Thanks to everyone for their love and support. An update with a bit of additional background:
Since early in her hospital stay, Heidi's mom has been on a CPAP machine - a machine that provides constant air pressure into someone's breathing track that is used with sleep apnea patients to stop their airways from closing as they sleep. However, with Heidi's mom's weakening lungs, it was found that the machine increased her breathing capacity, and it was left on 24 hours a day. Before the hospital gave it to her, carbon dioxide built in her blood, causing her to spend her first 24 hours in the hospital asleep, nearly comatose. While wearing the CPAP mask, however, she has regained her faculties, sleeping more normally and feeling better.
She has been removing the mask only for short periods to eat or visit with someone (the mask makes speaking difficult), but it was becoming clearer over time that she was not going to be able to breathe normally again without the machine. When she removed it for more than an hour or so, the sleepiness would start to return as her carbon dioxide levels rose. In essence, the CPAP machine has been acting as a kind of ventilator, but that was not in accordance with resuscitation wishes she has expressed. When the doctor told her that if she did not wear the CPAP mask, she would fall asleep, slip into a coma and pass away, she indicated that that was what she wanted.
That was a few days ago, and since then her two outstanding children have returned, and she has a steady stream of friends and relatives come through her hospital room to say goodbye. The last of these left a little while ago, and after that visit, she asked that we not put her mask back on, and we did not. Since that time, Heidi and her father, brother and sister have been around her mom's bed. They have shared stories and told jokes and sung songs. Heidi's mom has become more and more tired, but has not yet let herself slip into unconsciousness. That will come at some point very soon.
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