should I email my brother and sister?

[TheDMshouldbeRivened]

Both live abroad and neither have come to visit my mum for some time (many years in my brothers case). Both claim lack of time or money and say 'next year, next year'
Now, my mum is nearly 75 and has a serious heart problem. How long is she likely to live? They all get on with her but either they don't really know how poorly she is (she never tells anyone anything) or have a head in the sand attitude 'of course she'll live for years, we have ages to visit'.
I think I should be sending them a stiff email reminding them how old she is and how 'too late' really is 'too late' and they cant keep putting it off.
I know if she dies they will be haunted by the 'putting off visiting'.
What do people think and how should I frame it?

I think that once you have told them about your mum's health, it is then up to them to make their choice to visit or not. After that, your responsibility to your adult siblings is over. No matter how much you know they might come to regret it if they choose not to come.

as for calling abroad - you do need a mic for SKYPE, but your PC/laptop might already have one installed? If not, like other posters have said, you can buy cheap headsets. Or you can get yourself a phonecard for cheap intl calls and you'll only be charged the rate to the exchange number you dial from the card.

I think you've done what you can and let them know.

If your sister says she can't afford it then I would say yes it's a difficult time for everyone at the moment with money but what ever you do don't get in to the trap of offering to pay for it. That would probably create another host of problems for you.