My beloved younger brother passed away on the 7th November 2015, he was 68 years old and I was 76. We had a special bond which started on the day I was allowed to nurse him in the taxi bringing him home from hospital 2 weeks after he was born. We were always so very close, ringing each other a couple of times per week, he stayed with us twice a month for at least one night sometimes two, because of his work commitments. I knew that he had a terminal lung disease, Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, I never dreamt that it would take him so soon although on reflection he tried to warn me and I did/would not listen. He was admitted into hospital at the end of October, last year suffering from pneumonia, I was very worried about him but I never expected the tragic outcome. Three days after he was admitted, our phone rang and much to my delight and relief his name appeared on the screen, thank God, I thought, he is well enough to ring me. Instead of his voice, it was my sister-in-law crying, saying J wants to say “goodbye”, as I type this the shock has appeared again. J was on oxygen and couldn’t breathe without it. When I heard his voice, I asked him if he was dying (what a stupid question). “Yes, love, I am” was the reply “and I want to say goodbye and to tell you that I love you sweetheart”. My reply was “and I love you too, sweetheart, go to your rest and be at peace”. I just couldn’t believe it and even now 13 months afterwards, I still can’t believe it. I couldn’t go to his funeral, he lived about 200 miles away and as I am practically housebound, it wasn’t possible for me or my husband to go. The rest of our family went, for which I was glad, a friend of ours’ who is a priest, held a Mass for us to begin at exactly the same time as J’s funeral was due to start. I still cannot get over the shock, I grieve so badly for him, I was lucky to have such a lovely, kind and loving brother for 68 years and I thank God for those years.
Six months later, my lifelong friend of nearly 72 years had a severe stroke, in fact it was my husband who found her after breaking into her home. She was found on the floor of her bedroom and I calculated that she had been there for at least 2 nights and 2 days. P was my friend, confidente and rock, all the years we have been friends, we have never let each other down. She was a great source of comfort to me, when my brother died, she had known him all his life, P lived exactly a month after the stroke, she did not have a funeral having left her body to medical science. I feel absolutely lost, two of the people whom I loved most in the world, apart from my husband and children, taken in such a sudden and cruel way.
Thank you for reading this, I do appreciate it, I joined this group yesterday and I am very grateful that I found it.