Christy O’Donnell is suffering from Stage IV lung cancer that has spread to her brain, liver, rib and spine, according to USA Today.
The California woman and single mother has now sued the state for the right to end her life, according to NY Daily News.
The 46-year-old reportedly explained that she already knows how she will die, as her lungs will eventually fill with fluid, causing her to drown.
“I spend an inordinate amount of time being afraid of the pain that I’m going to endure,” stated O’Donnell in a video put together by Compassion and Choices, the group that filed the suit on her behalf on Friday.
“All of that time that my mind spends thinking about that, I am not living.”
O’Donnell has a morphine intolerance that makes pain management especially difficult for her while the doctors drain the fluid from her lungs, according to ABC News. She would reportedly have to repeat the process of draining her lungs until her time to die comes.
“Every day, when my daughter is coming home from work, she calls me on the phone to talk to me. You know why? She wants to know before she gets home if I’m still alive,” O’Donnell stated.
The former Los Angeles Police Department sergeant was reportedly told by doctors that she has less than six months to live.
The California state Senate is reportedly considering Bill 128, the End of Life Option Act, and has until June 5 to pass it.
“I’ve lived an incredible life,” stated O’Donenll.
“I’ve lived 10 people’s lives in my 46 years. I’ve had the joy of motherhood, which has been the greatest love of my life. So, because of that, I’m not afraid to die.”
