Nelson Mandela passes away Dec. 5

[Natalka]

Christopher Torchia, The Associated Press

The office of President Jacob Zuma said in a statement that he had visited the 94-year-old anti-apartheid leader at a hospital Sunday evening and was informed by the medical team that Mandela's condition had become critical in the past 24 hours.

"The doctors are doing everything possible to get his condition to improve and are ensuring that Madiba is well-looked after and is comfortable. He is in good hands," Zuma said in the statement, using Mandela's clan name.


Zuma also met Graca Machel, Mandela's wife, at the hospital in Pretoria and discussed the former leader's condition, according to the statement. Zuma was accompanied on the visit by Cyril Ramaphosa, the deputy president of the country's ruling party, the African National Congress.

Zuma appealed to South Africans and the rest of the world to pray for Mandela, his family and the medical team that is attending to him.

[Patty Smyth]

It is unprecedented that they release information like this about him. Normally they try not to panic people because this will really be a huge loss for the people.

It must be just a matter of days if not hours now.

What a life!!!!

[Lynn49]

His passing will be such a great loss to South Africans as well as to the rest of the world....I hope he's resting in peace and not in any pain....May God bless him....

[Patty Smyth]

Not sure if I heard this correctly but Obama maybe on his way there.

[Patty Smyth]

Uh oh

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...n_3505247.html

Nelson Mandela has been placed on life support, CNN reported Wednesday afternoon.
The former South African president's health remained critical for the fourth consecutive day as tribal leaders reportedly were warned to prepare for his death.
According to Sky News' chief correspondent in South Africa, multiple sources confirmed that Mandela is no longer able to breathe unassisted. He has been undergoing treatment, including renal dialysis, at the Mediclinic Heart Hospital in Pretoria since June 8.
According to Reuters, South African President Jacob Zuma was scheduled to travel to Mozambique on Thursday -- that trip has now been canceled.
In an interview with CNN Tuesday, Mandela's daughter Makaziwe, the sole surviving child from his first marriage to the late Evelyn Mandela, said the family was enjoying “quality and sacred moments” with her father.
“All I pray for as a daughter is that the transition is smooth. He is at peace with himself. He has given so much to the world. I believe he is at peace," Makaziwe said.

[Natalka]

JOHANNESBURG - Nelson Mandela's health improved overnight and although his condition remains critical it is now stable, the South African government said Thursday. One of the former president's daughters said he is still opening his eyes and reacting to the touch of his family even though his situation is precarious.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/concern-nel...092744452.html

Message wall outside the hospital

[Lynn49]

It happens so often that there's an improvement before passing; almost as if giving them time to say their farewells...

[Patty Smyth]

It happens so often that there's an improvement before passing; almost as if giving them time to say their farewells...

True, DH's mom waited for us to make the 11 hour trip with DS and then passed in the night.

[Lynn49]

True, DH's mom waited for us to make the 11 hour trip with DS and then passed in the night.

Isn't life strange, Patty. My husband and I were at the hospital with my Mom when my Dad was losing his battle from a stroke...we encouraged her have dinner and drove her home. As soon as we unlocked the door, we heard the phone ringing...he had waited for us to leave before he passed. I guess he knew my Mom could never bear seeing him pass away while she was with him in the room..........

[Darth Penguin]

Mandela (back) on life support, faces impending death

Nelson Mandela is being kept alive by a breathing machine and faces “impending death,” court documents show, as his family gravesite was restored Thursday. Mandela’s health is “perilous” and he is being kept alive by life support, according to documents filed in the court case that resulted in the remains of the former president’s three deceased children being reburied Thursday in their original graves.
“The anticipation of his impending death is based on real and substantial grounds,” the court filing said.
Mandela, who was hospitalized on June 8, remains in critical but stable condition, according to the office of President Jacob Zuma, who visited the anti-apartheid leader on Thursday. The president’s office also said doctors denied reports that 94-year-old Mandela is in a “vegetative state.”

[Darth Penguin]

Not sure if I heard this correctly but Obama maybe on his way there.

President Obama was in South Africa as part of a 3 nation African tour but didn't see President Mandela.

[Patty Smyth]

Mandela (back) on life support, faces impending death

At some point it just becomes cruel to keep on going.

[i_forget]

At some point it just becomes cruel to keep on going.

I was just thinking the same thing.
according to the report I just read, he is being kept alive by breathing machines and is practically gone.
That is cruel. Let him go.

[Natalka]

In a statement released Thursday, the presidency denied reports that Mandela was in a vegetative state.
"We confirm our earlier statement released this afternoon after President Jacob Zuma visited Madiba in hospital that Madiba remains in a critical, but stable condition. The doctors deny that the former President is in a vegetative state," the statement read.

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2...tive-time?lite



Reporting this morning that the document is only part of a play by the lawyers regarding the graves

http://news.sky.com/story/1111614/ma...getative-claim

Sadly, the dispute is more about money...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-23181352

[Natalka]

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu appealed to members of the Mandela family to display the grace "their patriarch and the nation deserves at this somber moment."

"Please, please, please may we think not only of ourselves. It's almost like spitting in Madiba's face," Archbishop Tutu said in a statement released Thursday.


"Your anguish, now, is the nation's anguish - and the world's. We want to embrace you, to support you, to shine our love for Madiba through you. Please may we not besmirch his name," he added.

http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2...tive-time?lite