“It was a tough decision,” Mr. Pechter said of the death of his sister.
“I’ve never had to deal with something like that in my life.”
But for his daughter, who had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, it was an act of mercy.
“You see, it took a lot of courage,” he said.
“She didn’t want to be alone.”
The family had planned to move to Mexico for the winter, but Ms. Pechtig’s husband was worried about the weather.
“He said to me, ‘I’ve got to go to work, we’re in a situation where we can’t leave,'” Ms. Praschig recalled.
“So we got a new house, got a dog, a lot more than we thought possible.”
Ms. Pritzker said she has been overwhelmed by the support and love from strangers since the death.
“My sister was a wonderful person, and she had a wonderful sense of humor, so I really couldn’t imagine what she was going through,” she said.
She is now on medication, taking her meds daily to treat the nausea and pain.
“There are a lot people in this world who do not get the chance to see her like that,” Ms. Puchter added.
The couple have started a GoFundMe page, hoping to raise $10,000 to help pay for her care and funeral expenses.
“It has been a long road, but I think she was just so much happier,” Ms Praschi said.
With files from The Associated Press and The Associated Journal, this report was first published by The Associated Statesman.
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