Lying in a bed surrounded by family spiritedly singing the lyrics to the song “That’s Amore,” Marisa Nini enjoyed one final reunion with her loved ones before her death last month.
The 55-year-old Montreal woman had opted for a medically assisted death after a year-long struggle with Stage 4 colon cancer, which included three unsuccessful rounds of chemotherapy, alternative medicine and a diminished quality of life.
“When she saw the chemo was too hard on her, she had no life quality, she told herself I’d rather have less time but a better life quality,” Marisa’s sister, Stephanie Nini, told CTV Montreal on Wednesday.
When the pain became too much for the mother of four, Marisa chose assisted dying with the support of her family and friends.
As the planned date for her death approached, Marisa asked her family to join her for one last get-together.
Nini captured her older sister’s last moments with her family on a cellphone video shot from inside a home. In the video, Marisa can be seen clapping her hands to the music and mouthing the words of the song as her family rowdily sings around her.
“I took the video because it was so beautiful to see my sister be so courageous,” Nini shared. “I wanted to remember her with everyone loving her and with her smile before leaving. I needed to have these souvenirs.”
A couple of days before her sister’s scheduled death, Nini uploaded a few clips from that intimate family gathering to her Facebook page.
The touching sing-a-long struck a chord with users online. The videos have attracted more than a million views since they were posted on June 24.
Nini explained that she wanted to share that emotional day with the public in order to provide a human face on the controversial subject of assisted dying. She said she’s received mostly positive comments on her post from strangers all over the world.
“I’ve had a couple of people on Facebook saying it should not be, it should be private, but that’s an opinion,” Nini said. “My opinion is, we see on the news all the time bad things. I think we need to see better things. Things we can relate to.”
Marisa’s sister said she hopes her post will help families struggling with terminal illness and spark a conversation about assisted dying.
In the meantime, Nini will be able to cherish the laughter and music her sister and family enjoyed that day on those videos.
“She said, ‘I love you so much. You taught me a lot,’” Nini recounted. “I don’t know what I taught her but she taught me a lot.”
With a report from CTV Montreal’s Denise Roberts
Ma grande soeur Marisa Nini nous quitte lundi après une longue bataille avec le cancer, elle est prête à partir et à...
Posted by Stephanie Nini on Saturday, June 24, 2017
