Brittany Maynard Has Found The Will To Live A Little Longer And The Internet Is Pissed

Brittany Maynard, the 29-year-old who made headlines when she announced that she would end her life on her own terms after a terminal cancer diagnosis has decided she’s not ready to die. Great, right? A terminally ill woman who all but decided to die TOMORROW has found the will to live. On what planet would this be bad news? Planet internet, of course; where there’s always some a**hole waiting to crap on your joy.

Maynard was diagnosed with a stage four malignant brain tumor in April. She planned to end her life November 1 to spare herself and her family from the last stages of her terminal cancer. She moved to Oregon where aid-in-dying is legal and planned to end her own life with a lethal prescription surrounded by her husband, her mother and her best friend.

She shared her decision to die in a YouTube video which has gotten over nine million views. She’s become a very public figure and the spokesperson for Compassion & Choices, which advocates for people who are terminally ill. She’s a phenomenal woman who has jammed what seems like a lifetime of experiences into the last eight months. She created a bucket list — and she just completed it with a trip to the Grand Canyon.

Then she decided she wasn’t ready to die this weekend.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lHXH0Zb2QI]

She admits in a new video that the cancer is progressing rapidly, but she still has her autonomy and is still experiencing joy in life. She’s not ready to go. She wants more time to live — which is wonderful. How can you not wish someone with a terminal cancer diagnosis all of the days of happiness they can possibly snatch up? Not to mention the fact that her video has brought attention to an amazing cause: why shouldn’t it be legal in every state for people with a terminal diagnosis to decide when they are ready to die — with dignity and on their own terms?

Being diagnosed with terminal cancer is not a publicity stunt, and shame on anyone who claims she’s doing anything for “attention.” Do you really think a gorgeous, healthy, recently-married 29-year-old woman would opt for her circumstances? She’s taken this devastating blow that life as dealt her with grace and compassion for her family. I will think only good thoughts for this woman for every moment that she breathes and totally respect her and her choices when she decides she doesn’t want to anymore.