Talk about life.

[talonmalon333]

I'm so sorry to hear this, and I hope she's at peace now. I wish your whole family be well. RIP.

[Lord Il]

Guys, my sincere thanks.

Everything about this is so surreal.

I've lost family over the years myself,

Yeah, I've lost some family just over the course of mom's illness. Her oldest brother died from complications from heart surgery in 2012. Him and mom were quite close and it was really tough to break the news to her. He was an awesome uncle. Later on that year mom's oldest sister died of cancer and her husband also died of cancer only last September.
My cousin (their youngest daughter) gave me some advice yesterday that makes a lot of sense: We take life too much for granted sometimes and we really don't know how much time we have - Don't delay doing the things you want to do in life. Hence she just got back from a trip down south where she swam with dolphins. She really needed that time away.

D:

RIP. Sounds like she lived a good life.

She did. But she went through a lot of hell in amongst the good she had, too. The woman was an inspiration. She was one of the toughest, independant people I'll ever know. She spat in the eyes of adversity and persevered time after time.

holding stuff like that in can be dangerous to yourself...

It can be. Around the time when the Excel Saga Forum's server account expired, I was keeping this stuff about an illness in the family to myself and wasn't in the best condition to deal with the server crises. Instead of talking about the personal issue I was facing, I bottled it up and made myself miserable. I am forever grateful for Foggle to have stepped up to the plate when he did.


I guess what's left is dealing with funeral arrangements and whatever legal stuff I need to go through concerning obtaining a death certificate, the house, utilities, etc. It's not like a person goes through this every day to know exactly what to do about all this.

I'll be taking some time off work tomorrow morning to go to the funeral home and hopefully get this arranged as quickly as possible. I think I can speak for my brother when I say we need this over with. Gotta move on.

[Foggle]

It can be. Around the time when the Excel Saga Forum's server account expired, I was keeping this stuff about an illness in the family to myself and wasn't in the best condition to deal with the server crises. Instead of talking about the personal issue I was facing, I bottled it up and made myself miserable. I am forever grateful for Foggle to have stepped up to the plate when he did.

I'm glad I could help! I would have been even more willing to step up if I'd known. Never be afraid to talk about anything that's bothering you!

[gunswordfist]

that's sweet of you, foggle.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

That's completely true. I came to realize that only a few months ago, myself, when one of my aunts who is only in her late 40's suffered a heart attack. Luckily she worked at the VA hospital and had the attack during her shift, so she was at the perfect place to receive immediate attention and response. The strangw thing is that she wasn't even scheduled to work that day but came in anyways because she simply felt like going to work, and it may very well havemade the difference between life and death. But it also showed me how fragile life can be and how it's possible for any of us to go at a moment's notice, so we really can't afford to take our lives or those of our loved ones for granted. We should cherish every moment that we can, and it's good to know that you had a lot that you could cherishwith your mother over the years.

[Lord Il]

Never be afraid to talk about anything that's bothering you!

Okay. I'm gonna work on that.


Dr. Ensatsu-ken, wow, I really am happy for your aunt. It's instances like those that make me believe in fate and good fortune. She truly is meant to do much more in the world.

We should cherish every moment that we can, and it's good to know that you had a lot that you could cherishwith your mother over the years.

Indeed. It's funny when I look back and remember how we used to sometimes fight like cats and dogs when I was a kid. As time went on we mellowed out a lot and became good friends.


And speaking of those who get such serious medical issues relatively early in life, I learned that dementia is not just an 'old people' condition. Even though age does seem to correlate, this is not always the case. One of my aunts told me of a friend of theirs who eventually passed away of dementia in their 40s.

If anyone is at all curious about any warning signs to look out for, please ask.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

While none of my family members have suffered from dementia, I've seen plenty of patients who do have it at various different stages during my hospital rotations in my final year of college. It's a very sad site to see, especially when you see how tough it is on their family members.

[Lord Il]

Oh man, I know. Most don't even realise they have anything wrong with them. Some appear to be normal and almost made me wonder if they were really residents at the nursing home at all. Some can be somewhat violent, but that seemed rare. I found many can exhibit a sort of childlike behavior which is how my mother used to be in the beginning and ongoing stages of it. But generally they were friendly and liked to say "hi" each time I came by for visits. It's a very sad environment to be in.

[Foggle]

I want to cry just thinking about it.

[Lord Il]

Yeah..

I once had an old lady there asking me if I could please drive her home. I had to fib and just say I don't drive. "Oh.." she said.

It really gets ya sometimes. They're so innocent.

Ever see The Twilight Zone episode (or the movie remake) with the "Kick The Can" story? I can draw a lot of comparisons to it.

[Peanutbutter]

I'm sorry about what you went through Il.



I just found out last night that my cousin, whom was really more like my sister when we were younger, has gotten breast cancer and is going in for a double-mastectomy tomorrow. I'm hoping and praying for the best.

[LumRanmaYasha]

That sounds frightening. I wish her the best of luck.

[gunswordfist]

My prayers go out to her.

[Lord Il]

I'm sorry about what you went through Il.

Thanks, PB. I'm still having my moments where it's like I'm still trying to grasp the reality of all this. There are those short moments in time I almost need to remind myself that this has indeed happened.

The funeral happened last Tuesday morning and went well. I managed to stay fairly calm and collected through most of it. Mom certainly did the right thing and had everything pre-paid. We were quite pleased by her decision for cremation which apparently speeds things up a bit over a traditional burial. The urn was placed in a cool little vault unit which was quite nice. What's been bothering me lately is the fact that my commute to and from work takes me past there, but I think I'll get used to it in time.

I just found out last night that my cousin, whom was really more like my sister when we were younger, has gotten breast cancer and is going in for a double-mastectomy tomorrow. I'm hoping and praying for the best.

No two ways about it, that's really rough. I feel bad for anyone who has to undergo such a proceedure. My mother and her youngest sister both had a single mastectomy done over ten years ago. Cancer never recurred. They were both given an option to go on some sort of cancer preventative prescription (sounds like hocus pocus, IMO) after the operation, but they decided the possible side effects from the drug just wasn't worth it.

I wish all the best for your cousin.

[Foggle]

I just found out last night that my cousin, whom was really more like my sister when we were younger, has gotten breast cancer and is going in for a double-mastectomy tomorrow. I'm hoping and praying for the best.

Oh god. I really hope it went okay and she's alright. I will pray for her as well.