Brittany Maynard took her life with an overdose of prescribed medication as a result of a terminal brain tumor. She wanted to end her life at a point where she was able to make that decision and when life was no longer joyful for her. 

Brittany was supported by her friends and family and by an assisted dying group called Compassion and Choices in Oregon, one of only five states in the US that allows assisted suicide but only with a terminal illness diagnosis with only 6 months left to live. 

I feel for for her family, may she rest in peace and my sympathies to her friends and family. 

This story touched me because I am someone with a condition that affects me on a daily basis and if I am completely honest can only get worse with age. I wish I could say my quality of life is only affected by my condition. It is not. It is affected by the toxic medication I have to take on a daily basis and have had to take for nearly two decades. 

I am Schizophrenic and not only do I have to deal with this condition on a daily basis, I have to deal with the stigma attached to this condition, ignorance from people around me including family and friends and all the associated side effects of being on anti-psychotics for nearly two decades. 

I can understand why Brittany did not want to continue with medical intervention after her first brain surgery. As far as I can see Medicine is in it's infancy, in terms of human evolution. I speak as a healthcare professional and as a patient. I feel we are often at the mercy of our healthcare professionals and their limited knowledge and often guesswork. 

I am 39 and since I have been on anti-psychotics, have developed a degenerative disc, osteoarthritis of the knees, keratoconus of both eyes leading to a corneal graft in the right eye. This graft has stopped me from working since June. I have gone up six dress sizes and been diagnosed as pre-diabetic. The list goes on. I am unable to make a living and in constant pain. I am reliant on the Government to make a meager living. 

I have not had it easy but I have plodded on for many years and even made a will, authorizing my friends to take over my decisions when I reach that point that I am no longer able to make decisions for myself. Those friends have since moved on and my family are not supportive. For me assisted suicide makes so much sense and gives me that ultimate autonomy that I have struggled to gain in my life in so many small ways. 

I believe in an intelligent universal life energy or force and not some white bearded man seating on his throne making judgments on us. Life goes on infinitely and we are free thinking, free willed so let's use it. 

Life is love and love is life if that makes sense, why do we have to make it so hard for each other and ourselves. If you live your life from a place of love, there are no judgments, punishments and repercussions, it's just an endless cycle of regeneration and evolution. 

Anyway, I have to dig out the will I made and redo it. I cannot trust anyone to make my decisions for me and as well as supporting a 'do not resuscitate ' legal code I also firmly support every persons right to assisted suicide. I just hope that when my time comes I will not need it or I will have found the supportive group of people that I need to help me die with the autonomy, dignity and peace that I longed for since I became schizophrenic.