Unity Call: "Stephanie Tubbs Jones removed from life support at 12:19 p.m"

This sad news about a strong Democrat who was key figure in our primary battles really hit me hard as a sobering reminder of how suddenly life can render our internecine spats secondary...

Condolences and supportive thoughts to her family and friends.

(Updated OP headline to reflect late news of her passing.)

____________________

Ohio station: Tubbs Jones may be taken off life support

After suffering a massive aneurysm while behind the wheel Tuesday night in Cleveland, Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Ohio) is in grave condition and may be taken off of life support as early as this afternoon, according to WOIO in Cleveland. Tubbs Jones was “for all intents and purposes dead when they brought her into the hospital” Tuesday night, the station reported in a breaking news update that interrupted regular morning programming.

The station, reporting from outside Huron Hospital in East Cleveland, where Tubbs Jones was brought Tuesday night, said her condition was “grave.” The report also indicated that life support could be “withdrawn sometime afternoon.” Tubbs Jones’s office released a statement earlier Wednesday saying the congresswoman had suffered an aneurysm and described her condition as stable.Her office could not be reached to confirm WOIO reports that her life is in immediate jeopardy

Joyce Persaud, a spokeswoman for Huron Hospital, said she could not comment on Tubbs Jones' condition or confirm reports about her condition, but said that she expected the hospital to release a statement sometime this afternoon.



http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/ohio-station-tubbs-jones-may-be-taken-off-life-support-2008-08-20.html

She is a fire Cracker! She is still fighting!

Today is not turning out to be a good day :(

My prayers are also with her family. It's coming to the first anniversary of my mother in law's death last year. Time and prayers heal.

My opinion.

:cry:

So sad. :-( :cry:

Aneurysm's are fast and they still hit people that have no idea they are even in danger.

His Aneurysm was detected in a health check we wouldn't have had time for if he hadn't been knocked out of the race the week before.

She was so young and vibrant!

Sadness as a term just doesn't cut the feelings here.

:cry:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/20/AR2008082001310.html?sub=AR

US Rep. Tubbs Jones of Ohio suffers aneurysm

The Associated Press
Wednesday, August 20, 2008; 12:51 PM

CLEVELAND -- Democratic U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, the first black woman to represent Ohio in Congress, was hospitalized Wednesday after suffering an aneurysm, her spokeswoman said.

Tubbs Jones, 58, had the aneurysm while driving her car in Cleveland Heights on Tuesday, spokeswoman Nicole Williams said. The congresswoman's condition has been stabilized at a hospital in East Cleveland, she said.

Further details on Tubbs Jones' condition weren't immediately available.

The congresswoman had been driving erratically and her vehicle crossed from the northbound lanes across the southbound lanes, according to a statement from police.

An officer pulled a cruiser across the roadway to warn oncoming traffic. The officer reached her vehicle and found Tubbs Jones in medical distress, the statement said.

Tubbs Jones, first elected in 1998, was one of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's biggest boosters during the primaries and is a superdelegate at next week's Democratic National Convention in Denver.

She represents the heavily Democratic 11th District.

Always the good ones it seems.

always the good ones. :-(

:cry:

I've been thinking of her all morning. Prayers and wishes with her family.

So very sad........

Best wishes to her family.

:cry:

At least she won't be subjected to the spectacle that was the Terry Schiavo affair.

It just sucks that it seems unlikely she won't recover but maybe one of those rare cases where brain activity resumes after the person is taken off life support could happen...

When reading very sad news like this, you don't necessarily think of recommending. Speaking for myself, I was almost too sad to post. But you're right, it needs to be on the greatest page, so in that respect I'm glad to be the fifth rec. And my heart, prayers, and deep wishes for a miraculous recovery go out to the Congresswoman and her family. I would like to thank her for her courageous service to our country, and for standing up to the * administration since 2000.

:(

Very sad indeed. This same thing happened to my aunt back in 2003 and she was 46 years old. My aunt was very vibrant. Once my aunt had no brain function the doctors told us that she was already dead. Her heart was beating but only because if life support. My aunt had zero brain activity. Took my mom a few hours to decide to take her off life support. I feel terrible for Ms.Tubbs family. It's very hard to deal with.

This is so sad! She is way too young! (I will always remember her advocacy during the dark days of the Kerry election debacle--and, especially inauguration day 2004! She's a hero!)

Any word from Hillary, yet? (Stephanie went out on a limb to support Hillary over Obama. I sure hope someone NOTICED!)

That woman was a human dynamo -- fighting for her candidate
through the end of the primary ... If anyone can pull through
this, she can. She deserves to be able to see Hillary's name
put into nomination, after all the hard work she did for her
during the campaign.

:grouphug:

Heartbreaking. :(

She was a pillar of strength for HRC during the primaries and always a source of hope for Hillary. A sad moment for all Americans.

I saw this on Faux on one of the teevees at the gym.

Did this happen last night? My prayers go out to her and her family. I am so sorry to hear that.

My thoughts go out to her and her family.

what a loss she was a strong dem voice.

Can't imagine just having your brain blow up without warning like that.

Condolences and prayers to her family :(

:cry: :cry:

at a health update forum. What a wonderful woman. I'm in shock.

:cry:

are absolutely unreal. She always remembered where she came from, she always championed the causes that came from her heart, she was a great Platform chair last time around, and gave a great speech at the last convention.

It is a loss to not only Ohio, but the entire country.

She was a champion for the people in area. She helped bring money for good community service programs and she was one of the first to draw attention to predatory lending.

She just lost her husband a couple of years ago.

just damn.

So sorry to hear this.

Stephanie Tubbs Jones has died, sources say
Posted by Plain Dealer staff August 20, 2008 13:00PM
Categories: Breaking News, News Impact



U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, the first African-American woman to represent Ohio in Congress, has died after suffering a brain aneurysm, said sources familiar with the situation.

She was removed from life support at 12:19 p.m. at Huron Road Hospital, the sources said.

Tubbs Jones, 58, served as a Cuyahoga County judge and prosecutor before succeeding U.S. Rep. Louis Stokes. She has served five terms in Congress and is expected to easily win her sixth in November.

The mood of supporters around noon was somber. Cleveland Councilman Roosevelt Coats was seen sobbing outside the hospital. He said Tubbs Jones was unconscious and her friends and relatives were preparing for the worst. ...

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2008/08/stephanie_tubbs_jones_in_grave.html

:cry:

This must be so hard for her family, friends and supporters.

She was a good Democrat.

CNN just reported that she was in stable condition, and no other major sources are saying she died so there may still be hope.

Edit: CNN has confirmed that she passed :(. RIP.

We've been losing some good ones lately...it's so surreal. I hope that the Democratic convention does a fitting tribute.

Pure tragedy!

Wow.

:eyes:

This is so sudden. Heartbreaking.

My sympathies to her family and friends. She was a remarkable woman who always fought for what she believed in.

Thoughts and prayers to her family.

so full of life, a wonderful democrat and a beautiful human being. She always had that big beautiful smile and was such a strong supporter of Hillary.

My thoughts are with her friends and family. What a tremendous loss.

RIP

Shedding some tears here. She was my rep.

You can get the stream here:

http://www.newsnet5.com/index.html

My deepest thoughts and sympathies to her family.

Aneurysm exploded while she was driving her car. Apparently she didn't know she was in such serious condition either. :(

and a note of thanks for the great good she did in her life.

:cry:

RIP

:cry:

loved ones can remember her as her cheerful, vibrant self. They will grieve mightily, but their memories of her will all be uplifting. Her sense of humor and boundless energy were her gifts and she shared them with all of us. May she rest in peace and joy.

I met her a couple of times when she campaigned with Hillary and she was a charming lady.

My sincerest condolences to her family.

Rest in peace, Stephanie.

:cry:

This is such a tragic loss. My condolences to her family.

ETA: CNN saying she is in critical condition. 2:34pm ET

We are in one of those starge situations where our definitions of death fail.

She is technically in critical condition, but a team of neurologists examned her this morning and found that she has "Very limited brain function"

It seems her heart has kept going after being taken off life support...

Tragic stuff.

Or maybe not..it did sound a bit different. I do not know if she was or was not.

This is a sad day for Ohio, and many others as well, but especially here.

Bill Press was speaking about this early today, she was hosting a fundraiser for women's issues Tuesday at the convention. Sounds like she was a good friend to him too.

Dang.

The autonomic functions (heartbeat, breathing) are controlled by a small area at the base of the brain. A person with essentially no cortical function can still keep breathing.

(Didn't that happen with Terry Schiavo?)

In donor situations I doubt they induce death if function continues when the ventilator is removed. A tragic situation.

We all were holding him and laying all over him when he died...I was wrapped around his left foot when his heart rate started to plummet....I thought that was a pretty good way to go, with your entire family holding you physically, all at once.

She will almost certainly pass in the coming days, but being taken off of life support does not equal death. Shame on the source and the media for reporting this without confirmation and clarification.

Send her strength! Remind her we need her!

Rest in peace, gentle lady. :cry:

Where the hell have I been the last couple of days I had no idea. My thoughts go out to her family.

says critical condition.

I say that because I haven't seen her for about six years now.

I remember when she went from being County Prosecutor to being Lou Stokes replacement. The morning that Lou announced his retirement, the first thing we all thought was STJ for Congress. The party rallied behind her and she won.

She is a good public servant, thoughtful and always represented her diverse admirably. If the reports are true, she will be missed by all of Cuyahoga County

She was "for the people" and a fighter... everything that Nancy Pelosi could never be.

It seems (and I am not in the room or anything) that we are running into the fact that we have two different definitions of death; heart death and brain death.

A person can be declared brain dead and taken off life support, yet continue to breath and pump blood for an hour or for twenty years. It happens.

My best sense of things is that she is diagnostically neurologically hopeless, but that her autonomic functions (heartbeat, respiration) continue. The formal declaration of death is reserved for when the heart stops.

These twilight situations are especially cruel for the family, and I am full of sympathy.

A wonderful representative who will be sorely missed.

My heart goes out to her family.

:patriot:

She was always so enthusiastic whenever I heard her speak on msm shows.

I LOVE this lady,and have always admired her for always smiling,always in a good mood.Bernie Mac,Issac Hayes,now Stephanie Tubbs Jones. Why oh why are the good ones leaving us? I am crushed. Let's all hope for the best that she comes out of this. It doesn't look good,that's for sure.Prayers going out for her.......her family,friends and constituents.A very sad day for all of us. :cry:

and constituents. She was a fine, fine woman and an outstanding Democrat.

Very, very sad.

Godspeed Stephanie.

I am so sad.

:cry:

:cry:

What a blow! I was following this at work and just got home. :cry:

With minimal brain activity, according to her doctors during a press conference.

It doesn't look good, but for the moment, she's still with us.

An overzealous and underinformed staffer just made a huge mess out of this whole situation.

She's been a progressive stalwart for more time than probably half of DUers can remember.

PLEASE get well, Rep. Tubbs-Jones.

My own father died from an aneurism, 11 years ago now. My Mom, brother and I had to make the decision about taking him off life-support. The aneurism was in the brain stem, and it cut off blood flow from that point to the rest of the brain. He was gone within 5 minutes after life support was removed.

...but in critical condition.

:shrug:

...but, she's still alive, thank FSM.:hug:

:cry:

My sympathies to her family and friends. :(

I'm so sorry

Prayers for her and her family. :cry:

What an amazing woman. So sad. :(

hear this. she was a great woman and a mensch. God rest your soul, sweet lady.

A great lady.

:(

:cry:

:cry:

:-(

I know from what I have read of her, that she touched many people, and was a good representative on our side. I wish to give my condolences to her family, her friends, her constituents and to those here on DU who were very fond of her. May peace be with you all...

May she rest in peace and may members of the U.S. Congress carry on her fight.

It's up to us to carry on the struggle.

Let's Win This For Stephanie Tubbs-Jones!

Don't Mourn...Organize!