Brittany Maynard, 29, made national headlines in October for the controversial decision to end her own life on November 1. Maynard suffers from terminal brain cancer, and accepted her diagnosis while becoming an advocate for end-of-life legislation in the United States.
This week, Maynard published a well-written and touching post on the Brittany Maynard Fund webpage:
Hi all,
By now, you might have seen recent TV coverage on CBS, or NBC. Doing those interviews was hard; the medications I take have changed my body dramatically, and sometimes I feel like I don't recognize myself.
I take comfort in my family; they've been incredible sources of support and giving. No mother should bury her child, and no husband should be a widow at 43. But for them, and for me, great comfort lies in knowing they won't have to live with the memories of my physical deterioration and suffering.
I want to thank you all, for resonating powerfully with my story. Because of the incredible reaction, something monumental has started to happen. Last week alone, lawmakers in Connecticut and New Jersey came forward in support of DwD bills, and promised to put them back in the spotlight.
I won't live to see the DwD movement reach critical mass, but I call on you to carry it forward. In the coming weeks, C&C is going to call on you to lobby your local lawmakers. When they do, I ask you to take action. I have to believe that the pain we've endured has a greater purpose in the change we can create as a nation. I leave it in your hands.
- Brittany Maynard
While Maynard doesn't state directly in the note that this is the last she will publish, the language indicates though that her time pushing forward the death with dignity cause has come to a close.
In an interview with ABC, Maynard has stated that she does not consider her choice to end her life suicide, and has recently made plans to visit the Grand Canyon as one of her final acts before dying.
Many have plead with Maynard to change her decision, including another cancer victim who pleaded with Brittany "not to take that pill." Maynard has indicated that November 1 may be the day she chooses to end her life, as her husband's birthday is in late October and she hopes to celebrate it with him.