dealing with health of a loved one

[brokenroads27]

i am currently in my first semester of nursing school, 2nd time around. i failed fundamentals last fall and i'm back....i am SO thankful, and i feel blessed to be given another chance. last fall i had some issues towards the end of the semester that proved to be too stressful for me. on top of a heavy work load for school (not only for the nursing classes), i had a family member pass away. now i am back in the program and i finally feel like i am on my feet again. however, another very close family member (who lives with me) found out they are very sick. my family and i have been dealing with this person's health problems for about 5 years now and its seriously tearing everything apart. the stress proves to be too much sometimes and we all break down. i'm not being selfish by asking this but how do you deal with nursing school when you have a loved one that has declining health? i want to succeed in school (especially since this is my 2nd time around). but how can i concentrate when they are so sick?