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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

dying DF now we ve been called fuckwits by a family member...aibu to be furious

118 replies

whatisforteamum · 03/09/2017 08:34

I ve just had one of my worst months ever.Df is v ill and been hospitalised for weeks.So very much wrong with him he now cant walk more like shuffle to the loo.we almost lost him a few weeks ago.I started a new job too and despite leaving my last one due to too many hrs working I have just done 72 hr stretch on the rota.
I am physically and mentally drained.
on DFs request we haven't been able to visit for a few weeks which has been hard.He has been tearful angry and sleeps a lot due to his cancer being everywhere.This has been very hard for us not being able to see him or help out.
I visited him at his new nursing home and thought it was fantastic.Light airy and modern.I messaged DB to thank him for finding somewhere so nice( mum asked him to take her as he is in charge of the wills etc and was on hols for two weeks and they are close).
then I receive a text we are al fuckwits who could help more!!! Dsis has taken dm 6 times plus to visit DF.My dh has collected her a few times and offered last night to pick her up each night after his 12 hr day.Ive picked up shopping and nappy pads too.
we are so hurt.Dm has always insisted on getting a cab to visit df.So angry an educated well off man spoke to us like this1

OP posts:
Sofabitch · 04/09/2017 07:20

Having done the lions share of caring for someone who is terminally ill. I still resent my family for not prioritising it.

Its all consuming emotionally and physically, everyone is at their worst as they are dealing with a nightmare.

Only1scoop · 04/09/2017 07:21

I'd speak face to face with your brother and apologise and try and get more involved.

You seem incredibly defensive

LakieLady · 04/09/2017 07:30

In the last 10 days of my father's life, I took some of my annual leave and went to stay with my mum so I could take her to see him etc. Because it was an emergency situation, I didn't have time to do proper handovers of my clients and had to sort out lots of work stuff over the phone while I was away.

It was a bloody horrible experience. My father looked like someone just released from Belsen, he didn't recognise me because of his dementia, and my mum was in the early stages of dementia and kept talking about when DF came home when it was very clear that he never would. Every day I'd take the dogs out and cry from sheer frustration and desperation.

I would have done anything to avoid it. I also wished like mad that my brother, who doesn't work due to poor mental health, had been well enough to share the burden. He managed to come up for one day, and visit once, when really he could have stayed the whole time. I know from long experience that it's pointless trying to get DB to do anything he doesn't want to do, so I didn't lash out at him, but if I had, I'd've called him a lot worse than fuckwit.

After 10 days, I came back home and DF died the following night, so I had to go straight back up (they lived 150 miles away) the next day, taking this distraught and demented woman, who used to be incredibly strong and capable, to registrar, undertaker etc and sort out the fucking funeral.

So I can get where your DB is coming from, and how the burden is pushing him to the end of his tether. Forgive him and don't take it personally. Ask him what you can do to help and do it.

I'm also a bit mystified as to how you changed jobs because the hours you were working were too long, and then found yourself doing 72 hours at a stretch. Did you not check working hours/shift patterns before you took the job? And I'm assuming that you've signed away your rights under the working hours directive, in which case you've only yourself to blame.

Grow up, grow a pair, and take your share of the burden.

Mummyoflittledragon · 04/09/2017 07:42

My DB obviously hast realised how much help has been offered

Have you actually read what people are saying? STOP asking your mother and father, who have clearly decided he is their default care and START asking your brother. Otherwise, you are copping out. Not listening to us is also copping out.

And yes, I do know what it's like to lose a parent. I also know how lucky you are not to have lost a parent when you were a child.

whatisforteamum · 04/09/2017 07:51

No I checked my hours and they are less now.I left because I was asked to do 95 hr stretch.Now I do 45 it was just a rota with two weeks colliding.My boss knows my personal situation so I need to speak to his m.I return home at 10 wish so hard to do much to help then.
I'm sorry about your parents.I remember when both mine were having chemo and operations at the same time....nightmare.
The majority of us have anxiety or depression I have both but receive support and still work.My other db and one dsis are unable to do much due to their mental health.

OP posts:
whatisforteamum · 04/09/2017 07:56

I wasn't comparing myself to my bil I was saying someone usually does more.....I know that but its not my fault db has been asked by df and DM.

OP posts:
Gorgosparta · 04/09/2017 07:56

What do you mean a 72hour stretch?

72 hours in one go? Or a run of days with no days off?

Did you then get a few days off together?

How do you think your brother manages work and what he is doing?

Gorgosparta · 04/09/2017 07:57

I know that but its not my fault db has been asked by df and DM.

No one said it was. But that doesnt mean you cant help anyway and ask your brother direct.

Boulshired · 04/09/2017 08:00

Being deemed the "coper" is hard work and relentless. Your DF has deemed your DB as the one to shoulder the burden, his wishes have been respected but they are very hard on your brother. The last month of my mothers life were horrific, fear, anger, out pourings of love and all topped up with high doses of medication. My DM would also tell people not to visit and then spend her time crying they were not there whilst i was sat there feeling not quite good enough.

Notreallyarsed · 04/09/2017 08:01

I came to say what Gorgosparta said. Being defensive and using me/I type language all the time isn't helpful. Your family is going through the mill. Help or don't, but don't expect the ones doing it all to be happy about it. The stress is unbelievable at times like this, especially if you're feeling resentful that others could help and aren't.

ssd · 04/09/2017 08:09

I was your brother, my siblings thought they were doing great to visit mum twice a year. When she died they literally popped up for the funeral then disappeared again the next day. They were too busy/important/wrapped up in their adult children to do anymore.

I dont see them now, am done with them.

Its your choice op, although your brother might take the choice away from you and decide he's had it with you too.

whatisforteamum · 04/09/2017 08:41

As a.family we don't stay in touch much.Especially with Db who always turned away at family occasions from my dsis.I thought this was because she didn't go out to work and had lived on benefits.
Now I know it is his opinion of all the four of us.
We have helped and I have offered db to tell me what he wants.
I did previously state my db did more as he was abroad for the week df was admitted.and available on hols the second week.
I started a new job and although they were kind I didn't want to fail my trial period.

OP posts:
Imbroglio · 04/09/2017 09:01

I think the OP is getting a bit of a hard time here. She clearly has contributed, over several years, but for whatever reason the dynamic has changed and her mum is leaning more on the brother. There are several siblings (some of whom are not getting very involved for various reasons). She has given the example above that the brother was annoyed that another sibling had been asked to fetch the wills, so brother is obviously feeling like others shouldn't be involved.

The key people here are still the mum and dad - they both need support and they have a say in who visits them and spends time with them and who gets access to their finances, paperwork etc.

I'm now estranged from my brother because of how he behaved when our mother needed us, so I know how bad it can get.

willitbe · 04/09/2017 09:05

whatisforteamum - have you thought about apologising to your brother for not being able to help out more? and asking if there is anything he can think of that your or your dh could do to help? Ask if he thinks that you should continue to respect your df wishes not to be visitied? or if you should visit anyway? Just asking this question, could help him feel he is not having to bear this on his own. Respect your db's wishes, even if he is not respectful towards you.

You are all grieving, and grief can pull you further apart as a family.

Do try to support your brother and see what you can do to help. Don't focus on what you cannot do or on all of what you have been doing over the last few years.

Cut yourself some slack where-ever you can, and allow yourself to process what is happening in this time of losing your DF.
Do make sure that you are looking after your own health and let your dh support you.

I went through losing my father last year, and I currently have my mother very sick in hospital, and understand how it strains family relationships. It is hard seeing parents being ill, and being limited in what we can do to help them.

Imbroglio · 04/09/2017 09:15

The OP needs support too.

Being 'involved' and 'doing stuff' and even 'taking responsibility'' can be a coping mechanism and very helpful. It's good for everyone to share out the work and the responsibility..

DonutCone · 04/09/2017 09:30

Tbh you make it so clear what lies behind all this when you say you can't believe a 'well off' man spoke to you like that. That is such an odd sentence. Do rich people never call other people fuckwits then? Is there an income bracket at which you cannot vent your frustration anymore?

Everything to do with your brother is focused on money. You resent him and feel he looks down on you. You need to stop your fixation on his income and focus on helping him and your DF.

whatisforteamum · 05/09/2017 08:34

I he spoken to DM about taking turns so she can have time at home now Df has stabilised a bit.This apparently is nt db first outburst and he has had a go at DM.
I think you are right he is struggling as the rest of us are too.
I wouldn't called anyone a fuckwits or tell them to fuck off.I never think there is a need to be that rude.
Thank you all for replying and showing me his point of view.we weren't in contact before and I guess this will be the case when df passes away.

OP posts:
Pancakeflipper · 05/09/2017 08:49

Sounds like there's history making the dynamics tricky now when you should be pulling together. And now isn't a good time to sort it out - but it's possible if all willing.
Make sure you do what you feel is right so you have no regrets or feel guilty when DF passes.

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