My Tribute for Mum

This is the tribute I wrote to be read out at Mum’s funeral. I asked one of my Mum’s best friends to read it and I am so grateful for her doing so, I couldn’t imagine anyone else having done it. “The last year of all our lives has been an extremely difficult one, but

Mum’s Funeral Service

This post is the eulogy that was written by my Nan for Mum’s funeral, delivered by celebrant Ellie Lomas. “On behalf of the family, I would like to welcome you to this special ceremony as we celebrate the life of a wonderful lady, Sue Szumowski. Any kind donations, in memory of Sue, will benefit Cancer

Arranging Mum’s Funeral

Maybe about a week before Mum died, I messaged my friend Sophie whose Mum works as a funeral director. I asked Sophie if I could come round hers at some point and chat to her Mum about what to expect when planning a funeral, the “plans”, the average costs etc. At this point, Sophie and

Coping with and Reacting to Someone Else’s Grief

I can’t tell you the amount of cards I got after my Mum died, I can’t tell you who they’re from or what they said – but I can tell you that a two weeks after my Mum died, my friends persuaded me to go out for St Patrick’s Day. I had such a great

The Aftermath of Mum’s Death

Mum passed away at 3pm, on the morning of her death, we had been contacting close family and friends to alert them of the situation. Mum’s brother and my two cousins were hard to get hold of that day – but we eventually did get hold of them and they arrived to us around 4pm.

She’s Dying – Part 4

The last part of this series of posts detailing Mum’s death – this may be slightly graphic for some readers. At one point in the morning, Mum started dribbling so I grabbed a tissue and went to wipe her face. Now, I had worked with children for 7 years at this point (nearly nine today),

She’s Dying (Part 3)

In this post I am going to describe and explain the events that led up to and include Mum’s death. Mum died at 3pm on Saturday 3rd March 2018. Mum was deteriorating and needed care all day. That care came in the form of my Mum’s partner and I, and the thrice daily visits from

She’s Dying (Part 2)

The thing that people don’t tell you (well didn’t tell me) about a terminal illness is how relentlessly invasive it is. That sentence sounds naïve. I don’t mean about how invasive it is to the person suffering it, that’s pretty obvious… it’s invasive for the people around them, for the home environment, for the finances,

She’s Dying

Mum came home from the palliative care unit in late November. She was “herself” for a little while because she was secure and comfortable at home, but the non-healthcare environment of home and having non-healthcare professionals (my Mum’s partner and I) at home meant she soon started to deteriorate. It was difficult. My Mum was

Terminal Diagnosis (Part 2)

After Mum’s terminal diagnosis (on the 5th November 2017 – one of those dates you don’t forget), it was difficult to feel anything other than anger. Of course I’m sure I did feel other things, but the main thing that sticks out is the anger I constantly had. I was angry because my Mum was