I think the easiest way to do this, is to just jump straight in..
My stepdad has terminal cancer diagnosed Oct 2018 with bowel concert, spread to his liver and other areas now.
The Dr's have been out to my mum and him to put forward his end of life care plan and prescribed palliative pain meds. We've been very lucky to have him for so much longer than we thought (2 years over a 6month life expectancy)
I've said to my mum I will be there with them when he passes, he's chosen to go to a hospice.
Firstly, I don't know how I'm going to cope watching someone I love so much die and secondly, how on earth do I tell my children. They are fully aware of the situation, but not that the final stages are approaching now. My middle daughter especially has been extremely affected by it all, they are so so close, she's already in counselling.
How do I tell them he's gone? How do I help them cope? I'm completely and utterly out of my depth and frightened, heartbroken, angry...
Hi
Sorry to hear about your stepdad though lifted to hear of how much more you got than predicted.
Many find the move to a hospice much more positive than they expected in that it takes us from being the hands on carer back to being a loving family. In normal times hospices have teams who specialise in supporting the whole family too - they are certainly highly experienced in this.
There is some advice on here in the end of life pages including a link to preparing a child when someone is dying that may be helpful.
We recently attended a funeral for my wife's aunt - one thing the celebrant said that registered with me was "grief is the price we pay for love" - the whole service was a real tribute to a life well lived - a special part being a story about how she and her husband first met.
We all cope because we must - sometimes we get knocked down but provided we get back up often with the help of our friends - we will manage in the best way we can.
<<hugs>>
Steve
