My Mom died over the weekend. I was asleep when it happened and feel awful. How do I get over that?

Jillie my Mom died recently. I kept up my vigils by her bedside. Staying all night. Running home for a bit of rest during the day. Going back. For 6 days the staff at the hospital kept saying "it could be today" and I was so worried I wouldn't be there but every time they said "today might be the day" and it never was.

So on the day she eventually died I visited with her for 4 hrs. and then went home thinking well they've been saying this for almost a week. It probably won't be today. As it turned out the last day I visited her she died 4 hours after I left.

I felt guilty like you do but then everyone kept saying she probably didn't want you to be there and now I think they were probably right.

Jillie your mother knows you were there and she knows you loved her. She is not in heaven shaking her finger at you and saying why were you asleep. She is looking down on you with love and admiration. Trust me.

Jillie be at peace. You gave the calming medications so she could sleep without anxiety and pain. You were both asleep but connected as only a loving mother and daughter are in life and eternity, She will always be with you in spirit but it may be a while before you feel her presence. Blessings.

I'm sorry for your loss, but you did absolutely fine by your mom. She passed from this life to the next comfortably in her sleep, knowing loved ones were near and cared...not sure it any of us could get much better than that, given that we all have to pass on at some point. May God bless you both.

I'm so sorry for the loss of your mom.

Try not to get hung up on the fact that you weren't wide awake and holding your mom's hand when she died. My dad was on hospice. I was working 12-hour shifts and visiting him in the nursing home everyday. I was exhausted. Coming off another 12-hour shift I almost took the exit that would lead me to my dad's nursing home when I made the decision to see him the next day instead. I had another 12-hour shift the next day and I wanted to go home and go to bed. After I got home and right before I went to bed I called the NH to check on my dad and they told he had died about half and hour ago. Had I stopped on my way home I would have been with him when he died. As it was, he was alone when he died.

You were in the same room with your mom when she died. She wasn't alone. You were exhausted and needed sleep. There's nothing to feel guilty about. I had to let go of my guilt over not being with my dad when he died or else it would have destroyed me.

There's no way we can know the exact time when our loved ones are going to die. It's impossible to know that. You could have just as easily been in the shower or on the phone or down at your local grocery store when your mom died. Life has to go on while our loved ones are on hospice. I work in home healthcare and I've worked many hospice cases. I have yet to see a family whose lives are on hold while their loved one is on hospice. They come in and go out, sometimes they stay for a while, sometimes they don't. They stop by after work, they skip a day so they can get some things done....We can't know when it's time. There's no way we can know that. You have absolutely nothing to feel guilty about. How were you supposed to know?

I'm sorry for your loss, Jillie76. You were there with her. That's what counts. God bless you for your loving care. She knows and that's all that matters.

Wow. That's an amazing thought and honestly it sounds like her! She had open heart surgery years ago and she absolutely did not want me to see her after surgery because of all the tubes. She knew it was upset me. i would have wanted to do CPR or would have kept yelling for her to wake up had I seen her stop breathing. I never left the room so that was the only way for her to do it. I still feel bad for not holding her hand but we had an amazing connection when she was in her agitated state earlier that night. She managed one last I love you and I will cherish that always.

Many times people wait till a loveone leaves their room to pass on. Even if their minds are in a confused state it seems as if their hearts know it would be too hard on the ones left behind to be present when their Spirit leave the body that no longer works. Think of this as her last gift to you. Nothing can ever replace a Mom and I am sorry for your loss.