A firefighter and father-of-two who battled a degenerative disease has died in a Swiss euthanasia clinic with his wife by his side. Troy Thornton, from Victoria, met his fate through lethal injection on Friday at a clinic in Basel, Switzerland, with his tearful wife Christine holding his hand. His two teenage children stayed in Australia with their grandparents while their shattered parents made the trip to the other side of the world. When Jack, 17, and Laura, 14, saw their father pack his luggage on Sunday, they knew they would never see him come home again. 'The hardest thing I've ever had to do is say goodbye to them,' Mr Thornton said before his death. 'It just destroyed me.' A hero firefighter and father-of-two who battled a degenerative disease has died in a Swiss euthanasia clinic with his wife by his side. Pictured: Troy Thornton with wife Christine, son Jack and daughter Laura Victorian man Troy Thornton met his fate through lethal injection on Friday at a clinic in Bassel, Switzerland, with his tearful wife Christine holding his hand (pictured, Troy Thornton with wife Christine, son Jack and daughter Laura) Mr Thornton's disease - multiple system atrophy - is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder Mr Thornton's disease - multiple system atrophy - is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder. There are no treatments and there is no prospect of recovery, but death can take years. 'Doctors have always told me that you don't die of it, you die with it. You can live for quite a few years, but ... you end up being a vegetable,' Mr Thornton said before his injection in Basel. 'After a while it attacks different systems, breathing, swallowing. I'd end up drowning in my own mucous, that's what happens.' He called his disease a 'beast' - one that takes everything away slowly. 'First you can't swim, then you can't run, walk, kick the footy with your children, you can't surf, drive; eventually it takes your career,' Mr Thornton said. 'Then you end up being a vegetable. It's a pretty grim way to go out.' He described every day as 'like Groundhog Day' - filled with incessant vertigo, double vision and nausea. A broken Mr Thornton initially hoped to be euthanised in Australia and was banking on Victorian assisted dying laws to pull through. In that way he would of at least had his dying wish respected: to be surrounded with family and loved ones. 'My friend's dad, he was 85, died recently. He had his whole family there. They were watching footy and he died with them all around him. That's really nice, that's how you want to go out,' Mr Thornton said. But despite Victoria becoming the first state to legalise voluntary assisted dying, Mr Thornton didn't qualify. A broken Mr Thornton initially hoped to be euthanised in Australia and was banking on Victorian assisted dying laws to pull through But despite Victoria becoming the first state to legalise voluntary assisted dying, Mr Thornton didn't qualify Mr Thornton hoped to follow through with assisted dying in Victoria so he would of at least had his dying wish respected: to be surrounded with family and loved ones Mr Thornton could not find two doctors willing to say with absolute certainty that he would die within 12 months, which in his case is a condition to access the legislation 'I've just had enough, but unfortunately the laws, while they are a huge step in the right direction, they don't help me. They discount a lot of people,' Mr Thornton said of Victoria's assisted dying law He could not find two doctors willing to say with absolute certainty that he would die within 12 months, which in his case is a condition to access the legislation. That left him with Switzerland as his only option, away from his family and lamenting the shortcomings of the Victoria assisted dying law. 'I've just had enough, but unfortunately the laws, while they are a huge step in the right direction, they don't help me. They discount a lot of people.' Mr Thornton said the danger is people will think the issue has been resolved, 'but what the guy in the street doesn't understand is that those laws don't help people like me who are also suffering. 'These laws need to evolve. 'The focus is on being terminal is wrong. It's about the right to choose how you die, no matter how old you are, no matter what sickness, or non-sickness you've got. If you are of sound mind - and that's important - you should be able to choose.' Mr Thornton urged Australian voters to tell their politicians what they want when it comes to end of life choices. Mr Thornton openly admitted the choice to go by lethal injection was not an easy decision Mr Thornton was left with Switzerland as his only option for assisted dying, away from his family and lamenting the shortcomings of the Victoria assisted dying law 'When it's our life, we should have control. We should be able to choose if we are of sound mind. That's what I'd like to say,' Mr Thornton said of assisted dying laws in Victoria 'When it's our life, we should have control. We should be able to choose if we are of sound mind. That's what I'd like to say.' Mr Thornton openly admitted the choice to go by lethal injection was not an easy decision. He said he felt a strange mix of gratitude, sadness and an inevitable fear about presenting his arm to Swiss doctors who would administer the lethal injection. But there was no less fear associated with the alternative: his choice, dignity and freedom slipping away as his disease reduced him to a 'vegetable'. 'It's so surreal and sometimes I do think what the hell am I doing here?' Mr Thornton said before his death. 'Why did I make this decision? But then you see what you've got and it's not going away. I'm lucky to be here because the alternative is pretty ugly.' In the four years since Mr Thornton was diagnosed, he and his family have had a lot of time to come to terms with his planned death. 'There's been a lot of grieving already. We've prepared, my wife and children they know what's coming,' he said. Mr Thornton said he felt a strange mix of gratitude, sadness and an inevitable fear about presenting his arm to Swiss doctors who would administer the lethal injection But there was no less fear associated with the alternative: his choice, dignity and freedom slipping away as his disease reduced him to a 'vegetable' In the four years since Mr Thornton was diagnosed, he and his family have had a lot of time to come to terms with his planned death He added that it might sound like 'a bit of a w**k' but he believed he'd also worked out the meaning of life, which comes down to two things. 'The first one's a no-brainer. We're here to propagate, to evolve the species, to reproduce. The second one is that you're here to inspire. 'Fundamentally, those two things underpin relationships and life is about people.' Mr Thornton spent his last day with his wife taking in the sweeping expanse of the Rhine River that snakes through the northwest medieval city, and enjoying the snow-covered peaks of the Alps. During his last evening, Mr Thornton and his wife Christine sat down for a last supper with a life-long friend. His case attracted attention while he was in Switzerland and several strangers asked if they could join Mr Thornton the day he was going to die. 'Just to be surrounded by human beings when you take your last breath, it's a nice thought,' he said. Mr Thornton added that it might sound like 'a bit of a w**k' but he'd believed he'd also worked out the meaning of life, which comes down to two things Mr Thornton spent his last day with his wife taking in the sweeping expanse of the Rhine River that snakes through the northwest medieval city, and enjoying the snow-covered peaks of the Alps During his last evening, Mr Thornton and his wife Christine sat down for a last supper with a life-long friend His case attracted attention while he was in Switzerland and several strangers asked if they could join Mr Thornton the day he was going to die ASSISTED DYING LAW IN VICTORIA Victoria became the first state in Australia to allow assisted dying after the state government passed the Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2017 on November 29, 2017. The law gives people with a terminal illness and who meet strict eligibility criteria the option to end their life. Patients wishing to access voluntary assisted dying will be able to do so from June 19, 2019. An 18-month implementation period is included, to give health services time to plan and prepare for voluntary assisted dying. The Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board will be set up during implementation. The body will oversee operation of the Act and ensure safety standards are maintained. All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility