Bereavement Support Group
Are you grieving the loss of a loved one? Whether you lost someone recently or it's been years, grief and its accompanying emotions can be complicated to cope with. Join our online support group to connect with a supportive group of people who really know how you feel. Help is right here.
Good morning: Well, the very first thing that comes to mind is one that I think of often...and smile. I spent the last 7 days with my father. He was diagnosed in late Nov/early Dec. He slowly got sicker each week, I see now. He went thru 3 hardcore chemo treatments. (Lost his hair.) Once a month, I think. After that they did another pet scan and low and behold the cancer was worse! He had mass(es) on his back, so they did a really heavy dose of radiation on his back. That made him even sicker than the chemo did. I always thought it was the other way around. I talked to him every day for months. We spoke honestly about the cancer, but not often. Usually is was business as usual. Two weeks before he died, he was walking around their property just like normal. He had been spending most of his time in bed and I think it was his last hoorah. Then that last week he really got sick. His girlfriend, Joy, and I took care of him 24 hours a day for 7 days. One night we set the alarm every 2 hours for morphine. We quickly learned we couldn\'t function like that. He was constantly trying to get out of bed. Our sleep was very light, we were always listening for him. One time, the day before he died, I was kidding around with him, and I asked him to smile. He gave me the most sarcastic, toothless grin possible. I told Joy that he was up and lucid. She asked him for a kiss and he gave her one. We spent the day telling him it was OK for him to let go. The next day, the hospice people were over (on a Sunday) and short version is I sat down with him and forgave him for some of the mistakes he\'d made. An hour later, with Joy, his social worker, and I sitting next to him, he slowly left. I am so thankful I had that last whole week with him. Even as hard as it was to watch him in so much pain all the time-and it was the hardest thing I had to do, I wouldn\'t give up that last week for anything. Well, that\'s my story - the short version anyway. Ask me anything you\'d like. Actually, thanks for asking. Melissa (someone in the lung cancer group asked me to tell them about my dad, and this was my response.)
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I have been here before, a long long time ago and now I am back.Forgive me for not just saying what I want to say,even under a triple dose of antidepressants it is still raw and seeping and I am hesitant at revealing it as at least under the bandages around my heart I don,t have to look at how raw and wounded.My child was cleaved from my heart by his own actions. my child of ten,turning eleven...
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I gave my 2 week notice last Friday 13th. Now to join you fine people in a life of leisure and nothing else to do but to look out for myself....is it just me or does that sound pretty boring? My goal was to live to retire and I guess having to take early retirement because of health reasons wasn't exactly the way I had planned things. I just can't stay in that building that is reeking mildew...
My Dad died only 10 days after he called for hospice. Aging can be such a cruel process.
Right now, I feel like I have taken a step off of the treadmill of life. I feel like my life has taken a detour. I am going through the motions of my day-to-day activities (e.g., work, children, family life, exercise, dogs, etc.), but it feels like my energy and happiness levels were just cut off. On some days, I just want to curl up on the couch and do nothing.
Have you considered a bereavement group - try DougyCenter.org for a possible center near you,