Bridget Todd
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bridgettodd.bsky.social
Bridget Todd
@bridgettodd.bsky.social
9.8K followers 1.9K following 87 posts
I make podcasts about tech, identity, and the internet.

Creator: There Are No Girls on the Internet podcast on iHeartRadio.
Host: Mozilla’s IRL podcast
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bridgettodd.bsky.social
Sticker with a conservative man seeing a trans person - he’s angry but is also aroused
September 17, 2025 at 7:06 AM
bridgettodd.bsky.social
My dad died.
When my mom died unexpectedly in July, my dad was in the ICU and never really got out. The months after her funeral were a blur of rehabs, doctors, and skilled nursing stays. I got the call that he needed to be hospitalized again in September. I headed to Richmond to be with him and I basically didn't leave until he passed over the weekend. When I wasn’t sleeping on a sofa in dad’s hospital room, I moved into a nonprofit housing facility in Richmond so I could be near dad while he was hospitalized. I lived there for months. The doctors said dad needed familiar faces to stave off delirium for a better chance at recovery, so I was with him every day. When he stopped eating, and the doctors said family members have a better chance of getting a patient to eat than nurses, I was there every day doing mealtimes. Some days it seemed to work. Dad ate amounts that showed promise for being able to sustain himself. Some days Dad was even alert and talkative. Those days, we’d watch movies or talk. Other days were harder and we’d just sit in silence, together. This was not an easy time. I wrestled with complicated life or death questions, terrified I would make the wrong decision. I often spent it sick with anxiety, dread, sleeplessness, and fear. My life got very small. I won’t sugar coat it - caretaking is tough, lonely work. It feels like I have aged years in the last few months. But it wasn’t all bad. Because also, every day, even on bad days, I saw my dad shining through. Everyday, he did something that brought me comfort and reminded me that he was still the person I’ve loved my whole life. Even on his worst day, he never forgot who I was, always telling the nurse “this is my lovely daughter Bridget.” I treasured this time with him, even on days that were hard. If my dad lived another 5 years, I would have happily done this another 5 years. He would have done it for me. He deserved the best shot for recovery and I never gave up on him. My dad is my person; the person who made me feel seen. The only person in my family who visited me every place I ever lived. He hung out with my friends, knew about my interests and my work. He kept a sticker for my podcast in his cell phone wallet. I emailed him everything I ever wrote and he’d always respond with some version of “you’re so talented!” even if it was just a listicle or an article made up solely of other people’s tweets. He wanted the world to know about all of my accomplishments, even the ones that were small. He never made me feel like an afterthought, which is important for someone who has spent a lot of life feeling like an afterthought. Right before he got so sick, I’d just been accepted into a competitive fellowship program at Harvard Law. We talked about it endlessly; he really wanted me to do it, but he always talked about it like I’d be doing Harvard a big favor by accepting. My personal hype man. And in some ways, I was his. I showed up for his recovery every single day. My dad has always been a fighter, just like the boxers he loved to watch. And I watched as doctors told us he had hours to live and to say our goodbyes, only for dad to pull through and surprise everyone. But when dad continued to get sicker and his doctors told me his recovery was becoming less likely, a tough decision had to be made. After months of fighting, months of IVs, tests, chest PT, wound care and turning, Dad spent his last days in palliative care and then hospice. The focus was on making him comfortable and I think it gave both of us some peace. We didn’t have to spend our last few days with me trying to force him to eat or freak out about every new symptom, we could just spend that time together as father and daughter. And we did. In preparing for the move to palliative care, the helpful palliative nurses said sometimes patients will keep holding on as a way to protect their kids. It was important to me that I be with dad in the very end, and I was. When he took his last breaths, I was holding his hand, reassuring him “It’s okay. You can go. I’ll be okay.” I genuinely do not know if this was the truth or not. I want to thank the incredible staff at VCU hospital, who truly became my family over the last few months and always treated my father like he was their father. Thank you Teddie for the visits even when Dad wasnt your patient. Thank you Lilly for your gentleness and for always calling dad “Mr. Melvin.” Thank you Chae for praying with us and for the beautiful drawing. Thank you Cypress for always giving it to me straight. Thank you Jessi for your jokes. Thank you Mara for helping me get housing. Thank you Jim in hospice for being with us until the end. Thank you to the countless other nurses and doctors for going through this with us. And thanks to my dad’s siblings and nieces and nephews who drove hours to be with dad, to offer me some respite when I was truly losing it, or just a kind ear. What happens next? I have essentially put my life on pause for the last few months. It’s incredibly strange to wake up and not need to report straight to the hospital to do breakfast with my dad. It’s strange to be back in my apartment in DC. As I start the process of building my life back, I am comforted to know I wouldn’t do a single thing differently. He was always worth it. We’ll always be together, dad. Always.
December 1, 2024 at 4:47 AM
bridgettodd.bsky.social
We’re very unhappy
My cat in a cone of shame that looks like a flower / she’s miserable
March 1, 2024 at 10:53 PM
bridgettodd.bsky.social
My cat, Sock, sitting on a tote bag
February 10, 2024 at 12:20 AM
bridgettodd.bsky.social
All tuckered out from tearing up literally everything in my entire apartment
A sleepy kitten A sleepy kitten
May 21, 2023 at 10:42 PM
bridgettodd.bsky.social
Hiii I work in platform accountability and I make podcasts about tech and the internet!
April 27, 2023 at 11:30 PM
bridgettodd.bsky.social
My cat is no longer with us but before she passed we made her wear this little hat
April 27, 2023 at 11:27 PM