Bad news

Monday:

Family health news has been horrible this week. I found out that my Uncle Greg had a stroke, not sure how long ago, without my mum to pass on news I don’t hear a lot from her family and only see them weddings, funerals and Christmas. But as a child we had family dinners at my grandparents every Sunday. He’s being looked after full time by his wife at home right now. He’s 67, I think. My mum, who was overweight and unhealthy all her life with asthma and allergies, died at 73 of cancer. Her sister, thin and fit and healthy all her life, died at 66 of cancer. Now Greg, also very fit and slender, who was still playing competitive tennis, has had a stroke. It’s rather depressing. I guess you can only mitigate risks, you can’t guarantee a long life.

I learned about Uncle Greg from a cousin, who actually contacted me about our Poppa who at 102 looks like he’s going to outlive all his children. He’s still living (alone for 20 years) in his own home, looking after himself, but has had a couple of falls recently and has trouble getting up from the floor, and is in bed since the most recent fall. My Uncle Greg, his youngest son, lives just across the road, but obviously right now he is in no condition to keep an eye on him. Various grandkids are helping, but it’s tricky. So the family, including Poppa himself, feel it might be time for him to go into a nursing home. But.... Covid. Nursing homes are terrible places to be right now. Lots of deaths. It’s hard to know what to do.

Then today, my father-in-law had some chest pains. They are keeping him in hospital overnight to monitor. We’re not allowed to visit. He’s very overweight, and has prostate cancer. Very worrying. I feel quite helpless.