Losing my Grandad

Losing a grandparent
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Hey,
Im 25 and I lost my grandad 6 weeks ago. I woke up to the sound of my mum screaming on the phone crying and I rushed to her thinking what on earth is going on, it was a paramedic telling her that her dad/ my grandad has sadly passed.

He was 76, I accept this is a good age but to me it’s scary. He was so healthy, had no health issues. Walked and went to the gym (lightly) almost everyday.

He died in his sleep completely unexpectedly, his heart just stopped. My grandma found him when she woke up and we just couldn’t believe it, he was fine the day before, I spoke to him completely normally and grandma said they and their normal day/ night routine and he didn’t feel ill or seem stressed/ different.
We are just heartbroken.

I suffer with anxiety and this has been my first loss, I don’t know how to feel. I am heartbroken and cannot get over the fact I will never see him again after speaking to him everyday for basically my whole life. I am trying to be strong for them, but even after speaking to my grandma on FaceTime yesterday and hearing that she is eating dinner alone at her table is breaking my heart.

I have fears for my grandma, on how she will cope potentially many more years without him, understandably this has destroyed her, I can see her shine has gone.
My mum is very good at covering she is ok but I know she’s not. Does anyone have tips on how to cope with these anxious thoughts and worries about the future.

Sometimes I even feel guilty about feeling this way if it was my grandad… is that normal? Especially with work when I have down days. We are an extremely close family so to me my grandad was my role model.
:broken_heart:

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Hi, sorry for the shock of your loss. Unexpected and sudden deaths are always traumatic, but maybe you can take a little comfort in knowing that your granddad was leading a normal life up to the end. It will take a while for you to process this loss and grief has no timeframe, so don’t rush the process. What you’re feeling is entirely normal, hopefully as a family you will be able to support each other. Best wishes, take care xx

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Thank you very much. Definitely coping a lot better than I thought I would a few weeks ago, a lot of people have said take comfort on his death in the sense it was so peaceful and no suffering so I am keeping that in my mind xx

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Hi sorry to read what you are going through. I can totally sympathise with you. I lost my papa in August. Although he was in and out of hospital for the last 2 months prior due to his mobility, he was still somewhat healthy. He died of a heart attack which shocked us all. Then 43 days later my granny also passed due to a heart attack which was put down to a broken heart. I’m 33 and grew up with them as a second set of parents so know exactly how you feel and the anxiety issues you feel. I’m sorry if my post brings on more anxiety for you but these were also my fears too. Feel free to message me if you want to chat x

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Hi

I lost my grandad two weeks ago and totally understand you. My heart aches in the thought that i would not hear him again or see him again.