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
