Mom is dying, what do I tell her?

My Mother is in the hospital and I have been told by her oncologist that her breast cancer is much worse. She has less than 3 months to live. There is nothing left that anyone can do for her. Mom is being transferred to a facility for palliative patients. My Mother really does not know that she is dying. What do I say to her?

Nick:

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The right bathroom safety equipment?

Where can I find advice about getting the right bathroom safety equipment? My homecare nurse suggested that my wife might fall in the bathroom.

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Managing a hospital visit

For most members of the public, a trip to the hospital is like being thrust into a foreign country without the guidebook! We don’t know the language, are dependent on the healthcare professionals and just hope for the best.

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Checking on the neighbours

I have several elderly neighbours that I check up on each day. I’m going away for two months this summer and I’m worried about leaving them. Any suggestions?

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An excerpt from Alzheimer’s from the Inside Out

I race up and down the corridors of my mind, frantically seeking to make sense of what’s going on around me. Sometimes this process makes me even more lost, and I become lost about why I am lost!

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Allergies: Are you prepared?

More and more people are showing signs of being

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No Dinner

I dropped by after work a couple of times this week to see my parents who are both in their mid 70’s. I was shocked to find the house in darkness, my Mother asleep and my Dad watching TV. I asked him if they had had an early supper. He just simply said, there is no supper tonight. He said basically the same thing on my second visit this week.

Seems Mom sleeps alot in the afternoon and does not make supper anymore. What? Why? As of when?

Many nights my Father makes some toast and jam for his dinner around 8:30 when he starts to get hungry. He was not really sure when my mother ate. He also told me that she gets very mad if he starts to make dinner, so he does not bother anyone. Just not worth another fight.

What should I do? I hate the thought of them not eating properly. I work all day and cannot drop by every day to check on them.

Mike

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Whole and Complete

In the eyes of many others, sometimes even the eyes of care-partners, I am seen as less than a complete someone.

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What the hell am I supposed to do?

I just found out that my brother who was my Dad’s POA purchased the family cottage from my Dad just 3 weeks before he died. My Dad died in July, 2010. I went in there this week, and the door key did not work. My brother had not only changed the keys, but forgot to tell me that he now owns our family jewel.

Lee

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Stealing

There seems to be odd things missing from my mother’s dresser in her bedroom – she lives in our hosue with us. Lately some of her jewellery and money have gone missing. I expect my cleaning lady is stealing from her.

Jan

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