My poor little mummy is now in peace 28.02.15

Hi All

So the time came, the time i had been dreading and talking about for the last few months as those of you i have been speaking to on here will know mum was very poorly and was deterioating day by day in the last few weeks, 6 days after my sisters wedding my mum passed away.

 

Saturday 28.02.15 around 2am. She had got really bad on Friday and i had taken the day off last minute to be with her as my sister had warned me how bad she was and that she thought she had 2 weeks left at the very most.  When i got there she was terrble, she was struggling to breathe and it was just awlful to watch, she was in and out of conciousness and she wasnt talking at all. She was taking small sips of water and sleeping the whole day. She was also in a lot of pain.  The nurses came in and gave her a syringe driver, they also changed her clothes and bedding and washed her, she wasnt aware of any of this she kept making nosies though it was terrible, her breahting got worse and worse and in the end she was on oxygen. She was struggling through the entire day and tbh it was the worst thing i have ever seen, we were helpless we couldnt do a thing to help her it was the worse day/night of my life.

My mum was put on antibiotics as we were told she had a chest infection but i dont even know if it was this i think it was just coming towards the end and thats why she was breathing so bad, who knows. We tried to give her oramorph before she was given the driver but she wouldnt open her mouth to take it in she kept gritting her teeth, she was just slipping on and out she wasnt aware of much i dont think. Me and my sister kept speaking to my mum the entire time as i read that the senses go last so i wanted to make sure she could hear us and i didnt want her to be scared of dying, every time she moaned i said dont worry mummy we are all here, i kept stroaking her hand and stuff i didnt want her to be scared or think she was alone. We were all by her beside my and my 2 sisters, my bf, my sisters new husband and my mums husband so she had us all there. My mum was getting really bad and we called the nurses back again, they gave her an injection for the pain and then all of a sudden her eyes were rolling and i became really scared she didnt look like my mum any more and then her eyes stayed open and she stopped blinking. She looked like she had died already but she was still breathing, she was not struggling though as the nurses has injected her and she was really calm at this point although it was horrible as she looked like a different?! but she was given a lot of drugs. We all stayed the night, i knew in my head well i thought that i knew that this would be it and me and my sister prayed for god to take her as she struggled so much that day it was UNBEARABLE to watch much more and we were like its enough now how much more can this tiny woman take???

 

I wanted to sleep in the lounge next to my mums bed but my bf said we dont all need to sleep in here why dont we get some rest it was near 2am by this time and my sister and her husband were going to sleep on the sofa next to my mum anyway. We went upstairs i got changed took my make up off put my head on the pillow for maybe 5 minutes and then we heard foot steps, my sisters husband ran in and said i dont think she is breathing, we ran down stairs and that was it. She was gone.

 

 Her husband had gone round the bed to say good night and she was already gone, she slipped away peacefully, while they were in the room they had been chatting for maybe a few minutes and she went. I think she thought ok now is the time no one is looking.

 

TBH i was quite calm i didnt act the way i thought i would at all, i wasnt histerical, i comforted my sisters i just keep repeating over and over she is at peace now. Im quite shocked by the way i dealt with it, i dont know what happened to me really. I then got my bf to call my dad who was basically expecting the call as we had told him in the day how bad she had got. He came right away. We called the nurses back again as we were told to if she passed, we also called the out of hours GP to inform them of her passing. We then waited for the nurses to come, they sorted her out and we went back in room she looked so peacful my sweet little brave mummy, i love her so much and i miss her terribly. We then all sat round her bed in the dark with a little night light on and just talked about her, it was really nice and when my dad came he was shocked at tranquility of the whole thing he couldnt beleive how we all were. We waited near 6 hours for the doctor to come, and then once they had come we called the undertakers.  When she was taken that was hard. I didnt look at them taking her but my other sister did. I didnt want to see that. 

I didnt sleep at all untill saturday night after going to sleep on the thurs so i was pretty exhausted.

We are just over 48 hours now, my emotions have bene up and down, some times crying a lot some times just doing normal things, yesterday we had to pop out to get some clothes for the funeral. I have done a lot of questioning and stuff and i dont like going to sleep as im scared i will have nightmares, what i saw on that night was not pleasant at all. I cant get the pictures out of my brain......

 

The funeral is tomorrow, and as im jewish we the have to sit shiva for 3 days im not sure if many of you know about this? i have never been to a funeral as i tried to go to my nans many years ago and i fainted so i havent been able to go to one since. I am PETRIFIED i am very scared i will pass out, i really am worried, its going to be v hard for me, its my mummy also at jewish funerals there are no flowers, no nice coffin, nothing fancy it is all very morbid in our religion they say 'you come into the world with nothing you leave with nothing' so there will be nothing nice about it what so ever. I am so scared, i have never experienced a funeral and this is my mums. But i have to go i have to pay my respects to this amazing woman i call my mummy.

 

I hope after tomorrow things will get a tiny bit easier, i have  very supportive family and loving bf, im very close to my dad and i have had lots of texts from my friends.I will be off work all this week and i will see how i am at the end of the week and take it from there.

 

Sorry i have gone on for so long but i had to get my thoughts all down. It is still very raw, im not even sure if it has sunk in yet?? maybe it wont untill after tomorrow?

 

Any advice on the funeral would be a great help. Thanks for all your support so far on here. xxxxx

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    So sorry to read your post,

    You are doing so amazingly well.  How wonderful mum was here for your sisters recent wedding.  She will be with you always, her spirit will always be with you and she is there in your hearts and memories.  Nothing can ever take that away from you.

    I remember emailing my family after my husband passed away at home with me and pets (wasn't expected so soon and my family are overseas ) was about 16 hours later, I was quite calm and although have had down days since have virtually remained calm.

    They way I look at it is our loved one is no longer suffering from this cruel disease and for that we should be thankful.  We do miss them incredibly, nothing will change that but goodness haven't they moulded us into the people we are today.

    Thinking of you and a virtual hug sent

    Kathy x

     

     

  • Hi Heartbreaking,

    I just wanted to send you our sincere condolences on behalf of all of us at Cancer Chat. We followed your mum's journey through your posts and were very moved by the photo you posted of your mum and you at your sister's wedding.

    If you ever need to talk, you know that your forum friends will always be here for you. They are not just here to give you some advice on the funeral but to listen to you at any time of the day or night.

    Warmest wishes,

    Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator

  • Hi Heartbreaking,

    Sorry to read your latest post. You have no need to apologise for such a long post for it often help to write down our fears and feelings. I have to be honest with you and say It can often take a few weeks for our loss to fully sink in. The first few days seemed so unreal to me.

    With regard to the funeral, it will be an emotional time but I think the fact your mother is no longer suffering will be of comfort to you. Also as the lovely Kathy has mentioned, you mother has helped shape the person you are and a part of her lives on in you. One thing that helped me, when I felt sad and emotional, I thought about the good times and the many happy moments my mother and I shared and there were plenty of them and this helped a lot.

    Take care, I will think of you tommorrow ,Brian.

  • Having lost my husband just two months ago my heart goes out to you at this time. Sending virtual hugs and you will carry your Mum and wonderful memories wherever you are.  There is no right or wrong way to grieve but let your emotions lead you.  I do hope that writing your feelings down will help (it did me) and with the love and support of those around you, you will honour your Mum tomorrow and onwards. Keeping you in my thoughts.Jules

  • To Dearest Sara, 

    I am so so sorry to hear your very sad news. My heart goes out to you. The way you describe your mums passing is so very similar to my dads final hours, and you are right it is such a tough thing to witness and hard to believe that you have had to go through it. You are bound to be thinking lots about that night right now but in time those memories do fade a little and the good memories of your mum will take over. You will probably be feeling numb and in shock, just take each day as it comes and go with however you are feeling. 

    The funeral will be tough but I did honestly find that the thought of it was worse than actually going through it, if that makes sense. I think being with my dad when he died also helped me to cope with the funeral as in a way we had already said our goodbyes, you have also been there for your mum in exactly the same way. Even though your mums funeral may be different I hope that you will be able to draw on the support of your family and take comfort in the fact that your mum is no longer in pain. Celebrate her life in your memories of her. 

    I did find it especially tough the first few days / weeks after the funeral as I think reality of it all had sunk in but we spoke lots about my dad and I think that helped. You will probably feel absolutely exhausted so do not rush back to work if you dont have to and just go with how you are feeling. Do normal things/things that help you relax too. 

    I will be thinking of you lots.  You and your family are in my thoughts. You have been amazingly strong. 

    Lots of love and hugs 

    Emma xxxx

  • Hi all thank u for all your kind words as you can imagine at present i don't have time to reply to them all individually.

    The funeral was yesterday morning and it was by far the hardest day of my whole 31 years! as I say I have never been to a funeral and jewish ones aren't the most pleasant we stood right near my mummy's coffin but instead of being scared about this I actually was ok with it. my sisters wrote a piece about mu mum which the rabbi read out it was beautiful! The amount of people that turned up was unreal people we hadn't seen in years. So many people came to pay there respects it was astonishing!!! She was one popular lady. we still have 2 more days of mourning at my mums house and its very strange being here around all her stuff without her it's nice but also a bit eerie?! I keep expecting her to walk In. If I'm honest I'm really worried as I still don't think it has sunk in?!  I don't understand why I seem to be ok ish and not breaking down constantly like I thought I would be?! I'm analysing it all which I know I shouldn't be but I can't help myself. Inthinknim surprised at how well I'm doing? I don't knowninjust don't feel like my mums just died cos I'm kind of ok?! I think it will hit me next week when it's Mothers Day that I am dreading!!!!

    Hope to hear back from you all soon Sara xxx

     

  • Hi Sara, 

    I am glad you got through the day and so glad so many people were there for your mum. 

    You will feel very strange right now, I felt exactly the same, expecting my dad to just walk in the room. Don't worry about how you should be feeling, it does take time and the journey is a roller coaster of emotions. I barely cried the first few weeks and I think that was because i was still in shock with it all and life was so hectic the first few days/weeks with arrangements etc. Take each day as it comes it is ok to be feeling how you are feeling and you might find you go from being ok one minute to not the next. 

    You are doing really well and your mum would be so proud. 

    We are all here for you whenever you need a chat.

    Love Emmaxxxx

  • Hi Sara

    Just wanted to say that however you are feeling its 'right for you' and emotions will come and go for however long it takes. You have and are doing your Mum proud and I remember feeling somewhat awed about the number of people who paid their respects at my husband's funeral in January this year (also at my Dads nearly 7 yrs ago).  I felt like I was on autopilot and still not sure where the inner strength comes from to cope.  My own children are around your age and we are supporting each other but still know  its important to take small steps along the grieving process . Two months on since my husband died and my emotions still taking me by surprise and not always when I expect it but the memories you carry within you will always be with you. Your Mum was your Mum every day and not just on Mother's Day but 'special dates will always bring emotions - go with them.  Your forum buddies as well as your family and friends will be there for you and take time out for your own quiet reflections when you need to.  Jules x

  • Hi All

    Havent posted on here in a few days but feeling like i need to now.

    Im going back to work tomorrow and am dreading it, people are saying i should go back and i do agree as the alternative is to sit at home alone while my BF is at work, so that isnt gona do me any good. The last few days i have been kind of OK, up and down though all of a sudden getting upset but i know this is normal. My main feelings atm are:

    Ive been robbed to early of a mother

    I cant believe she is actually gone and ill never see her again?!

    why didnt i spend enough time with her instead of being indenial about her illness and now its too late?

    when is it going to suddenly hit really bad and ill break down?

     

    TBH i cant believe she is gone, even though i was with her, i have seen her coffin, etc i still dont beleive she is gone? when does it sink in? 

    Wish me luck for tomorrow i know it will be hard as everyone will be speaking about my mum and it will just upset me all again :( x

  • Hi Sara

    When I returned to work I dreaded it too and I am sure everyone finds it a difficult step after such a great loss. My workmates waited for me to mention my husband first and gave me space when I needed it. I think you are probably less in denial than you realise; more in shock at the loss of your dear Mum and having to deal with the grief is a day to day learning curve.  My daughter has just turned 33 and is struggling with the death of her Dad (she has two small boys to comfort and care for too but has the support of her husband, brother and me plus countless friends but not one can physically replace a Mum or Dad) and trying very hard to cope. None of us can do this alone and it is very early days for you and your family. I hope your return to work is easier than you are thinking right now but if you struggle do not be afraid to say so and take the extra time you may need.  I too am going back to work tomorrow (had to finish up annual leave before end of March) and it feels as though I am 'starting again' if that makes any sense.

    The grieving process is different for everyone. I draw comfort in knowing that my husband  is free from the suffering that the illness brought him but miss him every day. In time good memories of times together will outwiegh the loss but this cannot be hurried.  You carry your Mum within your heart and your emotions will be up and down.  Take little steps and post here as and when you need to - I am a firm believer in the forum's understanding. Will be thinking of you tomorrow. Jules x