shelby collapses at home while dressing jackson jr. in his halloween costume. unable to call for help, she is found unconscious by jackson. she is rushed to the hospital, where it is determined that shelby has contracted an infection in her central nervous system due to the suppressive therapy given to keep her body from rejecting the kidney. the doctors inform the family that shelby is likely to remain irreversibly comatose, and they jointly decide to take her off life support.