Folks, Not a fun 24 hours......

bill from lachine · Jul 5, 2016

Folks,

I'll let this post speak for itself....I'm guessing most people have gone through some tough patches at various times in their lives...well here's mine.

"Folks,

One of my brothers was diagnosed with inoperable cancer 2 years ago and was given 6 months to live....with various treatments he managed to buy himself 2 years of not bad quality of life.

They rushed him to the hospital Sunday and now it has spread to the bones so probably just a matter of days before he passes on....I visited him last night and it was painful to see him in this condition they've got him on heavy duty meds for the pain and just barely opened his eyes once or twice while I was there.

For his sake I hope he doesn't last to long and suffer any longer than necessary.

Then this morning our last cat who has serious medical issues was breathing very fast and in bad shape so we took him to the emergency clinic and they checked him over and he had a build up of fluid which would have to be drained to relieve his discomfort caused by a weak heart.

Then he'd require heart medication which would stress his kidneys which are already weak.

We made the difficult decision to put him to sleep rather dragging things out and putting through all this for a poor quality of life.

Regards + HH

Bill"

BigWaveDave · Jul 5, 2016

Tough times....we all gotta face the lows life give us, how we get through them is purely an individual journey...good luck on yours in the days ahead, may you find comfort with your family, friends, and faith. BWD

Ammoman · Jul 5, 2016

Yes hard times. As you already know, this will pass and you will look back and say it sucked. Nothing but time will help with the pain.
Wishing you all the best.

bill from lachine · Jul 5, 2016

Dave,

Thanks for the kind words it helps to lighten the burden.

Regards + HH

Bill

BigWaveDave said:
Tough times....we all gotta face the lows life give us, how we get through them is purely an individual journey...good luck on yours in the days ahead, may you find comfort with your family, friends, and faith. BWD

bill from lachine · Jul 5, 2016

Ammonoman,

Your comments are appreciated.

Regards + HH

Bill

Ammoman said:
Yes hard times. As you already know this will pass and you will look back and say it sucked. Nothing but time will help with the pain.
Wishing you all the best.

G.I.B. · Jul 5, 2016

Hi Bill.

It's a tough time. Less than 2 months ago I was administering my mother her final does of morphine.

The best gift you can give your brother is your compassion. Talk to him, he will hear you. A cool damp cloth to his forehead means a lot. Moisten his lips and make him as comfortable as you can.

Tell him a story that you both fondly remember.

Don't let anyone in the room that is sobbing and uncontrolled. Your brother should receive comfort and compassion, not have to give it out.

Play his favorite music in the background.

bill from lachine · Jul 5, 2016

G.I.B.

Thanks for the advice.....I always try to be strong for those who are around me not always the easiest thing to do but we owe it to those who are close to us.

Regards + HH

Bill

ARC · Jul 5, 2016

Sorry to hear these things.
Hope things get better.

releventchair · Jul 5, 2016

End of the rails can seem way too soon.
Still miss my boy/male dog put down months ago , alot.

Love your brother your way.
Company can be a relief, even when communication fades to being one sided.
Letting go is hard for all.
Hang in there.

DeepseekerADS · Jul 5, 2016

We lost all three of our cats last year, one after the other. The youngest was 15. It was a very sad place for us for quite a while.

You've sad times at your door. I wish you the best, and the gentleness of acceptance.

Rebel - KGC · Jul 5, 2016

DeepseekerADS said:
We lost all three of our cats last year, one after the other. The youngest was 15. It was a very sad place for us for quite a while.

You've sad times at your door. I wish you the best, and the gentleness of acceptance.

Agree; it DOES take time...

dts52 · Jul 5, 2016

Sorry to hear of your sad plight, Bill. Good advice about your with your brother... share funny memories, tell him a secret, ask him questions and most of all, tell him that you love him. I lost my hero, my Dad, 3 years ago and I still sufer when I think about him. I take some comfort knowing that he is in a better place now and that I will join him again eventually. As for your cat,you did the right thing. Too many people prolong a life of a pet that is not worth living because it's too painful to let go. If your cat could talk, I'm sure it would say thank you.
You've got a lot of folks thinking of you.
dts

austin · Jul 5, 2016

I know you don't think so now, but in reality you are a lucky man. You are being given the gift of being able to say goodbye to your brother and tell him how much you love him and you honored and loved your cat by not allowing him to suffer, especially when he brought you love and probably laughter for many years in the forever home that you provided him with. There are many people who wish that they were given the gift of love like your family has had...May God bless and keep you in these troubling times.

bill from lachine · Jul 5, 2016

Austin,

Thanks for your kind thoughts....yes as hard as it was to say goodbye Lucky gave us lots of joy during the time he was with us and likewise we treated him like a king considering he was an abandoned cat which we took in.

Regards + HH

Bill

kcm · Jul 5, 2016

Austin basically took the words out of my mouth. I suddenly had to fly out to LA when my Dad fell in his room, paralyzed from the waist down. I flew out and he wanted to continue his cancer treatments. He never told us how bad anything way. Flew him home a month later on an air ambulance ($20,000+!!) where he passed away less than 2 days later. I was still in "get him in for treatments and take care of his needs and help him here and there" mode. His passing really threw us for a loop!! And it just got worse from there.

We didn't have internet then. Where we live, there's no people, so no real friends. Be very thankful you have this chance, and make the most of it. Don't do it for the memories you'll get, but for the comfort he'll get.

bill from lachine · Jul 5, 2016

kcm,

Thanks for the kind words.....just keeping my fingers crossed he doesn't suffer very long.

Regards + HH

Bill

TommyB · Jul 5, 2016

We all can only hope that when our time comes, we have family and are loved in our final days or minutes. Nothing else matters at this time except for that.
Whatever has previously transpired in our life before those final moments are of no consequence. Only those precious few remaining moments.
Let them know they are loved. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

Loco-Digger · Jul 5, 2016

Sorry to hear about what's going on with your loved ones. It's never easy to get through these trying times. We all go through these and if you need to you can PM me and I will give you my number if you want someone to talk to. I wish you peace during this period in your journey.

bill from lachine · Jul 6, 2016

LD,

Thanks for your kind offer it's much appreciated....but since I had 2 years knowing that his days were numbered I was ready for the end when it came.

Luckily it didn't drag on longer than necessary....I was advised he passed away at 11:30am today so his suffering was limited and thanks for that.

No service, visitation or funeral as per his wishes as he wanted to be remembered for when he was alive and kicking which is fine by me.

Regards + HH

Bill

Loco-Digger said:
Sorry to hear about what's going on with your loved ones. It's never easy to get through these trying times. We all go through these and if you need to you can PM me and I will give you my number if you want someone to talk to. I wish you peace during this period in your journey.