PERSONAL STORIES
Brittany Maynard’s journey began on New Year’s Day when she was diagnosed with brain cancer. By April, she was told she had six months to live. She looked at treatment options — and side effects. She considered hospice care.
Then she made her decision: doctor-assisted death. “After months of research, my family and I reached a heartbreaking conclusion. There is no treatment that would save my life, and the recommended treatments would have destroyed the time I had left.” During the summer of 2014, Maynard and her husband, Dan Diaz, moved from California to Oregon to gain access to the state’s death-with-dignity law. Oregon is one of five states with such legal protections. She soon became an advocate for physician-assisted suicide and gained national attention in her fight to move other states to enact similar legislation. Before passing away she wrote on Facebook: “Goodbye to all my dear friends and family that I love. Today is the day I have chosen to pass away with dignity in the face of my terminal illness, this terrible brain cancer that has taken so much from me … but would have taken so much more. The world is a beautiful place, travel has been my greatest teacher, my close friends and folks are the greatest givers. I even have a ring of support around my bed as I type…. Goodbye world. Spread good energy. Pay it forward!”
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AuthorMolly Griffin CategoriesArchives |