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Would you steal on this road? Not after this warning, I bet.

I wonder, though, is the sign poster constantly on point looking for thievery?

This is the sign that marks the side of the road near my friend Mike's parents' house in Yakima. I went there today to be with Mike and his family. Mike's mom is in the hospital and very sick. She went in Friday before last and was diagnosed with necrotizing pancreatitis; a very serious illness, but usually treatable. Since her pancreas is in dire condition, her other organs are currently in a state of 'sympathy', meaning the other organs reduce their function in order to heal the sick organ. Unfortunately, this also affects her lung function and she was intubated and attached to a machine in order to help her breathe. Upon further exams, they have found that she has tumors on her liver and ovary. They've also discovered that she has had 3 strokes since being at the hospital. At the moment, she's in a coma and completely unresponsive to any stimuli.

As a family, they have decided to sleep on the news they received today and save any major decisions for the morning. I think they have decided to take her off life support either tomorrow or Wednesday.

I'm glad I went today. I was able to be there with Mike and Chris while we went and said goodbyes to Marge. Marge has had a long history with chronic pain and her quality of life has been diminished while she was treated for that condition with a massive amount of painkillers. Marge is finally resting comfortably and out of the pain that has consumed her life for at least the last 10 years.

It was very hard to watch Mike's heart breaking right in front of me.