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Reply by KathCull_admin
16 Aug 2016, 1:13 AM

I just read a quote, "A contented heart is a calm sea in the midst of all storms". I wish you a calm sea WM

Katherine 
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Reply by Wingman
17 Aug 2016, 12:32 AM

"And once the storm is over you won't remember how you made it through,
how you managed to survive. You won't even be sure in fact if the storm is really over.

But one thing is certain.
When you come out of the storm, you won't be the same person who walked in."
-Haruki Murakami- 
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Reply by Wingman
17 Aug 2016, 12:39 AM

Thanks Katherine.
The seas are not calm....there will come a time when they are.
I have more responsibility than I had thought I would during this time and while I am able and ready to stand to it, it is difficult and leaves me questioning if I am doing the right thing, being the right person. There is * no* family and decisions fall to myself and a POA.  While I trust and know the decisions are best....it is a difficult role to be in. I want to be in it...I want to be who I need to be.....I want peace for her.
Treatment has stopped although she believes she will improve. A bed came avail at our local hospice today- I think it would be the best option, but she insists on improving so waiting for a long term health center bed. We don't use the work palliative.....it is where we are though.
Trusting in instinct and my mind calls on the experiences I have found shared here.
Thank you for that.
WM 
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Reply by Carlyn
18 Aug 2016, 2:05 PM

Wingman and Katherine,

I'm learning more from each of you... thank you. Helpful healing and growth reading sources. 

Wingman, sending you strength and supportive thoughts. 

Carlyn 
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Reply by Wingman
24 Aug 2016, 1:07 AM

My friend died last week.
I hope she has peace....the last few weeks were not peaceful.
She never acknowledged she was dying...and so I questioned it myself.

But now I am here, by myself...........

As I was before.
I will manage this.......but at this moment, I am not quite sure how.

Rest well my friend.
WM 
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Reply by Carlyn
24 Aug 2016, 1:44 AM

Dear Wingman,

I'm very sorry for your loss.

The question of death and if it's that time or not was something hard to pinpoint for us too. You and your friend had a wonderful relationship. Take comfort in the memories of happier times when you're able to see above this fog.

Also, don't forget to eat... I forgot for two weeks nearly it seemed like. It was a surreal foggy time immediately after for a while.

My thoughts are with you. I believe your friend is at peace now. Sending virtual hug.

Carlyn 
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Reply by KathCull_admin
28 Aug 2016, 5:39 PM

Dear WM
Deepest sympathy to you. Your friend and your grandmother - two great losses in less than a year. Yes you will manage and life will go on, but not right now.

And as Carlyn said, it may well be a foggy time for you. I hope you have friends and/or family to care for you and love you.

Take care
Katherine 
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Reply by Saara
05 Mar 2017, 8:52 PM

I so love your words. Entirely evocative of what I am feeling. I fight against the hard edges of this box, the unbending nature of the angles. My world has been reshaped without consultation. 

Now, so many months later, I hope for you that your world has regained its circularity, that the paths flow and curve, and that your heart has healed.
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Reply by Wingman
14 Mar 2017, 2:57 AM

Hi Saara,

I am happy to know that my writings share your feelings. I know what it's like to be alone😔
Over the last several months, I have changed who I thought I was. I stayed in the role of caretaker for as long as I could. Only once the estate had been settled and my best friends world that she built had been disassembled....did I feel lost.
And so now, as of January, I have reinvented my world.
This is a strange task- one that I know I need , but it surprised me so I was not prepared. 
My world has changed...
        I have changed, and I had always thought I knew who I was.
So the path continues.....It twists and it turns....And the best I can say is that I have become better at adapting to that.
Saara...You are in my thoughts daily.......Be confident in your role right now....Cheryl33 said it best....You are no longer equal.....You are the supporter. This is your strength....This is your role... This is who you need to be, for both of you.
Godspeed friend - I send my thoughts, I send my strength- I send a strong arm to hug you tight.
WM

 
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Reply by Saara
17 Mar 2017, 9:30 PM

Wingman, I take strength from your encouragement and kind words. I vacillate between blind anger and exhaustion more days than I care to admit. I do not recognize myself anymore, I cannot recall joy or wonder, but I know that I will feel them again some day. 

Such a a part of your life has been taken away from you, I can hear your sorrow. Sending you strength and hope and love, that you can be a new, stronger self and that you reinvent your life in a way that fits you and brings you happiness. 

Saara 
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