Brittany Maynard's husband describes her final, 'peaceful' moments
The widower of right-to-die campaigner Brittany Maynard has described his cancer-stricken wife’s final ‘peaceful’ moments after deciding to take the drugs that would end her life.
Dan Diaz, 43, who spoke on The Meredith Vieira Show, said his 29-year-old wife - who was suffering from terminal brain cancer - has planned to end her life when her suffering became unbearable.
That time came on the morning of November 1 when she suffered another ‘small seizure’ - a side-effect of her illness.
“It was a reminder of what she was risking because what was coming next was losing her eyesight, becoming paralysed, the inability to speak and she’d essentially be trapped in her own body,” Mr Diaz said.
Mr Diaz said the seizure occurred at “around 7am in the morning” and he convinced his wife to stay in bed and sleep in until 9am.
The couple then collected their dogs and joined their family and friends for a hike near their home.
“We got back to the house and she just knew it was her time,” Mr Diaz said.
Mr Diaz said that within five minutes of taking a lethal sedative, his wife was fast asleep.
"Within 30 minutes, her breathing slowed to the point where she passed away. She was surrounded by the people she loved and her passing was peaceful.
"It truly was the most peaceful experience that you could ever hope for when you talk about a person's passing," Mr Diaz said.
Last January, Ms Maynard was given six months to live after being diagnosed with an aggressive from of terminal brain cancer.
Instead of spending her time in hospital trying to fight the disease, she decided she would take her own life before her suffering became too great.
Mr Diaz said that treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation were available, but they may only add “one, maybe two months” to her life and that his wife wanted to spend her final months doing the things she loved.
“She decided she wanted to live those six, those six months,” he said.
Ms Maynard spent those months traveling with her family, documenting her joy and struggles along the way.
“The thing is ... is you don’t want to let go of your loved one,” Mr Diaz said.
“But to suggest that she should suffer for me, for anyone? No. ... That’s what you struggle with. Here’s the person I love and I don’t want to see her go.
There is however one part of the story Mr Diaz will not reveal: his wife's last words.
"That's a sacred part of things for me, and I don't want to share that with the world," he said.
Mr Diaz is now focused on fulfilling a promise he made to Miss Maynard to help get right-to-die laws passed across the U.S.
