A successful former CEO secretly wrote heartbreaking notes to his family while plotting his suicide after being diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
Michael West who previously headed Rothman Orthopaedics, was diagnosed with the debilitating disease in June of last year and hanged himself at his $2 million beach house in New Jersey aged just 65.
Prior to his suicide last September, he sat down in the property and typed out a series of letters for his wife Lynn and his children.
In one of those he told her: ‘I now admit/recognize what I have and what is next. I cannot put you thru the issues you would have to deal with over the coming years.
‘I know you would disagree, because that is who you are’, while mentioning his own experience with his mother Mozelle, who also developed early-onset Alzheimer’s.
He added: ‘It was so hard to visit her and see her condition worsen, a horrible quality of life.’
West also told her that he didn’t want a long slow goodbye like what he had endured with his later mother and feared his medical bills would cause his family financial issues.
Michael West, right, is seen here with his wife Lynn in an undated picture shared to social media
West, the former CEO of Rothman Orthopedics, took his own life in the garage of the family’s beach front home in Ocean City, New Jersey, seen here, last September
He encouraged his wife to enjoy a ‘full life’ with the time and money on vacations with their family and friends.
West wrote: ‘I am so sorry to cut short the rest of our time together on earth. I wanted to grow old with you.
‘However, due to my medical condition, I felt it was best for me to move along and allow you to have a full life, without the baggage of my ALZ.’
In a heartbreaking final note, he told her: ‘I will wait patiently for us to be together again in heaven.
‘Please give the kids and grandchildren hugs and kisses from me – every day. I love you always. Mike’, finishing the note with a handwritten ‘love you’ and a smiley face.
Alongside the letters, he also left Lynn a list of ‘To Do’s’, which included ‘each time you see the grandkids – give them a kiss from me’.
Another said ‘each time you go in the backyard for drinks or gatherings – plug in the lights – that will mean I am with you’, and ‘defend me for those who judge me’.
West told his family that if he ever suffered a diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer’s like his mother he wanted to die on his own terms while still in reasonable health.
His mother Mozelle lost her ability to speak, swallow or use the bathroom unattended after being diagnosed in her early 50s, with early onset Alzheimer’s possessing a strong genetic link.
When West turned 50, after his mother had passed five years earlier, he told his sons Austin and Michael that should he develop Alzheimer’s ‘let me take myself out’.
Austin recalled to The Philadelphia Inquirer his father telling the two: ‘Just give me a pill. Let me take myself out. I don’t want to be that person.’
West’s family assured him they wanted to care for him for the duration of any illness and that they’d never consider him a burden.
After West retired in 2021, at the age of 61, Lynn told the outlet that she started noticing subtle changes.
He would ask questions she had already answered, repeated himself, forgot about meetings and bills, and started taking pictures of where he parked his car.
Prior to his suicide, he sat down in the property and typed out a series of letters for his wife Lynn and his children
After seeking medical help, West struggled to perform cognitive tests, which included counting back from 100 in increments of seven.
Lynn said: ‘It ate him up. The more the testing happened, the more aware he became. It was devastating to him.’
After his formal diagnosis, his neurologist put him on a prescription of donepezil to improve his thinking skills.
According to the family the plan was to put West in a clinical trail for a new drug, lecanemab, which was shown to slow cognitive decline.
West was scheduled to start the trial in October of last year, Lynn recalled telling him: ‘We’re going to do everything we can.
‘We’re going to get you on this trial. You’re going to be fine. You’re still young. You still know who everyone is.
She told the outlet that he responded: ‘I’m not afraid to die, but I am afraid to lose my brain and my mind and my dignity.’
Lynn recalled her husband briefly mentioning pills that he would use to kill himself, telling her he would need to do it himself so she wouldn’t get in trouble.
She told the outlet that at the time of the passing comment she took it as a joke.
Lynn and Michael had resided in their South Philadelphia townhouse, seen here, at the time of Michael’s death
West underwent tests which included cognitive exams which included counting backwards or repeating a sentence, Lynn said the tests ‘ate him up’
The two traveled to London and Paris last summer , with Lynn saying her husband, who was previously a free spirit when it came to tourism, had become scared.
West insisted on tour guides and was afraid to take the train without them, she said. He would also forget most of what they saw, causing Lynn to make a photo album.
Once they returned home, she said he was scared to go anywhere without her fearing he’d be unable to recognize people.
Eventually the couple sat their children down and told them about the diagnosis in July as West’s condition worsened.
West was credited with turning Rothman Orthopedics into a medical powerhouse and so enjoyed his job that he offered consulting services after retiring.
On September 16, West woke early and spoke with Rothman’s president Alex Vaccaro about the business, as usual.
Lynn recalled him waking her for a hug before he called his son Austin, Austin told the outlet they spoke for longer than usual and especially about his own future plans.
Later that day he texted his older son Michael about how much he had enjoyed spending the day previous with him and his grandsons.
West had decided to spend the day at the family’s beach house in Ocean City, telling Lynn he would be back home later that night.
He later called her saying he would spend the night after day drinking, which caused Lynn to drive to the house from their South Philadelphia townhouse.
While on her way, she called Michael who lived nearby telling him: ‘I’m really scared’.
The two were on the phone as she entered the home, finding West’s car keys, wallet and two envelopes containing the letters neatly lined up on a table in the foyer.
Lynn found her husband in the garage, where he had hanged himself. She told the outlet she immediately ran from the home screaming in horror.
The family told the outlet that while they don’t see their dad’s suicide as selfish, his death has upset them and sometimes makes them feel angry.
Austin added: ‘I am so f****** mad that he put this on Lynn. And I know he can hear me right now.
‘I’m upset that he didn’t confide in me. I’m upset that he didn’t give us more time to be there for him and take care of him, as he always took care of us.’
Lynn said: ‘We spent all our time together. I had no clue. That’s what is hard for me.’
Michael said he only wished his father had sat them all down to discuss other options which the family said would have included assisted suicide options.
New Jersey, where West died, has an assisted suicide law that lets patients obtain a pill from a physician to end their lives.
But it only applies to those with six months or fewer to live, meaning West was not eligible.
Lynn added: ‘People with a terminal illness want to live with a quality of life, but having your brain intact is quality of life.
‘I’m not advocating for people to commit suicide. I’m advocating for discussions, so families aren’t blindsided.
‘Nobody wants to talk about it. Yet it’s a discussion that has to happen because there’s so much hurt and shock if it doesn’t.’
For help and support contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline on 988
