Traumatized by seeing my mum die

Hi everyone 

I feel like I'm going mad some days. My lovely mum passed away from lung cancer in August last year. Although I'm married with a home of my own, I partially moved in with my mum and dad for the last 3 months to help out and because I wanted to be with mum for as much time as I could.

On the Tuesday night before she passed on the Friday, I was laying on the bed with her and she said, if I don't see you in the morning, you know I love you don't you? 

I did see her in the morning but it was like someone had flipped a switch. Mum was crying, distressed, agitated. It went on like this for 48 hours, like this until she died on the Friday morning.

I keep replaying the images in my mind, and the noises mum was making. Wailing, and distressed until the Macmillan nurses arrived to give her something. We would have a couple of hours of calm then it would all start again.

I wake up in the night and I've been chewing my cheek and clenching my fists so tight I have to force my hands open. 

I feel like I'll never move past what happened and think about my lovely mum as she was. 

Is anyone able to tell me that this stops at some point?

Thank you so much  

Parents
  • Hello Jeanie,

    I'm so sorry for your loss. 

    My Mum died from cancer some years ago now and I was there when she went. Although it wasn't as distressing as it sounds like it was for you and your Mum, it also wasn't the quiet peaceful passing many people led me to expect and I was left feeling a little traumatised.

    Like you and your Mum, I had a moment the day before, when she was still conscious and lucid, that felt like the goodbye and the last time we spoke. As time has gone on I think more of that moment, than of the day after. It did take time though.

    I also had a dream that I went to visit her in the hospital, and she was sat on the bed, dressed in her nice clothes. Hair and make up done. And she said "I'm ready now" and it was her saying she was ready to go. I don't believe in mysticism and things but that dream gave me a lot of peace. Perhaps it was my subconscious when I was ready.

    I'm so sorry your Mum's last day was the way it was. Keep looking at photos of her how she really was. Talk about her and remember her for the person she really was.

    X

Reply
  • Hello Jeanie,

    I'm so sorry for your loss. 

    My Mum died from cancer some years ago now and I was there when she went. Although it wasn't as distressing as it sounds like it was for you and your Mum, it also wasn't the quiet peaceful passing many people led me to expect and I was left feeling a little traumatised.

    Like you and your Mum, I had a moment the day before, when she was still conscious and lucid, that felt like the goodbye and the last time we spoke. As time has gone on I think more of that moment, than of the day after. It did take time though.

    I also had a dream that I went to visit her in the hospital, and she was sat on the bed, dressed in her nice clothes. Hair and make up done. And she said "I'm ready now" and it was her saying she was ready to go. I don't believe in mysticism and things but that dream gave me a lot of peace. Perhaps it was my subconscious when I was ready.

    I'm so sorry your Mum's last day was the way it was. Keep looking at photos of her how she really was. Talk about her and remember her for the person she really was.

    X

Children
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