More details are emerging about comedian Bernie Mac’s final moments before he passed away at age 50 in a Chicago intensive care unit. According to People.com, the comedian’s wife, Rhonda, 50, and daughter, Je’Niece, 30, were by his side during the final moments before he succumbed to complications related to sarcoidosis early Saturday morning.
Bernie Mac’s sister-in-law, Mary Ann Grossett, told People.com that the night before Mac died, he struggled for life and couldn’t breathe. But Mac was on a ventilator from the time of his admission to the hospital on July 24 until his death on August 9. While most patients on ventilators feel like they’re suffocating when they aren’t, Mac’s lungs were probably so scarred from his disease that the ventilator couldn’t help him.
In a poignant moment, Grossett described Mac’s last communication with his wife Rhonda:
“He opened his eyes on his own and looked at Rhonda. She called his name, and he opened his eyes and nodded to her. She smiled at him and told him, ‘Don’t leave me … ‘I’m waiting for you to come back.’ He shrugged his shoulders, and she said that’s when she knew he was tired. He signaled to her that his body was tired.”
Grossett also said that Mac’s chronic illness, sarcoidosis, contributed to his death.
“He had sarcoidosis, but it was in remission. But because he had it, his immune system was compromised. He had an infection … He was on a new medication that suppresses the immune system, and that’s where the pneumonia came from.”
Like most sarcoidosis patients, Mac was treated with the steroid Prednisone to control the inflammation (swelling) in his lungs. But the Prednisone weakened his already compromised immune system and made him more susceptible to secondary infections.
Of Mac’s widow Rhonda, Grossett said:
“They had 30 years of marriage. That’s unprecedented in today’s time, particularly for celebrities. That brings joy to her. They loved each other and respected each other on a daily basis. She was by his side to the very end.”
Photo: Wireimage/Getty
This entry was posted on Monday, August 11th, 2008 at 10:09 am and filed under Celeb news, Dearly departed, Health & medicine, Relationships . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed or Trackback from your own site. This site is Gravatar enabled. Sign up to upload your own avatar.
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Married for 30 years, that’s special.
This is heartbreaking … God Bless Rhonda and Je’Niece
When I heard of his death I was sadden but when I read he had been married for 30 years I was excited and surprised. Heck, I never knew he was married. And I surely never heard about him cheating on his wife and sleeping around with every Jane and Mary. Wow, what a love story. The sad part is you don’t hear about black men and woman who have been together and love and respect each other. I am not saying it is not out there because it is but I am saying people just don’t report on it and they should. Just maybe if the news media reported on couples successful marriages people may strive to do better and hang in there. Maybe people just need a little hope that marriages can last if both parties work at it, love one another and respect each other. I vote the media start reporting on the succesful married couples and not report on all the bad.
I’m just saying….
God Bless his family.
I cried when I heard that he had passed. I was praying for him to get better but I guess GOD had other plans in store and now after reading that he was tired of struggling to breath, I can understand why he let go. R.I.P. Bernie Mac…you will truly be missed.
Rest In Peace Berns… You and your humor will be missed…
This is very sad news to hear…Bernie was so humerous you wouldn’t even think this could happen so early to a person like him. My heart goes out to his family.
RIP BERNIE “THE MAC MAN”
From Steve Harvey’s Website:
http://steveharvey.com/bernie_mac_tribute.html