General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsI received some tragic news about one of my cousins
Dan was a few years older than me, an Air Force veteran and retired civil service worker. He was a smart, funny, really sweet guy. We used to talk, about once a month. I know he was going to the VA for some health problems but he always seemed so full of life.
He had recently moved to a new apartment about 60 miles from here, to be close to his daughter. When I didn't hear from him I figured he was settling in and would eventually get in touch and give me his new contact information.
His daughter went to Florida to visit her sister and while she was gone, she couldn't reach her dad on the phone (Dan never used the internet). She finally called the police. They found him, on the kitchen floor, deceased. It appeared he had gone outside to smoke and took a fall. He made it back into the house and fell, again, in the kitchen. He fell so hard that his head left a dent in the refrigerator. They think he was dead for a week, when they found him.
My mind automatically goes to something nefarious happened but we will have to wait for the autopsy to know for sure.
To say I'm heartbroken is an understatement. I am close to most of my cousins but Dan always had a special place in my heart.
This makes the 8th family member I've lost in the past 6 years. You can never take that next phone call or visit for granted.
polmaven
(9,463 posts)to you and to your entire family! May Dan RIP!
niyad
(113,259 posts)Haggard Celine
(16,844 posts)brer cat
(24,559 posts)My condolences to you and his family.
lark
(23,091 posts)Condolences for the pain.
cate94
(2,810 posts)NNadir
(33,512 posts)FailureToCommunicate
(14,012 posts)So sorry this news has visited you again.
MacKasey
(986 posts)2naSalit
(86,536 posts)So sorry to hear this news.
malaise
(268,930 posts)Deepest sympathy Siwsan
sheshe2
(83,746 posts)Evolve Dammit
(16,723 posts)Trueblue Texan
(2,425 posts)... falls are a major killer in folks over 65. Most people aren't aware of how many deadly falls happen every year. As we get older a lot of factors conspire to take away our independence. Falls are the number one cause. We all need to prepare our mindset and our environments to prevent falls.l. It pains me that people pay so much attention to diet and exercise but ignore the threat of falls. So sad, a huge source of pain, and a waste of life from a preventable cause. Proves what we don't know CAN hurt us badly.
Wicked Blue
(5,831 posts)My condolences to you
Lonestarblue
(9,971 posts)Fla Dem
(23,650 posts)FakeNoose
(32,633 posts)It's unlikely the cause was nefarious, but your cousin maybe had a stroke or a dizzy spell of some kind. It's hard to understand that an otherwise healthy person can have a sudden death, but it sometimes happens.
I remember my grandfather's funeral, when I was perhaps 30. My grandpa (around 85 or 86) had keeled over from a massive heart attack and he died almost instantly. We were all sad of course, but I'll never forget what his friends said at the funeral. Grandpa's contemporaries mostly in their 80's said, "We're sorry that he's gone, but we envy the way he went."
Sometimes a quick painless death can be a blessing, even though it's hard for the loved ones to let him go.
RustyWheels
(123 posts)Sorry for your loss.
ananda
(28,858 posts)I lost my best friend from college last March.
She wouldn't go to the doctor bc of Covid
and died of undiagnosed pancreatic cancer.
The horror is that her cancer symptoms were
far worse than Covid would have been.
IrishAfricanAmerican
(3,815 posts)so sorry for your loss.
mercuryblues
(14,530 posts)SheltieLover
(57,073 posts)iluvtennis
(19,849 posts)Niagara
(7,595 posts)keithsw
(436 posts)I'm so sorry for your loss. Rest In Peace Dan
Nevilledog
(51,080 posts)Blue Owl
(50,349 posts)bluedevil4
(305 posts)to read this and I so agree about not taking that phone call for granted. I wish you and your family strength in dealing with this. may he RIP.
momta
(4,079 posts)It's so hard to not be able to say goodbye, or to see them one last time. Sending strength and love.
Jilly_in_VA
(9,965 posts)It's hard to lose a family member this way, and especially so unexpectedly.
As someone else noted, falls are a major thing with those of us over 65, and especially for those who live alone. In my nursing career I cared for several patients who had fallen at home and not been discovered for several days. It almost always ended in their deaths because they'd fallen for reasons such as stroke, heart attack, etc. It sounds like your cousin's death was quick. I lost my closest cousin some years ago in a similar way and I still miss her.