What follows is a diary kept by Barbara Garlock, chronicling the year and a half leading up to her husband, Gayle’s, death via Medical Aid-in-Dying (MAiD) in Victoria, Canada in 2019. Gayle had been diagnosed with Lewey Body Dementia in 2014, and lived relatively unhindered by the condition until 2017, when he took a sharp decline. 

Barbara was kind enough to allow us to publicly share her diary on the Completed Life Journal. We hope that it will serve as a helpful resource to demystify the process of pursuing MAiD. 

We initially shared Gayle Garlock’s story on our podcast, Voices of the Completed Life. To listen to the two-part episode, which features Barbara, her son Geoff, and Gayle’s MAiD provider, Dr. Stefanie Green, click HERE. It provides additional insight into who Gayle was as a person, what the process was like from a legal and medical perspective, and the impact the death has had on Gayle’s family in the years since.

It was Gayle’s wish that his story be told. So we encourage you to share this journal and the podcast, to continue the conversation in your community.