Community Chat

[Yardlie]

Hi, everyone ~~ The last five days or so have been the most stressful of my life. I had just moved to this city to be a caregiver for my parents. In the city I just left, I was very close to my uncle who was 79 and alone...but still working part-time, loving life, and going strong.

Suddenly, I got a call in the middle of the night that my uncle was found driving erratically, seem confused, taken to a hospital, and became unresponsive. Over the next few days, all of his organs shut down, and he was being kept alive on life support. Then, suddenly Sunday, my father, who is very frail, became very ill and we had to go to the ER by ambulance. Meanwhile, while we were in the ER, the doctors from the other city were calling me about my uncle requesting a decision about life support. I was his medical power of attorney. I had discussed it with his siblings, and we agreed that he was such a gregarious person who loved life that he would not want to be a vegetable in a nursing home. So, I had to give the word to discontinue life support. (What a horrible responsibility.) Five minutes later, the doctor came in telling me that my father needed immediate high risk surgery. My uncle passed, my father is in ICU, and I am just about going bonkers with making funeral plans for my uncle...and the costs are atrocious! Fortunately, my uncle left some money in a funeral trust. My father is stable but still in ICU and now has a colostomy. We do not yet know if he has colon cancer.

My mother just isn't capable of dealing with death issues. She is stressed to the max about my father. Some days, I have been so busy that I totally forgot even to eat...I'm just going on adrenaline I guess.

Just needed to vent, but if you could send a few prayers and some strength my way, it would be appreciated. Thanks, everyone! ~~ Tabbychic