By now we are all well aware of the story of Brittany Maynard, a young married woman who is terminally ill with a brain cancer. She has moved to Oregon in order to legally commit suicide. (Here is Time magazine’s favorable article about her and Oregon’s suicide enabling act.) Mrs. Maynard plans to kill herself with medical assistance in early November.
Not so well known is the story of Lauren Hill, a college freshman at Mt. Saint Joseph University in Ohio. Miss Hill who also has terminal brain cancer, but she has chosen a different path. She has been practicing for months so she can play in the team’s first basketball game this season on November 2nd.
I hope Brittany Maynard has the opportunity to view the CBS news story about Lauren Hill and realize that there is a better way for her. In the past months, Brittany has been touring places she has always wanted to see like the Grand Canyon. According the People Magazine article:
Though she set Nov. 1 as a tentative date to end her life, she's always made it clear the date is not set in stone and she will make the decision based on the progression of her disease.
I have no doubt that if Brittany Maynard wanted to see Lauren play basketball this Sunday – tickets would be made available even though the game has sold out. I imagine Lauren would tell Brittany to grasp every moment of life and to fight for those who will come later and need encouragement in life’s most difficult times. Seeing Lauren Hill play will, in its own way, have a grandeur of equal stature to the Grand Canyon’s. Brittany Maynard needs to see and understand that.