My Mum September 21, 2022

In a world that’s completely overcome with the loss of her Majesty the Queen, it can be easy to forget all the other people that have passed away during this period.

My mum died on the 3rd September aged 95 having suffered from bowel cancer and a host of other complexities not picked up during her final days.

Unlike the Queen my mother’s last weeks were a roller coaster of highs and lows.

Doctors and nurses under huge pressure working in what is a broken National Health Service.

Numerous phone numbers to call which when outside of the 9 to 5 working hours went unanswered.

Dietitians that couldn’t see mum for six to eight weeks when she was terminally ill and had been given just days to live.

Macmillan nurse who was away on holiday for the two weeks when mum became critical and eventually died.

Numerous doctors who were trying to hold everything together and give the best service that they could when the queue of patients they were being asked to treat was just getting longer.

Mum waited 20 hours to get a bed when she was admitted. She was left in a corridor with the whole host of other patients and their various problems going on around her. She was confused and poorly and in pain, yet nobody prioritised her despite her age and her obvious frailty.

Drug addicts were dealt with.

Victims of violence were dealt with.

Car accident victims were dealt with.

Mum was sidelined but kept her stoic face on and just accepted the situation without complaint.

To cut a long story short mum had bowel cancer and lung cancer and liver cancer and a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) which spread to other organs and eventually lead to her death.

We were with her right till the end and held her hand as she departed.

I guess the point of this blog is to point out the differences between how the world has reacted to the death of these two different elderly ladies.

To me – my mum was the Queen.

For me – I’d rather have a bank holiday for my mum…. I think she deserved it.

 

Just saying.

 

Mike C