With a Buddha pendant, a cherished book, and a scarf woven by her father, Sha Bai from Shanghai took her final journey to Switzerland, where she chose to end her life through assisted euthanasia on October 24, 2024.
With a Buddha pendant, a cherished book, and a scarf woven by her father, 43-year-old Sha Bai from Shanghai took her final journey to Switzerland, where she chose to end her life through assisted euthanasia on October 24, 2024 (local time), after years of struggling with lupus.
“I’m going to see new beautiful landscapes,” Sha said in a video filmed on the final night of her life.
Sha shared her unique life journey on social media, capturing the attention and heartfelt wishes of countless followers.
Sha shares her unique life journey on social media.
After completing her undergraduate studies, Sha pursued an MBA in finance in Singapore, but despite job offers, she returned to China to teach TOEFL. Her passion and talent earned her one of the highest teaching salaries in Shanghai.
Still, she craved more freedom, so she left teaching to start her own business, finding both financial success and personal freedom. In the years that followed, Sha traveled to over 40 countries, learned street dance, and tried skydiving and scuba diving – adventures that filled her life with color and joy.
Sha’s story is one of fierce independence and boundless curiosity.
Her vibrant life, however, was shadowed by a relentless battle with lupus, an autoimmune disease. First diagnosed in her 20s, Sha endured excruciating pain and frequent hospital stays. Her latest and most severe flare-up led to kidney failure, requiring her to undergo dialysis three times a week.
Though loved ones encouraged her to keep fighting, Sha made the deeply personal choice to travel to Switzerland for assisted euthanasia. Her father, after wrestling with his emotions, accompanied her on that final journey.
In her final days, Sha and her father enjoyed simple joy – exploring beautiful scenery, savoring good meals, and expressing their love openly. In a video, her father reflected: “The happiest thing is traveling with my daughter. She has given me a new perspective on the world. I’m grateful for this amazing daughter.”
A screenshot from Sha’s final video, titled “The Last Video of My Dad and I.”
Sha’s decision has sparked widespread reflection on illness, mortality, and love. She believed that a life’s worth is measured by its quality, not merely its length.
“Even if I could live again,” she said, “I wouldn’t live it any better.”
“Everything beautiful will fade,” she once said. “But each moment is eternal. Embrace life’s wonders, love freely, and when it’s time to go, leave without regret.”
In Sha’s final video, titled “The Last Video of My Dad and I,” she makes playful “blah blah” sounds, bringing a moment of levity as her father smiles beside her. Yet, behind his gentle smile, his eyes seem to glisten, betraying his hidden grief. “My daughter is the pride of my life,” he said.
,https://www.shine.cn/news/metro/2410254354/