Terry McMahon's Awesome Blog

Moving story in USA Today, uh, today. Apparently this pregnant woman had an undiagnosed brain tumor that caused her brain functions to fail last month, and they're trying to keep her alive long enough to give birth to a premature baby. There's no controversy here (everyone agrees she would have wanted them to keep trying) but it's a really sad story. Not only do you have the really sweet tale of a couple who clearly loved each other, but the story goes a lot emotionally deeper than you'd expect from USA Today:

Torres has quit his job as a commercial printing salesman and has moved into Susan's hospital room. He speaks to his wife, making small talk about the family and letting her know what's on his schedule for the day. For Torres, the routine is something solid to grasp in a life he says “was blown to pieces” nearly six weeks ago and continues to be rocked by aftershocks.

Susan, for instance, has had pneumonia recently and is fighting a persistent fever. Torres says the couple's son is staying with grandparents but continues to ask, “Where's Mommy?” Saying “in the hospital” is wearing out as an answer, Torres says. And Torres' relationship with God, whom he has loved since childhood, is showing signs of strain. “Some days,” says Torres, an active Catholic, “I am pretty damned angry with him.”
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“How many rocks are they going to throw in your cart before you can't pull it anymore” he says he asks himself. “The answer, apparently, is a lot.”

Torres says he doesn't understand why his family has been singled out for suffering.

Yet it doesn't come across as bitterness, it comes across as a regular guy and a regular family struggling to deal with tragedy. Well done to USA Today for remembering the emotional gravity of this kind of situation. I wish all tragedy coverage was similarly considerate. Condolences to the family.