I'm 25 years old, I'm from Scotland - West Coast.
My mum - She had 3 children, my sister who's 42, my brother who's 31 and me 25. My sister is my best friend before she's my sister. My brother and I rarely speak (nothing malicious, just life). It was me and my mum always, for 25 years. My sister and brother never spoke to her due to other life things that I'm not involved in but, they were there before the end and at the end.
She was a very unique woman, weird and wonderful.
4th of September 2023 mum complained about being unwell with acid reflux and just feeling ugh.
10th of September 2023 mum had blood tests done that came back clear but with a high ESR level (to my understanding, ESR is a hormone in the body and if the levels are high - it suggests something foreign in the body like an infection or something)
This goes on, back and forth by the way - blood tests that kepe coming back clear, mum's face starting hurting so ultrasounds were done that came back clear. She was fine in the eyes of medicine. Doctors thought maybe Chrons disease due to the amount of diarrhoea she had and how long for - along with the acid reflux.
The the PET-CT scan came, on the 10th of November 2023. By this point, we were adamant it was MS, the doctors were adamant due to the chrons disease testing coming back negative. Mum's mobility was terrible, she declined rapidly in the last month.
Boom, 15th of November 2023. The results. Oesophagel Cancer, the size of a 10p coin. "I'm going to beat this, don't you worry, I'm going to be fine" I became her carer then. Twice a week I'd drive an hour there, stay over night then drive back the next afternoon.
A week later, it spread to her liver and she was in first stage liver failure. She found that one out on her own, whilst I was standing in the A&E reception, 3 hours after I had phoned the ambulance for her. She was jaundiced so I knew before the ambulance even came but that's not the point - she shouldn't of been alone. It was at that point that I became proxy for mum, basically for her not be told any detrimental information without me present. I was mum's next of Kin.
A week after she went into hospital, both me and her got told that its terminal, its end of life and she only has a few weeks left to live. We're now on week beginning 27th of November 2023.
She died on the 7th of December 2023. She was 63. What the? 2 months ago SHE WAS FINE. Hell, 4 months ago she was walking about the town like she was 25.
I watched her die. I've watched 3 people die (I was a student nurse), mostly due to old age and its a normal part of life and nursing but watching my mum die? That's not normal.
I have no idea why I'm writing this, maybe I just need to get it out to strangers? I'm not sure but it's helped so thank you.
