. So from that moment on we were also a Wonder Team.”
So that’s what it became: a tattoo of the three characters. “We started looking for an image and presented it to the tattoo artist at Yodatattoos. She makes very beautiful fineline tattoos. We had the tattoo done in March,” says Claudia. “It is a very nice memory. We did not know then how quickly Kyra would receive euthanasia. It could not have been fast enough for her.”
Kyra died on December 12, 2024. It was an extremely difficult year for the family, but also for Kyra herself. “It was very clear that this was the only way. Not only that year was hard for her, but also the years before that.”
Despite everything, Claudia tries to stay positive. She has grandchildren and they know what the tattoo stands for. “They know exactly who is grandma, who is dad and who is ‘aunt’. They now also have a DVD of Wonderteam, so they can watch the series.”
Claudia not only draws strength from her husband, son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren, but also from contact with other parents whose children opted for euthanasia at a young age due to psychological suffering. She also hopes that there will be more understanding of this subject. “We always try to be open about it, because there are young people who suffer without hope, just like Kyra.”
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Milou’s struggle continues
Every story is unique and deserves its own context. This applies to Kyra, but also to other young people who struggled with unbearable suffering and ultimately opted for euthanasia. One of them is 17-year-old Milou. In the documentary Milou’s struggle continues her years of psychological struggle and her final choice are followed. The documentary can be viewed for free and without an account on the video platform Brabant+.
