I'M supposed to have taken voluntary retirement from the letters page, but here I am again making a nuisance of myself!

Assisted suicide in Zurich seems all the rage nowadays. I have a special interest in this as I have a similar (not the same) disorder as the late Dr Anne Turner. Who am I to preach? Dr Turner had a tragic time of it already with her husband and his younger brother's diseases.

How children at the beginning of their lives and their parents cope in the many heart-breaking situations in which they find themselves I'll never know.

In my case, the cerebellum has about had it. I have a Jeremy Fisher-like croak, depending on how nervous I feel, and wonder how on earth the letters editor sorts out my once neat, now scruffy handwriting. I have very little balance.

There appear to be similarities in some of these brain disorders.

I would like to know if, as well as dying with dignity, it is possible to live with dignity as I have some major challenges to face up to. Not least among them is understanding the workings of electronic writing machines, which terrify me.

Margaret Lawson,

Marjorie Waite Court,

York.

Updated: 09:34 Wednesday, February 01, 2006