Merely hours before ending her life on 1 November, face of 'Death with Dignity', Brittany Maynard, sent an email to a stranger thanking her for fighting for "the choice of dignity in death".
Babara Mancini, 58, from Philadelphia had written an email to Maynard late October, but did not expect her to respond. "In the note, I told her I admired what she was doing. I felt it was selfless and courageous. I never expected she would respond because it was late October and I knew she was having daily seizures and she was getting worse all the time," Mancini told ABC.
Mancini is familiar with the 'Death with Dignity' laws and has been fighting for the same for a long time. In July 2013, she was arrested for giving a lethal dose of morphine to her 93-year-old father who was terminally ill.
"I was under prosecution for a year. It was a horrible, horrible thing to go through," she said. She further said that even though the case was dismissed this past February, the experience will last forever. However, apart from the pain of being forced to see her father die, Mancini was suspended from her nurse's job and wasted around $100,000 in defense attorney fees.
"On every level it was wrong," Mancini said. "It still haunts me everyday."
Maynard, who was battling brain cancer, shot to fame just a few months ago when she declared that she would opt for 'death with Dignity' instead of continuing a worthless life.
Mancini and Maynard had at least one thing in common – the will to fight for 'Death with Dignity". "I felt a connection with her on a deep level because of what my experience was, so I wrote her a short message," Mancini told People.
In response to her email, Maynard wrote: "It meant so much for me to receive your kind letter the other day, especially as I'm preparing for my own passing. Yes, I am familiar with the history of your case and have always been appalled that it was ever litigated."
Maynard said that she believed Mancini had done her best to prevent her father from enduring more pain.
Maynard continued: "I am so sorry you had to endure that. That is a difficult job. As a terminally ill person myself, I understand what the level of sacrifice means for a loving and supportive family on an emotional, physical and financial level."
Now, Mancini has quit her job to become a full-time advocate for 'Compassion & Choices' – the organization that fights for the end-of-life choice. Maynard had partnered with the organization to launch her online video campaign on 6 October.
