Hi Sarah B - my mum passed on 15th Dec. She had a pretty major stroke on 4th Dec but was conscious and i could talk to her (although she was a wee bit muddled!) Looked to be improving every day, doctors 'astonished' at her progress and how 'unscathed' she was. My sister and i planning out how we would manage looking after her, logisitcs etc (i'm from Glasgow but now live in London) On the 10th however she had another catastrophic stroke, and this time there was no way back and as folks on here will know, everything changes.
i think i know what you mean about friends not being able / equipped to empathise properly or know what it's like. I'm lucky in that i've got a great, supportive wife and young kids who make me laugh & provide great distraction - but even they don't or can't truly know what it's like and even with that closeness, it can def still sometimes feel a bit isolating.
Equally, as Dennis said, i sometimes feel like actually there's this real singularity, a real sense that this is my 'thing' to face, to process or to make peace with - but i agree that having people showing you that they care is undoubtedly a comfort in helping you to do that.
I found i lost alot of confidence after losing my dad, withdrew and at some points felt like I'd lost myself. Its a rollercoaster but from my experience it does get easier
Thanks for that - i can definetly relate - look forward to this mythical 'getting easier' thing you mention ;)
Again, appreciate people taking the time to reply on this and hope everyone is sometimes managing to remember the good times too