The mother of Dwight Howard's 6-year-old son died nearly six weeks ago due to an epileptic seizure, the Los Angeles Lakers center says. Although Howard has spent the NBA's hiatus dealing with the difficult task of explaining Melissa Rios' death to their son, he is also grateful for the chance to heal from the loss without the daily grind of the NBA schedule. ''It's been one of the toughest things I've ever had to deal with,'' Howard said.