I have had a nightmare 6 months and am struggling to find the words for the pain dealing with two sick parents at the same time.
Having lost my best friend at the age of 30 to cancer last October and my grandfather (dads dad) at the age of 89 in March, the year began a challenge. Dad had a heart bypass in May when we were told this would help with any of the heart pain he had intermittently suffered over the last year or so.
Mum is 59, had a scan on 30 August, she was called in on the 31 August to be told she needed an emergency operation for stage 3 Bowel cancer. The operation did not happen until Monday 2nd, and was then done as an emergency as her bowel had burst. She spent the following 3 weeks in intensive care, and it was touch and go whether she would survive from septic shock and sepsis. Mum spent a further 4 weeks on the ward before coming home.
Thankfully my mum then came home. 2 weeks later my Dad (who had been caring for her in that time) had a severe stroke that left him unable to speak and paralysed down one side. He spent 2 weeks in a stroke hospital where he suffered a further minor heart attack, before being transferred to our local hospital. A week after that the local hospital said they had found something concerning on his liver, we were then told 2 weeks ago he had weeks to live as they had found stage 4 metastatic cancer on his liver which they believed was from the pancreas, but he was too ill to test it with a biopsy.
My dad suffered a further stroke on Tuesday night, which seemed to leave him blind and fully paralysed. My Dad then passed away last night at the age of 61.
i have spent the last 12 out of 13 weeks visiting either one of my parents in hospital, have had to cancel two holidays(paid for) and now the cherry on top I have lost my best friend in the world my dad, I am numb with pain.
Worse still my Mum now has the grief of losing her husband of 33 years, who has been her rock, while she recovers from her Bowel cancer and now has a stoma bag as a result. She was unable to have chemo as her wound was too open. So there only is a 50/50 chance of cure. Mum is still weak and now have to suffer all this heartbreak too.
Life has become relentlessly difficult at the age of 29.
Any advice is appreciated.
