US: Terminally-ill woman holds party before ending her life

San Diego (USA), Aug 13: Last month, she invited her closest friends and relatives to a two-day weekend party on July 23-24, telling them that there had never been a similar situation in the past and it required "emotional stamina, centerednes and openeness".

And she had put one condition: Nobody would cry in front of her.

Betsy Davis, the 41-year-old artist suffering from ALS and Lou Gehrig's disease, called the gathering to bid adieu to her close friends and near ones since the Californian was set to embrace death by taking a drug under the state's new doctor-assisted law for those who are terminally ill, said an AP report.

"For me and everyone who was invited, it was very challenging to consider, but there was no question that we would be there for her," said Niels Alpert, AP quoted a cinematographer from New York City as saying.

More than 30 people came to the gathering which was held at a picturesque town of Ojai in southern California from New York, Chicago and across California.

Besides the cocktails and pizzas from Betsy's favourite local joint, the occasion also saw sscreening of The Dance of Reality---one of her favourite movies based in the life of a Chilean film maker. Balloons labelled "Happy Rebirthday" were also put up on the occasion.

As the weekend drew to a close, Betsy's friends gradually left and she was taken out to a hillside canopy bed where she took the life-ending drug prescribed by her doctor.

A life truly lived ended.

Oneindia News