My dad was diagnosed with NASH three years ago, and one of the things NASH makes you more prone to is liver cancer. Back in April he was diagnosed with stage 2 liver cancer. He spent all Summer getting tested/prepped for a transplant and a couple weeks ago, developed complications with kidney involvement. Developed Hepatorenal Syndrome. My stepmother called me last Wednesday to tell me he was no longer a candidate for transplant and they were discharging him home with palliative care and hospice. He got discharged on Thanksgiving Day. I flew down to VA with my 12 year old son and 10 year old daughter to be with him, say our goodbyes, etc. Those four days were the worst, but also most special days. I am trying to be grateful that we had time to say goodbye. We put up a tree for him that the kids decorated, we told stories, we cried A LOT, he gave us each a special gift. Leaving was the hardest thing to do, but I wanted to remember him that way and also wanted my kids to remember him that way. We left Monday night and he fell into a deep sleep shortly after we left and passed away yesterday peacefully with his wife of 30 years by his side.
Losing a parent really sucks, at any age. I am most sad that my two kids will not have their amazing grandpa watch them grow up. I am 44 and this is my first experience with a very close loved one passing away. There is nothing to describe it.
Just needed to share with my virtual nursing station. I am at work as the funeral isn't until next week and a lot of the arrangements were already made before he passed away. I need to be around my sweet little K-2 kiddos to help get me through my day, so staying home under the covers was not an option for me.
Thanks for listening
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Thanks so much for all the kind words. And for those of you who shared your personal stories of loss, thank you and I am sorry for your losses as well.
I lost my mother 33 years ago to breast cancer with mets to the esophagus. My mother was a career RN, one of the most clinically accomplished and caring nurses I ever knew. I spoke to her on the phone the day before she passed away. My sister told me that she had almost died the night before, but she was hanging on because the next day was my father's birthday. I asked her if she wanted me to come right away, and she told me "no". I believe that she knew that all that she had left to give me was sparing me the end. People had come and gone all day, friends and former coworkers. My sister and her then-boyfriend had been in the room pretty much all day. My father said that my sister and boyfriend went down to the cafeteria to get something to drink. He said "She waited until it was just me and her. She squeezed my hand, and she was gone."
My mother left this life on my father's birthday, in the hospital where she had been an ICU nurse and then a house supervisor for many years. One nurse who had worked with her for a long time told my father, "You have brought her home."
She has always been my role model for my nursing practice. If I have been fortunate, I am half the nurse that she was.
I am so very sorry but what a beautiful post. I'm sitting here in my health office with tears in my eyes. I am so glad you were able to see your dad and have a few special days with him. You're in my thoughts.
So very sorry for your Dad's passing, mdhnurse. Huggggs! Glad you got to be there with him. Sounds like one of the most beautiful and real Christmases ever!
Hugs to you. Nothing to describe the pain of losing a loved one. It sucks. You were blessed to be able to say your goodbyes. Cherish those memories...and be strong, for now...
Hello, I am deeply sorry for your loss, I lost my dad in 2010 and it took a while for me to adjust to life without him. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
I am so sorry for your loss. Losing someone special to you is never easy. My boyfriend's mother had battled cancer for 11 years and passed away in 2016. Being that we were only 18 when she passed, he was only seven when she was first diagnosed. My boyfriend and I had been friends since we were young but started dating in our senior year of high school, so she was important to me as well. It was so hard losing her but knowing that she was no longer in pain was comforting. My boyfriend, his family, and I took a trip out west to celebrate her life and visited several national parks. The Grand Canyon was our final stop where we sprinkled some of her ashes. It's been a year and a half and we still think about her regularly but somewhere along the way the thoughts shifted from mourning to remembering. It's a silent process but it does get easier in time. I wish you and your family many blessings and offer my sincere condolences.
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Thanks so much for all the kind words. And for those of you who shared your personal stories of loss, thank you and I am sorry for your losses as well.