Flip Saunders has been away from the Wizards on a number of occasions this season as he tends to his sick mother, and now, the unfortunate news has happened. Kay Saunders, who was battling illness at age 90, passed away as Saunders was in the air flying back to Washington D.C. to return to Wizards practice. Flip was eventually was told while the practice was taking place.
↵In the end, Saunders still pushed through and conducted the practice. He said he took his mother off life support three days ago, and everyone expected her to pass on then instead of three days later. Via Craig Stouffer of the Washington Examiner:
↵↵↵↵↵"We made a decision last week where we took her off support, and they thought that she go relatively quick, 20 minutes or so, because she had been on life support for almost two months, and she lasted almost three days. So they called her the ‘miracle grandma,' at the hospital."
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In that way, I guess he said goodbye already. Still, it's a testament to Saunders that he still was able to conduct the practice and will coach the team on Saturday. I don't think I could do that.
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