A young Australian woman has shared her devastating battle with a rare disease that has shaped every part of her life. At just 25, Annaliese Holland has decided she may choose voluntary assisted dying as her condition becomes too painful to bear. Her story has drawn attention to a little-known illness with heartbreaking consequences.

Annaliese lives with autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy, or AAG. The disorder is so severe that she cannot eat food at all. She still feels hunger, smells meals, and craves the taste of normal life, yet her body cannot process anything she swallows. Instead, she receives all nutrition through a medical line that feeds directly into her bloodstream.

AAG is an extremely rare autoimmune disease that affects the body’s involuntary functions — things like digestion, blood pressure, and reflexes. When the immune system attacks the autonomic ganglia, signals between nerves and organs no longer work correctly. This leads to symptoms such as fainting, constipation, dry mouth, dilated pupils, and dangerously low blood pressure.

There is no cure, and treatment varies from patient to patient. Some respond well to therapies like plasma exchange or immunoglobulin infusions. But Annaliese’s case is severe and terminal. Years of surgeries, hospital stays, and the loss of much of her bowel have left her exhausted and in constant pain.

She described her daily struggle, recalling times when her body backed up so severely that she would vomit stool. Total Parenteral Nutrition has kept her alive, but it cannot stop the disease from progressing.

Facing the fear of starvation or sepsis, Annaliese says having the option of voluntary assisted dying gives her peace. “Knowing I can go when the time is right is a huge relief,” she shared.