Family meeting day

We will be having a family meeting with Mum's doctor this afternoon at 3:30.
Barry said he will be here by 3:00 so everyone is lined up to attend including the coordinator of the end of life room in 6 North. Unfortunately we will likely have to have this meeting crowded around a bed.
This has been a very difficult journey for our parents because the emergency ward is so full and so noisy.
Heather and I are exhausted. We sort, pack,carry,cry,visit,move hospital beds and chairs,cry,feed Dad and have end of life talks with him. And cry.
We have little time to think of our selves. We hear platitudes from others about taking care of ourselves and getting enough rest, but it is difficult to eat right when we don't get around to thinking of a dinner until 9:30. A good thing to remember when next I have a friend in the same position is to communicate, to stay in touch by email and let them know I am thinking of them and to offer practical things like a home cooked meal once in a while. Just the simple things sometimes seem insurmountable like hunting down packing boxes. One day we got off the elevator to the wrong floor and stepped into a mountain of discarded sturdy cardboard boxes. A lesson in 'when you put it out to the universe the solution will be found.'
So I am putting it out there, if you have a short message for Mum or Dad, Grandma or Grandpa, Do or Keith, please email me and I will read it to them. They will know and really appreciate you for taking time to think of them.