Tell me something I didn't know!
Dad's cancer surgery was unsuccessful - the cancer had already spread throughout his abdomen, and the doctor did not proceed. Chemotherapy had quickly been ruled out, too - leaving us with little other option than to move Dad to a hospice.
Plans had been made to visit a hospice, and I'd invited my aunt Mildred and my cousin Mike to go along with us on the visit. Mildred and I were very concerned, though, about my other aunt, Louise. Louise is 85 years old and getting very frail, both physically and mentally. We're concerned that she may be developing Alzheimer's, and we were very worried about how she was going to take the news that her brother was dying.
Dad had been transferred to CCU during the early morning hours on the day we were going to visit the hospice. We were all in the waiting room - my brother, sister-in-law, and my nephews; Mildred, her two daughters, Louise, my fiance Phillip, and myself. We hadn't mentioned hospice to Louise, and my cousin Tammy whispered to Mildred that we did need to tell her. So I decided to speak up.
Tammy had brought Louise in using a wheelchair as she can't move very well. I knelt down in front of her to tell her what was going on, tears streaming down my face.
"Aunt Louise, you know the other day you told me that they didn't get that cancer, and I told you they couldn't? Well, they don't have any treatment to offer, and suggested that we look into a hospice."
"Oh, honey, I knew that!" Louise very calmly replied. WHAT?? We were stunned. "Remember, I helped take care of Jim years ago, so I knew what I was seeing."
How comical - here we all were, worrying about how to tell her and scared for her reaction, and she had quietly figured it out on her own and was trying to comfort us!
Plans had been made to visit a hospice, and I'd invited my aunt Mildred and my cousin Mike to go along with us on the visit. Mildred and I were very concerned, though, about my other aunt, Louise. Louise is 85 years old and getting very frail, both physically and mentally. We're concerned that she may be developing Alzheimer's, and we were very worried about how she was going to take the news that her brother was dying.
Dad had been transferred to CCU during the early morning hours on the day we were going to visit the hospice. We were all in the waiting room - my brother, sister-in-law, and my nephews; Mildred, her two daughters, Louise, my fiance Phillip, and myself. We hadn't mentioned hospice to Louise, and my cousin Tammy whispered to Mildred that we did need to tell her. So I decided to speak up.
Tammy had brought Louise in using a wheelchair as she can't move very well. I knelt down in front of her to tell her what was going on, tears streaming down my face.
"Aunt Louise, you know the other day you told me that they didn't get that cancer, and I told you they couldn't? Well, they don't have any treatment to offer, and suggested that we look into a hospice."
"Oh, honey, I knew that!" Louise very calmly replied. WHAT?? We were stunned. "Remember, I helped take care of Jim years ago, so I knew what I was seeing."
How comical - here we all were, worrying about how to tell her and scared for her reaction, and she had quietly figured it out on her own and was trying to comfort us!
posted by Brenda King | 5:34 PM
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