I just got this email from a childhood friend, asked for his permission to cut and paste his question here about how to support his girlfriend after the loss of her mom…Matt would be very appreciative if you could respond and honestly share.
Emme,
I remember when you lost your mom. She was a wonderful and beautiful person. You were pretty young to take all that on.
This morning I put my 46 year-old girlfriend Jan on a plane for Vancouver so she can take care of her mom who is entering the Hospice program. She has cervical cancer that she never took seriously until it came back with a vengance last year. The past year or so has been tough on her and her mom. I’m a Stephen Minister so I am trained to deal with this but not prepared for it on such a personal level. I know that the woman I sent off this morning will not be the woman I will join for the memorial and funeral. She will be the Matriarch of the family and she will have been there to help her mom leave this world. Not a task I’m envious of – I already did that with my dad.
Anyway, have you broached this subject in your programs/writings/blogs? I’d be curious to see what the women have said so I can get a handle ahead of time on what Jan is going through. If you haven’t addressed this it might be something of value to your readers and listeners.
Anyway, I hope you’re doing well and if you’ve done or come across anything like this that might help, please let me know.
Regards,
Matt