Scott Simon tweets his mother’s death and final days

Most of us have been there — at a hospital bedside vigil, when the news isn’t good and we’re waiting for the life of a loved one to end.

Watching a loved one slip away is a terrible, emotional time. And it’s usually a private one, too, with only family and close friends, and the hospital staff, witnessing the grief and heartache. Not so for National Public Radio Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon, who has shared the last days of his mother’s life on Twitter, in a series of heartbreaking and universally true tweets that have been watched around the world.

Simon’s mother, Patricia Lyons Simon Newman, died on Monday, July 29 around 8:19 p.m.

He marked it with a tweet.

The heavens over Chicago have opened and Patricia Lyons Simon Newman has stepped onstage.

— Scott Simon (@nprscottsimon) July 30, 2013

Simon started tweeting about his mother being in intensive care on Tuesday, July 23. His tweets increased in frequency in the days leading up to her death, as he shared the small moments of light — singing Broadway show tunes, the kindness of hospital staff — and the long, sleepless nights by his mother’s bedside.

Here’s a sample of some of the Tweets. The tweets are in full on Simon’s Twitter page @nprscottsimon.