Today sucked.
Today the doctors sat us down and gave us the news my brothers and I had a sense was coming, but weren't prepared to really hear.
The stroke was catastrophic. They weren't able to save her brain. She is, for the most part, gone. About the only processing that's going on is that she's able to see us out of one eye, barely recognize that someone she knows is in the room, and squeeze our hand.
I'm reserving my real emotions. But, let's just say that this is about the suckiest thing I could imagine. Turns out she'll be lucky to live out the week. She signed a do not rescuscitate order and told all of her friends and family to let her go if she was going to be in such a state. Thankfully that took most of the hard decisions out of our hands. But it still was tough not overriding her wishes.
If there's some good that might come out of this, please sit down and communicate with your family about what you'd like to have happen in a similar situation. Do not leave these kinds of decisions to your next of kin.
Anyway, now I gotta stop crying, pull myself together, and fly relatives in from around the world. (Her sister is reading my blog, hello Tante!) There are many family and friends who can't make it here. We really appreciate your kind thoughts and prayers and we're reading these to my mom, she tugs on my hand when we're there, so the notes are comforting. If you need to talk with me, I'm on cell phone at 425-205-1921.
How do you say goodbye? One hand squeeze at a time.
Damn, this sucks.
Robert: When my grandmother was in hospice, the nurses told me that people can hear til the last minute of their lives. Keep telling her you’re there and that you love her.
And that it is ok for her to go.
BL
Sorry to read this. In Dutch, we say ‘sterkte’ on those occasions, which comes down to ‘keep yourself strong.’ I find it okay to be weak on those moments.
Sorry to read this. In Dutch, we say ‘sterkte’ on those occasions, which comes down to ‘keep yourself strong.’ I find it okay to be weak on those moments.
[...] 500! This is my 500th post! Hard to believe, but I’ve already reached 500 posts to my blog. Sure, that’s nothing compared to the volume of Scoble, but still a lot of words. Hope my readers have found them valuable. I’ll strive to make the next 500 even better! Speaking of Scoble, please keep him and his family in your prayers. For those who haven’t read his blog lately, his mom has suffered some terrible medical problems. Having had a close family member fall ill recently myself, I have some idea what Robert’s going through, and he’s right…it sucks. Filed Under: Musings [...]
[...] My heart goes out to fellow weblogger, Robert Scoble, whose mother is gravely ill. He’s in Billings, Montana, to be with her. Tomorrow, on Mother’s Day, I’m going to drive for just under an hour to visit my Mom for Mother’s Day and spend the time looking at old family photos and recording oral history of her Mother’s side of the family (my grandmother graduated from Billings High School in Billings Montana. Small world.) Oh, and just so you know, that’s Mom up in the masthead of this the other site. My nephew is interviewing her. [...]
[...] http://scobleizer.wordpress.com/2006/05/10/bad-news-gets-worse/ [...]
[...] Today I was catching up on my blog reading and read what Robert Scoble posted in his blog the past couple of days (here and here). His mother is terminally ill and is not expected to live much longer so he and his brothers have all traveled to be by her side in a hospital located in Montana. [...]
[...] "How do you say goodbye? One hand squeeze at a time." -Robert Scoble [...]
[...] [Scobleizer] Explore posts in the same categories: Blogosphere, International [...]
[...] Robert Scoble, who I feel like I know yet I’ve barely met (only briefly when he signed my copy of Naked Conversations at said party). Why? Because he’s real. He’s a real guy talking about real things, Microsoft-related and not. Thank you for being bold, brave, honest and forthright. Thank you for opening up our tech/business/shareholder value-driven world to something more important: life itself. And thank you for taking time to spend with us today, so close to the time that you left your Mom. I hope you and I get the chance to sit down together someday soon. [...]
my prayers are with you and your family!!
my prayers are with you and your family!!
[...] Maybe there is no blogosphere, but there is now a blogofamily. Thanks, Robert, for sharing your Mom and your grief with us. Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. [...]
Good luck Robert. We’re all thinking of you!
Good luck Robert. We’re all thinking of you!