Dying with Dignity

When life's going well and our health is good,

We've got the drive and means to go far,

And we seem to have the world by the tail,

Do we appreciate how lucky we are?

 

My thoughts are on a particular person:

Brittany Maynard--a daughter, a wife--

Young, vivacious, compassionate, caring,

Full of dreams, at the prime of her life,

 

Until she found she had brain cancer--

Glioblastoma--an aggressive assault--

Which turned Brittany's life upside down

And brought her dreams to a sudden halt.

 

Given six more months to live,

She pondered her options and moved to a state

Where she could decide to die with dignity

Before it ended up being too late.

 

Terminally ill Oregon residents

Who are mentally competent can make use

Of the Death with Dignity Act of Oregon.

Established safeguards prevent its abuse.

 

Verbal, cognitive, and motor loss,

Possible morphine-resistant pain,

Major changes in personality,

Paralyzing seizures--hard to contain--

 

Were what Brittany had to look forward to.

Such an existence, so grim and so bleak,

Was not what she wanted her family to experience:

Her constant suffering, week after week.

 

In her last months, Brittany had traveled.

She'd shared her feelings; for example, she'd say

It's important to do what's important to us.

In other words, we should seize the day.

 

To her family in November 2014

Brittany said her final good-byes

And peacefully went on the final journey--

The one that transcends both the earth and the skies.

 

I wouldn't wait around for a miracle

If I had to deal with what Brittany went through:

Inoperable brain cancer!

I'd hightail it to Oregon, too.

(11-8-14)