Mum passed away Christmas morning

My amazing Mum who fought briefly with secondary liver cancer passed away this morning. I'm still in complete shock and disbelief, my mum can't just be gone like that. We knew she didn't have long but she detriorated so quickly. On Tuesday she was weak and tired as usual but completely aware when she was awake and could talk fine. However on Wednesday she was sleeping all day and less with it but she was still in there. Then on Friday she went into the hospice and went downhill so fast. By the end she had so much trouble speaking but her mind was still working. You could see that she was frustarted that she couldn't say what she was thinking I spent her last night with her and it was so hard - listening to her laboured breathing and not being able to help her at all. When I sat with her, her eyes were wide open but she wasn't ther. She couldn't even squeeze my hand to let me know she knew I was there. We were there when she passed this morning but it was so hard seeing her the way she was, and at the moment I can't think about her in any other way which I think is what hurts so much. I know she is at peace now but its too hard to see past the fact that shes gone.

None of this feels fair, which I know is a common feeling but it's just so tough. We were even just hoping she'd make it through Christmas - we had gone out and bought food and decorated her room to have a final christmas celebration with her but we didn't even get that. Everything happened so quickly, she was only diagnosed at the start of November and then on the 24th of November we were told there was nothing they could do and that we had weeks maybe months left with her. The fact that we couldn't even attempt to fight the cancer hurts so much. Even though we knew she didn't have long, I thought (or hoped) I'd have a little bit longer with her than we got. I thought we'd make it 2018 with her. Now I just feel like I didn't make the most of my time while she was still aware and able to talk. She knew I loved her but I still feel like there's so much more we could have talked about. I'm only 20, I still lived at home with her and my mum is my whole world. She's the only person I can talk about literally anything with. The relationship you have with your mum, especially as a daughter. is so unique, and it's so hard to lose that. You can never replicate that relationship. My parents are divorced and I was always closer to Mum than Dad. Dad just doesn't know me like mum does. Like today when my Dad tried to comfort me, I appreciated it but it felt foreign as I've never really seen him as a sorce of comfort. Mum was the one I wanted to be hugging. I know I'm still in the very early stages of grief but I know how much Mum means to me and I feel like I'm never going to get past her not being around anymore. I haven't lived independently from my mum, but now I have no choice, I have to build a life thats not just independent from Mum, but one that she's not in at all.

This post is so long and all over the place sorry but I really needed to share everything going on inside me right now even if nobody reads it. But thank you to anyone who does take the time to read this. 

Parents
  • Hi Emily, 

    I was very moved and sad by this little story of your poor Mothers passing. I myself can actually relate almost identically to your story except for my poor Mum passed away from Pancreatic Cancer on the 22nd December the night before my birthday. Only 2 odd months have nearly passed and the first month was horrible as expected. I am not going to harp on and waste your time reading all you have read already. Only one thing I will say is that I know the feeling of holding Mums hand and she not able to squeeze back, going delerious and in and out of consciousness from a disease that took a young beautiful energetic woman and destroyed her dignity her life and the life of her family. All I can say is that although I cannot tell you how much you miss your loved one or bull***t you into saying God has her now and they take the best. I would advise doing what I do. Accept how truly awful it is and soul destroying, absorb and live life the way they would want. That combined with outbursts of grieving and crying in front of those you love and trust is my way of coping. Also maybe take some solace in knowing that there are so many of us out there affected by this and we pay a blind eye to it until it knocks on our doorstep. Then we realise truly how awful it is for all the poor people out there that have been victims of this disease. I was angry with life, healthcare system (I could talk for hours about how long everything took(prognosis diagnosis, probably a total of 2 months spend f****ng around) , random shouting and yelling with anger and bitterness. All of this anger is there and doesn't just go away because we say so, It is ok to be angry as we are normal human beings. Anger and Sadness need to some out in us as it helps vent and relieve frustration. Just there are times and paces I suppose. Anyway I will not harp on any further. I am here for a chat if you ever need to talk to someone in an almost identical grieving situation than yourself. Take Care.

Reply
  • Hi Emily, 

    I was very moved and sad by this little story of your poor Mothers passing. I myself can actually relate almost identically to your story except for my poor Mum passed away from Pancreatic Cancer on the 22nd December the night before my birthday. Only 2 odd months have nearly passed and the first month was horrible as expected. I am not going to harp on and waste your time reading all you have read already. Only one thing I will say is that I know the feeling of holding Mums hand and she not able to squeeze back, going delerious and in and out of consciousness from a disease that took a young beautiful energetic woman and destroyed her dignity her life and the life of her family. All I can say is that although I cannot tell you how much you miss your loved one or bull***t you into saying God has her now and they take the best. I would advise doing what I do. Accept how truly awful it is and soul destroying, absorb and live life the way they would want. That combined with outbursts of grieving and crying in front of those you love and trust is my way of coping. Also maybe take some solace in knowing that there are so many of us out there affected by this and we pay a blind eye to it until it knocks on our doorstep. Then we realise truly how awful it is for all the poor people out there that have been victims of this disease. I was angry with life, healthcare system (I could talk for hours about how long everything took(prognosis diagnosis, probably a total of 2 months spend f****ng around) , random shouting and yelling with anger and bitterness. All of this anger is there and doesn't just go away because we say so, It is ok to be angry as we are normal human beings. Anger and Sadness need to some out in us as it helps vent and relieve frustration. Just there are times and paces I suppose. Anyway I will not harp on any further. I am here for a chat if you ever need to talk to someone in an almost identical grieving situation than yourself. Take Care.

Children
No Data