(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Pulling the Plug; On The Loss Of A Grandson, A Colorado State Open Thread, 8/7/23 [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-08-07 My phone rang on the afternoon of July 4. “I should be calling to say Happy Fourth of July,” said my daughter, “but I can’t, because it’s not.” I heard her crying. She had just received the news that her son, our grandson, was in intensive care in another state. Doctors were in the process of completing required protocols and procedures to declare him brain dead; they would confer with family here in Colorado about removing life-support the following morning. He was on a ventilator because he was a registered organ donor. We were on the phone until nearly 4 am. We talked of life and death and so many things, and sometimes we just cried. We cried a lot. I can’t really write about all that we talked about. I think we were just marking time as we felt the clock ticking toward the inevitable events of the next day. It was the Fourth of July. No one could have slept that night for all the fireworks outside, anyway. I will never hear fireworks again without thinking of this night. Waiting for that call on July 5 felt like the passing of eternity. Shrouded in the dusk of a silent in-between, you can’t tell anyone what has happened because it hasn’t happened — yet. You just have to wait — with the weight of an ice-cold anvil in your stomach. Morning came, and we waited. Time passed, and we waited. Eventually the call came. It was done. Then, the official calls with the hospital, the mortuary, the organ donation place. They had confirmed his identification and donor status through his driver’s license. Then, so many text messages, emails, phone calls and social media postings. People care and respond, and with every response there are new tears. It’s just so damn raw. He was too young to die. He was 28. The week went by in a blur. Day and night and eating and sleeping were all scrambled. Days passed and fatigue was to the bone, but sleep wouldn’t come. Nights concluded by waking up at 4 or 4:30 am with the mother of all headaches. Then Friday, we went to lunch. It seemed odd … to see the sun shining and clouds in the sky for the first time in days … to eat a real meal at an actual mealtime ... to see and know the world still exists … to begin getting back to the life that goes on for we who remain alive in this world. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of that week had vanished into the abyss. On Saturday, we learned that his heart and lungs, pancreas and liver would go to recipients on Sunday. On Monday, his body went to the coroner. On Thursday, he was cremated. After that, his ashes will be shipped home. Then will come the memorial, the celebration of his life. His ashes will be scattered in the mountains of Colorado, which he loved. Thank you to ColoTim for use of his Colorado mountain photos for this piece. I expect that everyone reading this has experienced the loss of a loved one. What are your most significant memories of the experience? How long was it before you could sleep again? Sometimes you forget, and then it comes flooding back with a twist in your gut. It still doesn’t seem real. Waiting for that call ... felt like the passing of eternity. Shrouded in the dusk of a silent in-between, you can’t tell anyone what has happened because it hasn’t happened — yet. Colorado mountains. photo attribution ColoTim Colorado Republicans defeat primary-changing amendment State Republicans fought among themselves this weekend, defeating an amendment that would have eliminated unaffiliated citizens from voting in the Republican primary. Following a rowdy session of actual shouting, yelling and fighting, the final vote was 186.83 to 149.16. The issue needed 221.76 central committee votes to pass. (I am as curious as you are about how they have decimal fractions of votes.) If you know, please tell us in the comments. CASTLE ROCK — The Colorado GOP firmly rejected an amendment to the state party’s bylaws on Saturday that would have made it easier for Republicans to take the dramatic step of opting out of Colorado’s 2024 primaries. The amendment was part of a push by the far right to block Colorado’s roughly 2 million unaffiliated voters from helping select Republicans’ general election candidates. Unaffiliated voters have been allowed to cast ballots in partisan primaries since the 2018 election. ‘Hank the Tank’ captured in California, will be transported to Colorado’s Wild Animal Sanctuary CALIFORNIA — Wildlife biologists for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) this morning (Aug. 4) safely immobilized a large female conflict bear responsible for at least 21 DNA-confirmed home break-ins and extensive property damage in the South Lake Tahoe area since 2022. Her three cubs were also captured in the effort. Pending a successful veterinary check, CDFW has secured permission from the State of Colorado to transport the female black bear, known as 64F, and place it with The Wild Animal Sanctuary(opens in new tab) near Springfield, Colorado, which has agreed to care for it in its expansive facilities. This large black bear is one of multiple bears identified by the public last year as “Hank the Tank” based on visual observations. Marshall Fire lawsuits filed BOULDER COUNTY — Multiple insurance companies and survivors filed lawsuits last week against Xcel Energy after the 18-month investigation reported one of the two ignition points of the Marshall Fire was a power line arcing into dry grass during a day of high winds. The resulting fire was the most destructive in Colorado’s history, destroying more than a thousand homes and businesses, totaling billions of dollars in damage and killing two people. 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