01/16/2026
GRIEF TRIGGER ‼️ Wellness and recovery is important for every dimension of life. Let’s talk about grief...
Today, marks 5 years since my mom passed from this life to the arms of Jesus. She had head and neck cancer, and I had taken a leave from work as a Covid nurse to care for her and transition her to hospice care. I stayed to the end.
I had just given her a dose of Morphine and Ativan. I walked to the kitchen to put the meds away and clean up, walked back to the bedroom and sat down. I looked at her and said to her husband, “She’s not breathing”. He nodded. That was it. The 2 months of not crying, of being an advocate for a terminal patient in the midst of a pandemic, of my two family supports (my daughter and my sister) both being quarantined at the time, moving from my daughter’s to live in a hotel for a few weeks while I continued to care for mom, 11 hours from my “Rock” - my husband, and my 3 dogs. It all came to an end and as I listsened for a heartbeat or breathing, I sobbed, knowing she was no longer with us. Grief can turn our world upside down, but it is important to allow ourselves to feel that grief and know that is normal, and to know that it won’t always cut that deep, that at times it will be something we can later chuckle over, like the way mom wanted Christmas lights on her walker. While caring for mom, I had brought my bike trainer up to New York with me, so I could escape to the garage and ride and get some exercise. She lived close to Canandaigua Lake, so I would take time and walk down to the lake front for exercise, and stop at Starbucks for a coffee. I found that those little things are what kept me going. As her confusion grew and her restlessness, it helped to make sure that I took a time out. Lot’s of bible reading which was my spiritual support, making sure I took time to eat, to spend time with my grandchildren as I stayed with my daughter, visiting with my brother who I never saw much. All of this is a form of wellness and recovery that doesn’t take much money, maybe a little time, maybe a little planning, but all helpful to break the pattern of chronic stress.
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