A brave woman and a hard decision.
by littlemissfuneral
Brittany Maynard has died.
I know this for a fact because my Facebook and Twitter feeds have been blowing up. There are a lot of people out there who are applauding her and her decision to end her own life after a battle with terminal cancer. There are also a lot of people out there who are not in favor of the decision that she had made, for many different reasons.
When I first stumbled upon Brittany’s story I tried to write an article on here about my thoughts on the situation. I wrote and deleted, wrote and deleted some more, until eventually I gave up. And I think the main reason I decided to abandon my article was because I had no idea what Brittany was going through.
I know that my time on this Earth is finite. I know that one day I will die. I do not, however, know how I would live with a Doctor standing in front of me telling me I had six months to live and that there was nothing he could do to help me. I don’t know how I’d be able to digest that information and go on.
Brittany made a decision based on knowledge that she had gathered. It was not rushed and I am sure she made it with the love and support of her family by her side.
I have been trying to grasp the idea of her pain, anger and emotions. And after thinking about myself, my family and my personal beliefs, I believe I would do it differently.
It’s not that I would want to suffer; no one does. I pray that when my time comes I can go peacefully. But if my death is much different from my hopes, so be it. Because I have faith in my God and my journey. And in the end, I don’t believe that I have the right to say when I may die because I am not God. I am just human. But at the same time, if I were in Brittany’s shoes and if the struggle would become too much for me to handle I would pray for forgiveness for seeking a way out. Because I am only human and Jesus Christ died for my sins.
I do not judge Brittany Maynard for taking her own life. I do not understand what she went through. From what I saw of her journey, I could tell she was a brave and strong woman who loved her family and friends tremendously. I pray that she is at peace and her soul at rest. And I pray for her family, especially her husband and mother. May they find comfort in the days ahead and may they keep her spirit alive. And I want to thank Brittany for sharing her journey with us. Because of you, so many people are now talking about death and end of life issues. You allowed such a difficult subject to be broached.
Every death can teach us lessons. And I believe that we all have a lot that we can learn from Brittany Maynard.
little miss funeral
I’m with you, Little Miss Funeral. May she rest in peace. And to those who have not yet been in her situation, or never will be, may you have peace as well. When I had to make the life or death decisions for my daughter, my compassionate doctor told me that it was my job to make the decision about what is best for her; and, though lots of people who would never be in a position of making such a decision would be willing to tell me what I should do, the decision was mine (her mother). My faith guided my decisions. Blessings, Brittany.
I’ve just written a post about Brittany as well , and now reading so many more. Yours is the first I have commented on because it is the first I feel I can relate to. You allow your voice to come through, you allow your thoughts to be different from Brittany’s but you do not condemn her. Awesomely written piece. I too pray she rests in peace.
This was expressed beautifully. Thank you for sharing this with us. I too feel that only God has the right to choose our fate. Every day I a gift from Him… Hers was a tough decision. I pray for her soul
This is beautifully written and your final sentence captures it well. Regardless of your view of what she chose to do, there are individual lessons to be learned.