he passed last night just before midnight. he was preceded in death by his mother - yesterday was her birthday - and his younger brother.
it sounds like it was liver failure that took him out. he struggled with alcoholism in the past, he's had a lot of tragedy in his life and I think the drinking was a largely self-medication. he'd been clean for years at this point, married a nurse, he was doing very well, but I think the damage was just too much. I don't know if he was drinking again or not, and I'm not going to ask, but with liver failure there's lots of things that can trigger the actual failing point once the damage is severe.
he's a donor and his wife was working through that paperwork, but I don't know what they'll actually be able to use given the organ failure/intubation. maybe some of the other stuff outside of the traditional soft organ donation stuff, like skin or corneas or bones. maybe nothing, sometimes it just works out that way.
he was a great dude. the first time we ever talked, it was like literally the day after his mom died, but he saw some people publicly harassing me (on the internet) and he reached out to make sure I was OK and to say nice things to and about me. every time I saw him at shows, even if we hadn't seen each other or talked for months or years, he made you feel like he came out tonight just to see you. he had a lot of tragedy and sorrow in his life, but he also always had kind words for his friends and family.
I genuinely wish that I believed in an afterlife because it would bring me great comfort to imagine him hugging his mom and his brother, and all of the rest of our friends who have died too young.