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Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

My mum is going to die

194 replies

user1496436814 · 14/04/2022 16:55

Posting for traffic. Cannot believe I’m writing this but my mum is very probably going to die today. I’m on my way to the hospital now. I have no idea what to do. Please can anyone offer any words of comfort? She’s my best friend and I feel so alone.

OP posts:
nolongerpetitebleu · 14/04/2022 16:56

I'm so sorry to read this. I hope you get to be with her.

NotTheOW · 14/04/2022 16:57

I am so so sorry. Do what ever you feel is right. Give her a hug and tell her you love her if you wish.

Lentil63 · 14/04/2022 16:58

Just hold her hand and tell her what she means to you. Hearing is the last sense to go.
I’m so sorry that you’re going through this.

bilbodog · 14/04/2022 17:01

So so sorry - sounds like you've had a wonderful relationship with your mum - she will always be with you - she is a part of you. 💐

iklboo · 14/04/2022 17:01

I am so sorry. I had this with my dad in December & mum in February. Hold her hand and talk to her, reminiscence about lovely & happy times. She will be able to hear you.

ShowOfHands · 14/04/2022 17:01

I was with my Grandma at the end a couple of years ago. I held her hand, talked, stroked her hair, moisturised her face/hands, wet her lips. It was a good death and I can recognise that looking back. I hope that your Mum isn't in pain and that you find your way through this most difficult day. You don't need to say or do anything, just be with your Mum in the way which feels right for you.

lemongreentea · 14/04/2022 17:01

So sorry OP that you're going this, its heartbreaking Flowers

picklemewalnuts · 14/04/2022 17:02

Terrible though it is, try and hold on to the comfort of having had a close and loving relationship with her. You have memories to treasure. The grief is inevitable, simply because of the closeness.

(()) Thanks

toomuchlaundry · 14/04/2022 17:02

I am so sorry you are going through this.

softglammmmmm · 14/04/2022 17:02

I am so so sorry 😢

My mum died last year and I remember the drive to the hospital so clearly.

If you want to DM me then please do if you think it might help.

I haven’t ever experienced pain like I did the day my mum died. It was indescribable. Physical. A stomach age. Unbelievable. I was scared that life would always be like that be arsed it was unbearable. But it got a little better with each passing week. 10 months on I still miss her terribly and think of her every single day. But that awful pain and grief from those first days has lessened over time.

The only advice I can give is to give yourself time. Lean on others, let them do things to help you. Talk here if you need to. I found talking to other people who had lost a parent helped. It helped so much actually and I actively sought people out and messaged them. They totally got it.

Grenlei · 14/04/2022 17:02

I'm so sorry.

The death of a parent, especially one you are very close to, is so painful. My mum was my best friend, and when I was told she'd died (I was in the hospital but not with her) I felt like a heavy weight had just been dropped on me, I couldn't breathe.

Make the most of what time you have with her today, however short it may be. Hold her hand, talk to her. She will know how much you love her but tell her anyway.

And remember that you'll hold her in your heart always so she'll always be with you Flowers

softglammmmmm · 14/04/2022 17:03

Sorry for the typos but I think it makes sense

softglammmmmm · 14/04/2022 17:04

I can identify with feeling alone. I felt so desperately alone too, but I wasn’t as I have a wonderful family around me.

RainySmarties · 14/04/2022 17:05

I'm so sorry. I can't even imagine what you are going through. Take it a day at a time. Baby steps. Be kind to yourself. Huge hugs!!

StopStartStop · 14/04/2022 17:05

I'm sorry. Let her know you are there.

For a while afterwards, it might seem as if she is absolutely gone. Later, your memories and thoughts of her become her presence with you.

HailAdrian · 14/04/2022 17:06

Sorry, OP, my mum died at the end of last year, it's so awful. Look after yourself x

Chikapu · 14/04/2022 17:06

I'm so sorry OP, I've been in your position and it's so heartbreaking. Please remember to take care of yourself in the coming days.

Hugasauras · 14/04/2022 17:10

I posted this on duplicate thread but it got deleted so reposting here:

I'm so sorry, OP.

I posted this on a similar thread a while ago and some people found it helpful. Maybe it will resonate with you a bit too. Not my words, just a quote I saved somewhere a while ago.

'When someone dies, the first thing to do is nothing. Don't run out and call the nurse. Don't pick up the phone. Take a deep breath and be present to the magnitude of the moment.

There's a grace to being at the bedside of someone you love as they make their transition out of this world. At the moment they take their last breath, there's an incredible sacredness in the space. The veil between the worlds opens.

We're so unprepared and untrained in how to deal with death that sometimes a kind of panic response kicks in. "They're dead!"

We knew they were going to die, so their being dead is not a surprise. It's not a problem to be solved. It's very sad, but it's not cause to panic.

If anything, their death is cause to take a deep breath, to stop, and be really present to what's happening. If you're at home, maybe put on the kettle and make a cup of tea.

Sit at the bedside and just be present to the experience in the room. What's happening for you? What might be happening for them? What other presences are here that might be supporting them on their way? Tune into all the beauty and magic.

Pausing gives your soul a chance to adjust, because no matter how prepared we are, a death is still a shock. If we kick right into "do" mode, and call 911, or call the hospice, we never get a chance to absorb the enormity of the event.

Give yourself five minutes or 10 minutes, or 15 minutes just to be. You'll never get that time back again if you don't take it now.

After that, do the smallest thing you can. Call the one person who needs to be called. Engage whatever systems need to be engaged, but engage them at the very most minimal level. Move really, really, really, slowly, because this is a period where it's easy for body and soul to get separated.

Our bodies can gallop forwards, but sometimes our souls haven't caught up. If you have an opportunity to be quiet and be present, take it. Accept and acclimatize and adjust to what's happening. Then, as the train starts rolling, and all the things that happen after a death kick in, you'll be better prepared.

You won't get a chance to catch your breath later on. You need to do it now.

Being present in the moments after death is an incredible gift to yourself, it's a gift to the people you're with, and it's a gift to the person who's just died. They're just a hair's breath away. They're just starting their new journey in the world without a body. If you keep a calm space around their body, and in the room, they're launched in a more beautiful way. It's a service to both sides of the veil.'

Thinking of you Thanks

GrunkleStan · 14/04/2022 17:12

Im really sorry to hear this. I had this last month with my dad.

The only thing I wish I'd known was that I could've stayed with him overnight. There does seem to be a lack of info forthcoming sometimes. Could thus be a possibility for you?

Flowers
echobeachsomeday · 14/04/2022 17:13

I'm so sorry to hear this, sending prayers and love ❤️

Kanaloa · 14/04/2022 17:16

I don’t think there are any words of comfort for you - but it’s clear how much you love her and that will be some comfort to her at this time.

I don’t know if this was helpful but we had a relative we were close to (elderly aunt of DH) die last year. In a way it was a relief that she was in no pain and was at rest. Only we were hurting and not her. It was some sort of comfort in a way.

HangingOver · 14/04/2022 17:17

You poor thing. Hold her hand and reassure her. I wasn't sure how much my DM could hear so I didn't wanted to say "goodbye" in case she got frightened. I just said "it's all ok, you're safe, I'm here". Xxx

Nelliephant1 · 14/04/2022 17:18

Go with how you feel, there are no rights and wrongs in these situations 💐

user1496436814 · 14/04/2022 17:19

Thank you everyone. And thank you especially @Hugasauras, reading that was very comforting. It just feels so unfair as it’s relatively unexpected and I’m still so young to be losing her. I’m only in my twenties and I’m missing out on so much time with her. But I’ll treasure the time I had with her. I couldn’t have been luckier.

OP posts:
beattieedny · 14/04/2022 17:19

So sorry for you. How incredibly painful. May her memory be a blessing. Flowers