He recently announced that the end of his life is approaching and that he is considering euthanasia. “You know what I sometimes think? That I was only dead. I am in so much pain.”
Death would be a blessing
Most days Willibrord doesn’t get out of his chair or bed, that’s how bad he feels. He has an aggressive form of the disease, causing Willibrord to rapidly deteriorate physically and not knowing how long he has left to live. He tells Art that he can perform euthanasia ‘already’. “But the closer it gets, the more I postpone it again. Because you don’t want to die.”
According to Willibrord, who looks more frail than ever, there are days in which he is open to euthanasia. He then feels so sick, so disorganized and exhausted. “Then I think: it would be a blessing to get out of the pipe now. You have to check that I say that.”
For the (grand) children
But then there are his children and grandchildren. Willibrord is so proud of them. They are the reason he continues. “Then I see my daughter come in, or my grandchild, and then I think: let me wait a little longer.” He is afraid that he has failed his children in their youth, because he was often absent due to his work. “I always worry that I haven’t been there enough for the kids.”
Recently the biography of Willibrord appeared. In it, Catherine Keyl reveals that she was madly in love with him.