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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Sitting with my dying dad - this is so unfair

283 replies

thegreenlight · 16/12/2022 20:41

Just that - it’s so cruel. My mum and I just have to sit here and wait for everything to fail. He was given 24-48 hours yesterday. It’s torture.

OP posts:
Cordeliathecat · 17/12/2022 00:19

thegreenlight · 16/12/2022 20:51

He’s such a good dad and husband and man. He doesn’t deserve this. He had all his teeth taken out up Mount Kilimanjaro. He’s a mix or Harrison Ford and John Wayne. My total hero just left to fade. He just woke up and said ‘hello sweetheart’ then disappeared back into his own world.

A mix of Harrison Ford and John Wayne! Sounds like an amazing guy. How fortunate you are to have him as your dad. Sorry for what you are going through. No doubt, he is just as proud of you as you are of him. Sending hugs x

anonacfr · 17/12/2022 00:20

I am so so sorry, this is the worst thing to have to go through.
All I can say (and it is utterly pointless right now) is that you'll be glad you were with him and with your mum.
Thinking of you...

JamSandle · 17/12/2022 00:20

I did the same thing with my mother. I know its hard. Hang in there.

AccidentalWhippet · 17/12/2022 00:22

I'm so sorry. He sounds wonderful.

familyissues12345 · 17/12/2022 00:40

@chronictonic , so sorry Sad

TubbyMcFatfuck · 17/12/2022 00:42

panko · 16/12/2022 21:41

I read a wonderful post on her about what to do when someone passes. I wish I could find it. Something about sit still and quiet and take a big breath.

I think this might be the post you are referring to Panko. I read it on here a while back and saved it, knowing I'd need it in the not too distant future.
OP I'm so sorry you're going through this. My dad passed away earlier this week and we went through what you're going through now. It is truly horrendous.

I think the words were originally written by Sarah Kerr:

"Expected Death ~ 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 999 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 breadth 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.'

FellOnMyArseToDay · 17/12/2022 00:50

So sorry. Dying is so cruel for everyone involved It’s not fair at all. Sending a handhold for you and a handhold for your mum Also 💐💐

Robstersgirl · 17/12/2022 00:51

He’s off to a kinder place where his body no longer fails his soul. I’m so very sorry.

SerenaB12 · 17/12/2022 00:51

Oh no.. so sorry OP. Hold his hand tell him he is loved.
Do not let the medical team move you if you want to stay till the end. I went through this in January. Stay and comfort him as long as you can.
Big hugs x

pinheadlarry · 17/12/2022 01:17

Hug for you xx I'm so sorry

GalwayShawl · 17/12/2022 01:34

So sorry.
mu mum died in ICU two weeks ago. She meant the world to me and our family.

Nothing I say will make it better but you’re not alone

magicthree · 17/12/2022 02:19

I'm so sorry, thinking of you and your family. Your Dad sounds lovely. Hugs.Flowers

GreenFingersWouldBeHandy · 17/12/2022 02:32

This reply has been deleted

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Leothebear · 17/12/2022 03:51

Sending love and support

AclowncalledAlice · 17/12/2022 03:59

Flowers for you.

The waiting is the hardest part.

thegreenlight · 17/12/2022 04:13

GreenFingersWouldBeHandy I’m not hiding behind my phone - what a horrid thing to say to someone on the worst night of their life. I’ve been sat by his bed for a solid 18 hours. Reading supportive comments when I walk down 5 flights to the coffee machine or go for a wee has really helped me. I can’t say how I’m feeling aloud as it would upset my mum and dad. Have some bloody compassion.

OP posts:
icegoose · 17/12/2022 04:19

Take the support that is right for you OP.
Don't let other people's uniformed judgement weigh on you.
Wishing you the best.

Stickly · 17/12/2022 04:22

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

OP is clearly a devoted daughter. Such a sickening response.. you dealt with it in your way and she is dealing with it in hers. That is really quite a self absorbed response.

OP, you're amazing. I know this is such a hard time. He sounds like an amazing man and I'm glad he has such a wonderful family around him.

Worriedandtired8 · 17/12/2022 04:30

So sorry to hear this - thinking of you💐

Icepinkeskimo · 17/12/2022 04:34

OP, some people just can’t help themselves with their barbed throw away comments so put them out of your head.
Thinking of you and your loved ones, please be kind to yourselves. X

panko · 17/12/2022 04:38

Sending a top up of strength

Usou · 17/12/2022 04:49

MysteriesOfTheOrganism · 16/12/2022 22:09

I found it a profoundly moving experience being with my dad while he was dying. Sitting by his hospital bed, holding his hand, recalling memories of our family life (perhaps more sour than sweet) and chatting to him (he wasn't responsive - too drugged up on morphine). Myself, my mother and my daughter took turns, so he was never alone in the 5 days before he died. I felt grateful to be able to say goodbye and to have the opportunity to slowly make peace with his dying- something denied to many. It was a painful but deeply spiritual and beautiful expereince.

Absolutely this!

I gave you a downvote OP (sorry!) because it's not unfair, it's very much a part of life and happens to us all.

I remember sitting with my dad at 3 am the day before he died when it hit me with incredible force that it was very, very important that I was with him on his journey from this world - it's sad, hard and not pleasant, but it's so important that we are just there.

I've thought about this many times in the years since, and agree that it was a powerful and beautiful spiritual experience. It was a privilege to have been there. We all missed my mum's passing, and it was far better than that.

PandasAreBlackAndWhite · 17/12/2022 05:18

Sending you strength and love

Piratesue · 17/12/2022 05:25

I am so sorry, I've been there and its awful. But you will look back and be glad that you did this.

Pipsquiggle · 17/12/2022 06:10

So sorry you're going through this. Thinking of you and your family x

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