Harriet Warshaw
I want mine to be a gift to my family similar to the gift my mother gave to me: the gift of time, the gift of honesty, the gift of purpose. My mother was a remarkable woman. She had confronted six different types of cancers and had survived. In the end it was emphysema that took her life. She had lived with the possibility of dying for more than thirty years. This gave us plenty of time to talk about what type of living she wanted at the end of her life. I knew in no uncertain terms that she wanted to die with dignity. I knew she wanted us to be with her when the end was near. In the last few weeks of her life l was at her bedside sharing stories, reading to her and just being present. It was a time of serenity and pure joy sharing such private and intimate moments. As she drifted in and out of consciousness she would open one eye and look at me and smile. In one of her last lucid moments she said to me make sure you help others die as graciously and with such compassion as I am.
