Anderson Cooper honors his late mother Gloria Vanderbilt in his return to CNN

Mediaite

Cooper, who was off the air for the past week and a half to care for his mom, thanked viewers for their condolences in closing out Thursday's Anderson Cooper 360. "My mom found out June 8th that she had cancer. She lived nine more days,” said Cooper. “To be able to spend those nine days and nights with her was a great, great blessing. They were the most extraordinary days of my life and I’m very grateful. She died Monday shortly after 4:00 A.M., and though I was holding her hand and her head when she took her last breath it’s still a little hard for me to believe she’s gone.”