By Sandra Birungi

45-year-old twin brothers who were born deaf learned they were going blind too decided to end their lives to end their ‘suffering’.

The twin brothers from Antwerp, Belgium were born deaf. They found out later that they were also going blind and would never see each other again and decided to end their life instead of suffering. Their doctor put an end to their life by lethal injection at the Brussels University Hospital in Jette, on Dec. 14.

“They were very happy. It was a relief to see the end of their suffering,” said Dr. David Dufour. “They had a cup of coffee in the hall. It went well and a rich conversation. Then the separation from their parents and brother was very serene and beautiful,” he said. “At the last there was a little wave of their hands and then they were gone,”

The brothers’ illness was not terminal though. More than 1,000 people legally availed themselves of doctor-assisted deaths in Belgium in 2011, because Belgian law allows doctors to euthanize “suffering” patients who are both mentally sound, over 18 and want to die. Lawmakers are considering a law that would extend euthanasia to dementia patients and children, whose families and doctors consented.

The two brothers both worked as cobblers and shared a flat together.