Just a few short days ago it sounded like Brittany Maynard was going to choose to hang on a bit longer, but in the end she decided to do exactly as she had originally planned, she ended her own life on Nov. 1. Maynard had quickly become the face and voice of the Death with Dignity Act which allows terminally ill patients to take medication to end their own lives legally in only five states. Maynard and her family moved to Oregon last summer in order for her to have choices in how she would spend her final days.
In early October Maynard's story went viral as she worked with an organization called Compassion & Choices, intending to help educate the general public. Maynard wanted to be an advocate for DWD and maintained right up until her final days that she was not suicidal, no part of her wanted to die but her body was in fact dying. She feared waiting too long and then suffering a stroke that would take away her ability to communicate. If that happened, then her choices would be gone and she would have been destined to suffer a reportedly horrendous death while her family could do little more than watch.
According to Compassion & Choices, Maynard died exactly as she wanted to, peacefully in the arms of those that she loved the most. Her official website posted her obituary last night, which reads exactly as anything from Maynard would,
"One Day Your Life Will Flash Before Your Eyes, Make Sure it's Worth Watching
"Brittany Lauren Maynard was born in 1984 and forged a brief but solid 29 years of generosity, compassion, education, travel, and humor. She happily met her husband Daniel Diaz in April of 2007 and they married, as best friends, 5 years later in September of 2012. This past year, on New Year's Day, Brittany was diagnosed with brain cancer. She was given a terminal diagnosis for which there was no cure or life saving measures available. In the face of such terminal illness and pain, Brittany chose to live each day fully, traveled, and kept as physically active and busy as she possibly could.
"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."- Theodore Roosevelt. A formula to live by, sick or well.
After being told by one doctor that "she probably didn't even have weeks to be on her feet," she was found climbing 10 mile trails along the ice fields of Alaska with her best friend in the sunshine months later. "Speak your own truth, even when your voice shakes." she would say.
Brittany graduated from UC Berkeley as an undergrad, and received a Masters in Education from UC Irvine. She believed in compassion, equality, and that people would remember most how you made them feel in life. As Faulkner said, "Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If more people all over the world would do this, the world would change."
Brittany chose to make a well thought out and informed choice to die with dignity in the face of such a terrible, painful, and incurable illness. She moved to Oregon to pass away in a little yellow house she picked out in the beautiful city of Portland. Oregon is a place that strives to protect patient rights and autonomy; she wished that her home State of California had also been able to provide terminally ill patients with the same choice. Brittany chose to speak out and advocate for this patient right and option, which she felt is an informed choice that should be made available to all terminally ill patients across our great nation. "The freedom is in the choice," she believed. "If the option of DWD is unappealing to anyone for any reason, they can simply choose not to avail themselves of it. Those very real protections are already in place."
In this final message, she wanted to express a note of deep thanks to all her beautiful, smart, wonderful, supportive friends whom she "sought out like water" during her life and illness for insight, support, and the shared experience of a beautiful life.
"It is people who pause to appreciate life and give thanks who are happiest. If we change our thoughts, we change our world! Love and peace to you all." - Brittany Maynard "
Maynard chose to become an advocate for the Death with Dignity Act and in a few short weeks she more than accomplished that mission. Hers was a story that nearly everyone found themselves talking about at some point or other. Whether you agree that the DWD Act should be available in every state or not is almost secondary to the fact that Maynard made us all take a look at a tough issue and reassess our thinking on it.
