Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Lovely MIL is dying

41 replies

confusedofengland · 13/06/2021 13:18

MIL is only 72. She has vascular dementia & recently had a few episodes of blood pressure going really high. Since the last one, on Thursday, she has not really been moving, eating or drinking. Today they called the doctor round (not before as she was calm & happy & is DNR so wouldn't go to hospital etc) & he has confirmed she has hours or very few days left Sad

PIL live 2.5 hours from us. DH went up there yesterday afternoon. He was going to come back home last night but in the end he stayed & is staying until she goes. FIL & SIL are staying too. He gets upset in spells, but he generally feels relieved that she is not suffering too much & the dementia has not been as drawn out as it might be.

I am finding it incredibly tough. Our 3 DSes know that Nannie is poorly (although not the extent of it) & are playing up a bit (DS2 has autism so not easy anyway), so it's hard on a practical level. I also wish I could be there to support DH, he just phoned me & broke down in tears on the phone Sad & I miss him! We have only been apart a very few nights in 21 years together. Also, I really love MIL, have known her for over 20 years & I am just gutted that she has to go so young. It seems so unfair.

Sorry for rambling, it's a whole jumble of emotions & nobody is around to talk today. I desperately need a reassuring hug from somebody who is not the DC but that's not possible Sad

OP posts:
HeronLanyon · 13/06/2021 20:05

So sorry op. Good she went peacefully. That will also be a comfort to you all for a long time as you think back.
Support.

Evergibbon · 13/06/2021 20:09

So sorry foryour loss. She sounds like she must have been a lovely lady the amount of.love in your words.

(((Hugs)))

Enko · 13/06/2021 20:15

Condolences op.

I am at my sil for a bbq and we have just shed a tear over my mil her mum who passed 3 years ago. Lovely when you have a great mil

WitchDancer · 13/06/2021 20:17

My condolences on your loss. Thanks May she rest in peace.

It sounds like she had a good death, surrounded by her family. You shouldn't feel guilty in any way about not being there - you were there with your children and I'm sure your DMIL would have liked to see them having some sort of normality.

I was on the other side of things not so long ago, and knowing your partner is looking after your children so you can be with the parent is so much a relief.

confusedofengland · 13/06/2021 20:20

She was the best. That's not to say we didn't have some cross words, but not many. She was laidback, happy & always ready to help. Little things like she would chop up loads of carrots & Swede into little portions for my freezer, always brought all the cakes & biscuits for birthday parties & always got up early to stack my dishwasher when they stayed. And she had an amazing ability to laugh at herself for silly things. I was really lucky.

OP posts:
KM38 · 13/06/2021 20:26

@confusedofengland

She was the best. That's not to say we didn't have some cross words, but not many. She was laidback, happy & always ready to help. Little things like she would chop up loads of carrots & Swede into little portions for my freezer, always brought all the cakes & biscuits for birthday parties & always got up early to stack my dishwasher when they stayed. And she had an amazing ability to laugh at herself for silly things. I was really lucky.
She sounds like a lovely MIL @confusedofengland Flowers I’m so sorry for your loss! I’m glad that she went peacefully at home surrounded by family - I think that’s the best that anyone can hope for when the time comes ❤️
Mull · 13/06/2021 20:29

So, so sorry OP. We lost my lovely MIL at only 59 (leukaemia) and it was bloody horrible. I struggled so much with my own grief when trying to support DH as I thought his grief was more ‘valid’. Silly really, we all had to grieve. Anyway, sending love Flowers

mineofuselessinformation · 13/06/2021 20:32

It's so sad that she is gone.
But, the love and care that you have for her shines through in your posts, and your DH was there for her too.
That's a lovely thing. Thanks

confusedofengland · 13/06/2021 20:43

I don't think it feels real yet, tbh. Because of the distance, we often went weeks without seeing PIL, especially during lockdown. I'm so glad we took a last-minute half term holiday near them & saw them twice just days ago. We so nearly didn't go as we were short on money.

OP posts:
ShrimpingViolet · 13/06/2021 21:28

So sorry OP but glad she went peacefully.

Thanks for your kind words too. I feel exactly the same about my MIL. She was a gem and I miss her terribly. It still doesn't feel real for me either. Happy to PM if you would like.

Flowers for others who've suffered losses too

confusedofengland · 14/06/2021 21:21

DH is back home now, got back in time to put the boys to bed. He brought me one of his mum's rings to wear, it belonged to her mum too ❤ He's been a bit teary but overwhelmingly happy & relieved, no regrets with how everything went.

OP posts:
KM38 · 14/06/2021 21:32

@confusedofengland

DH is back home now, got back in time to put the boys to bed. He brought me one of his mum's rings to wear, it belonged to her mum too ❤ He's been a bit teary but overwhelmingly happy & relieved, no regrets with how everything went.
@confusedofengland I’m glad your DH is home ❤️ And what a lovely gesture with the ring!! I actually found it more of a relief too after being there with my relative when she passed too OP. I saw for myself that she went so peacefully and it gave me so much comfort! I hope your boys were ok when you gave them the news Flowers and I hope you’re coping ok!
confusedofengland · 19/06/2021 19:26

Nearly a week on & we all seem to be doing ok. Still have sad & teary moments, but largely getting on with life.

We are currently deciding whether to take the Dses to the funeral. DH is adamant that they should not be there as it would upset them & also there is a good chance the younger ones (10 & 7) would mess around, which could be upsetting for others. Ds2, who is 10, has autism & doesn't really understand what has happened. The others both do & have had times when they have been upset.

It is also a long journey up there & no childcare once we are there, so attending the wake but not the funeral is not an option.

I feel I would like them to go & be able to say goodbye & be with family, but also that DH has the final say as it is his mother.

DH plans to take them up there once MIL is interred to lay flowers & say their own goodbyes. This would be with their cousins (14 & 17), who DH does not think will be ar the funeral.

OP posts:
dappledsunshine · 19/06/2021 20:26

I think your dh's idea is lovely Thanks

KM38 · 19/06/2021 20:40

@confusedofengland You know them best OP - I’m sure whatever you decide to do will be right for your family! It may be nice for them to be able to go and lay their flowers privately and say their own goodbyes without the overwhelming experience of the funeral for them too!

Glad to hear you’re doing ok! This bit of time between the passing and the funeral I always find quite difficult if I’m honest, it feels like some kind of limbo 😔 but the tears moments are to be expected Flowers

Not sure if you’ve seen this before but I read this years ago when I experience a big loss myself and I think it’s a very accurate description of things ❤️

As for grief, you’ll find it comes in waves. When the ship is first wrecked, you’re drowning, with wreckage all around you. Everything floating around you reminds you of the beauty and the magnificence of the ship that was, and is no more. And all you can do is float. You find some piece of the wreckage and you hang on for a while. Maybe it’s some physical thing. Maybe it’s a happy memory or a photograph. Maybe it’s a person who is also floating. For a while, all you can do is float. Stay alive.

In the beginning, the waves are 100 feet tall and crash over you without mercy. They come 10 seconds apart and don’t even give you time to catch your breath. All you can do is hang on and float. After a while, maybe weeks, maybe months, you’ll find the waves are still 100 feet tall, but they come further apart. When they come, they still crash all over you and wipe you out. But in between, you can breathe, you can function. You never know what’s going to trigger the grief. It might be a song, a picture, a street intersection, the smell of a cup of coffee. It can be just about anything…and the wave comes crashing. But in between waves, there is life.

Somewhere down the line, and it’s different for everybody, you find that the waves are only 80 feet tall. Or 50 feet tall. And while they still come, they come further apart. You can see them coming. An anniversary, a birthday, or Christmas, or landing at O’Hare. You can see it coming, for the most part, and prepare yourself. And when it washes over you, you know that somehow you will, again, come out the other side. Soaking wet, sputtering, still hanging on to some tiny piece of the wreckage, but you’ll come out. Take it from an old guy. The waves never stop coming, and somehow you don’t really want them to. But you learn that you’ll survive them. And other waves will come. And you’ll survive them too. If you’re lucky, you’ll have lots of scars from lots of loves. And lots of shipwrecks.

thenewduchessofhastings · 19/06/2021 20:47

@confusedofengland

Sending you a virtual hug.I lost my MIL 4 years ago.She was only 67.We didn't know at first if we would take our then 8 year DS who has ASD to the funeral but in the end we did.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page