Just a little overwhelmed

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Last week was the last week of school for the kids, so I've been busy planning a quick vacation for us all. Things seemed to be well in hand on Friday, when I got a call from my MIL. Hubby's uncle (mid-80's and cancerous) has died. The funeral is in Vancouver on the day we had planned to arrive at the in-laws. What do we want to do? Arrive anyway (they'd leave a key with neighbours), arrive the next day (they'll be back by then) or go to the funeral? "Well, that depends on whether I'm able to get time off work", I replied. "I'll call you back tomorrow after talking to Jeff and seeing if I can get time off from work."

So, Saturday morning, I called my boss. She wasn't happy, we're quite short staffed, but time off for funerals of aunts and uncles in law is in the contract and must be granted. So Jeff and I take the van in to be serviced so we can leave on Monday. When we return to the house to pack (leaving the van to be picked up when done), there's a message from my sister, "please call immediately about a family emergency". So I called. My brother is in hospital with what appears to be a heart attack; hospital security called my sister because his wife is out of town at a conference. That's all the information she has. Between us we decide that one of us had better go to hospital to be with him until his wife arrives, or he's stable. But my van is in the shop, so she goes. Shortly after, the van is done and I go up to the hospital. They've transferred him to a larger, better equipped hospital (Translation, he's *not* doing well). When I get to the other hospital, I see him briefly before they decide to take him for testing and treatment. Then we wait. His wife has arrived just before they take him for treatment... this is a good thing. They're going to be a couple of hours, they say, so we go to find some food... nobody's eaten lunch.

Later, my brother also arrives. We start talking about stressors. I talk about the funeral that we still might go to. My brother tops that with a story about our mom collapsing while at the market in Accra (Ghana, West Africa). And my sister trumps with news that her husband is waiting for test results for cancer.

All in all, by 6 pm yesterday, it had already been a very loooooong weekend. Not quite how I'd planned to celebrate Canada Day (today).

However: Mom's all right. It was likely just the heat (we don't get a lot of that here, and it takes time to acclimatize). My brother has survived the first day and a half after his heart attack, every hour is a reduction in the likelihood of another, fatal, heart attack. And my brother-in-law looks and feels fairly healthy; he's probably going to test negative. It's just made for a roller-coaster emotional weekend.

End of rant :-)

-- Tricia the Canuck (jayles@telusplanet.net), July 01, 2001

Answers

If you write me well wishes, it'll likely have to wait 'til we're back from holidays for an answer. Hope your summer's better than mine!!

-- Tricia teh Canuck (jayles@telusplanet.net), July 01, 2001.

Oh Tricia! I hope the rest of your vacation makes up for all the enormously bad stuff going on right now. I'll keep your family in my prayers.

-- helen (ack@ack.now), July 01, 2001.

Tricia,

I am so sorry to hear of your family's crises. You are all in my prayers.

-- gene (ekbaker@essex1.com), July 02, 2001.


Who wouldn't be overwhelmed!?! (((((Tricia))))) Glad to hear things are looking a little better. I hope the trip and change of scenery somehow refreshes your spirit. Maybe you'll even come home with some 'postcards'. :-)

-- Gayla (privacy@please.com), July 02, 2001.

Tricia: I hope things have settled down a little for you. Please let us know how the family is.

-- Linda Mc (jmcintyre1@mmcable.com), July 05, 2001.


Well, thank-you all for the kind words and thoughts.

Big bro was doing well enough on Monday that I felt safe to go to the funeral, so we did. The funeral service was very nice, and the 'family reunion', although small, was also really good. We said hi to cousins and aunts and uncles, and hoped silently that we would be able to have our reunion next summer without any funeral. Unfortunately, the aunts and uncles are elderly, another funeral within a year is not unlikely.

I haven't heard anything recent about big bro; sister would have called if there had been any major change, though. I tried to call them to get an up-date, but there's no answer this evening.

I'm feeling much more relaxed, now. Ready to take on the next shoe that falls.

-- Tricia the Canuck (jayles@telusplanet.net), July 06, 2001.


Trish, I’ve watched this thread for several days now, wanting to say something, stumbling over the words. You see, I’m perplexed by our little forum home, here. We came, each of us, to play, post jokes, invent personalities and stretch our written consciousness. We came, each of us, to appreciate home-grown poetry and humor and occasionally a glimpse into each other’s lives.

But somehow we have succeeded to transcend the words. Somehow we have come to appreciate the persons at the keyboards. We treasure the poet as well as the poetry, and count ourselves lucky to be exposed to both. I’ve never met you face-to-face, but through the magic of language, I’ve met you heart-to-heart, and I want you to know that I treasure you.

You have many friends here, and we are thinking of you. As someone very kindly told me recently, - that’s what we do.

--------------------------------------------------------------

-- Lon Frank (lgal@exp.net), July 06, 2001.


Tricia: I'm glad to hear that events went as well as they could. Funerals are a hard place to 'reunite' with our relatives and a real reunion can be awfully quiet after a funeral. I echo Lon's sentiments-you're family to us just as surely as if you were born that way. We missed you and would love to hear some reflections on your visits with family.

-- Linda Mc (jmcintyre1@mmcable.com), July 06, 2001.

Lon and Linda, you've succeeded in moving me to tears. I know I have laughed and cried with you both - you feel like family to me, too. I'm home again, in fact have been for a couple of days, but between a faulty computer and working two 12 hour shifts, I just haven't been able to peek in here.

Big bro is doing very well, home from hospital for a week, and under strict instructions to not lift and carry anything over 15 lbs. He'll be off work for another few weeks at least.

Mom sent an e-mail indicating that she's doing very well, and that time is flying by at supersonic speeds.

Other family is all doing well. We're looking forward to my niece's wedding in just a couple of weeks.

Thanks, all, for caring. "A burden shared is a burden halved, laughter shared is doubled".

-- Tricia the Canuck (jayles@telusplanet.net), July 13, 2001.


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