My mil is in palliative care suffering from terminal lung cancer. I visit her every morning with dh and he returns to see her on his own in the early evening.
I really really want to be the best support I can both to her and my dh. I know how it feels as I lost both my parents to cancer. So how come I struggle with what to say both to her when she knows she is dying and to my dh who is the strong silent type who has always tried to put a positive spin on any problems in life but just can't now. His dm is dying. How can I support him and help him get through watching her slow decline and say anything to make him feel better? I don't know what to say that isn't going to sound twee or trivial.
I sit at her bedside and chat about mundane things, what she has had to eat and what the dc have been up to. I make sure every request is seen to and will scour the shops to take her what she asks for. I offer to massage her hands, which are skin and bone bless her but I just don't feel I'm doing enough.
When my dm was dying at home my dsil ( a retired nurse) knew exactly what to say and was always comforting and reassuring to my dm and to the whole family.
I just feel useless.
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How can I comfort my dying mil?
38 replies
Eggsbutnobacon · 11/10/2016 22:59
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