hevs

Jeanie, thats terrible, have a safe journey........

bundy

Good luck Jeannie - so sorry to hear your news. Sending positive thoughts to both you and Larissa.

stefian

Hi Larissa

My thoughts are with you. I know how you feel my dad had a mild
stroke about 10 years ago, and he fully recovered, but it was worrying at the time.

Keep your chin up, hope all goes well


Steph

Larissa

Well, the latest is that I'm flying out on Saturday. It's been a mad week, trying to get a flight before Easter was impossible. I'm taking the two littl'uns... one of them had a really bad bug after the weekend, but he's alright now (phew). Please take care of Blim while I'm away... he might get a bit lonely
Thanks for all the support and advice!
Larissa

mlbonner

Good luck - hope everything works out okay for you

vicky o

Thinking of you Larissa. Hope everythings ok!!

Phoenixuk2oz

Sorry to hear your father is no better Larissa

Keep your chin up and fingers crossed for you girlfriend.

Pheonixuk2oz

Larissa

Hiya Guys
I got back from a weeks trip to Greece, with my 2 kids, yesterday. What a nightmare of a flight!!! My toddler was really naughty...
It was good to see my parents. Dad has been drinking a lot less, but has the odd beer. He drank a bottle of ouzo the day before we went though & I'm not sure if he'll reduce his alcohol consumption for long.
He's cut down from 30 to 20 fags a day. He seems to be trying, but struggling.
While I was in Greece, my mum was taken to the health centre with a bad asthma attack. She's fine now, but it was her first and she was very frightened. My dad has been told not to smoke in the house and he has been complying with this.
To be honest, I feel really flattened by the whole thing. Mum was told by the doctor that he could die at any time. His arteries have really narrowed and he has liver damage. The doctor told her to be prepared for the practical side of things- it would be hard for her to organise the funeral, bank, house ownership etc. if the worst did happen. They do have a detailed will though. It was really hard to get the flight, so I feel worried that I would not be able to make it to the funeral (if the worst happened) because they bury the dead the next day. She's making enquiries as to whether a mortuary would be availiable so that we could come from England to be with her. Its customary in Greece to have the body sent to your house, to lay out, wash etc. & this would be really hard for mum.
I'm trying to be positive though, taking the kids over really cheered him up - we're planning to go for a pre-migration family holiday in September, so I hope he improves and that we can spend that time together. We're still making plans for Aus and going through the hoops... nothing is certain, so we just have to get on with life. I'm sure we'd drop things if needed.
Dad was much more supportive of our move though. We were out on the balcony in the sun, chatting about which place would be best for a stop-over... he reckons Singapore. I also promised mum to find out which airlines turn a blind eye to smokers - it would be so great for him to come out and see us.
Fingers crossed...
Larissa

bundy

Well, it's good to be practical about these things rather than sweep it all under the carpet and hope it will never happen....

Glad your dad is okay at the moment, and hope your mum recovers from her asthma attack (I sympathise with that one -scariest thing)

One thing I've learnt with my mum is that you can't put everything on hold waiting for the worst to happen, because it might no happen for years. Just make sure you have contingency plans in place and put money aside for flights etc. It's all you can do

Larissa

Thanks Bundster... It's a fine line between being "morbid" or fatalistic and being "organised". Mum is making the relevant enquiries & I told her that she needs to know... because anything could happen today... next year... or next decade. Living in a different county, she needs to be aware of how they do things & what to do...
We have to get on with life here too, as you say, anything could happen anytime & we may only get this one opportunity to get to Aus. The sale of the house will help to pay for flights and if we have less equity, so be it.

abergas

I can't believe all these cases of parents having strokes, I know how distressing it can be to live so far away, we had only been in perth 6 months, before my mum had one, things got really complicated, she was in alot of pain, and was treated for constipation, doctors said it was because of all the pills she was taking. After suffering another stroke they decided to find out why she kept having them and did a colonoscopy, which revealed an advanced caner in the bowel, after another stroke 3 in all in the space of 4 months, made her really fragile, and we were faced with a situation of an operation to remove the cancer, or she would die within a week, mum opted for the op, we were given 72 hours before we knew the facts, but sadly she only lasted 2 days, we have brought my dad back to oz with us, he is devasted, she was only 63 and hopefully dad has alot of time ahead of him, he wants to move out and be with us, when i get down about things, mums death, job situation or lack of it, he tells me not to give this dream up, and that mum would have said the same. so we will keep plodding on,

keep positive if you are going through this, with your parents

take care
yve

Larissa

Thanks for your reply Yve. It must have been really awful to go through & to lose your mum so quickly. Will your dad be able to come and live with you?
My mum would love to come out with us, should anything happen - well, she'd really like to persuade my dad to come too, but he loves Greece so much! Its strange though - if we stayed in the UK, we'd hardly be able to put her up, but it would be easier in Aus to afford a larger property.
You're right about staying positive. Thankfully I have my own little family to focus on, my little fella (17 months) has had me in stitches today. He really bonded with my dad & I've rung them to let them know our plans for September, so that will keep them both in good spirits.
I'm beginning to think that the Greek doctor has been a little over the top - they are very "emotional" in Greece. I think he was a bit OTT with mum's asthma attack; he called for an ambulance & she was petrified! Whereas in the UK, they're more likely to gloss over and make things seem better. Either way, I hope he starts trying to look after himself - he's got a lot to live for, if only he knew it.

abergas

Hi Larissa
Hopefully my dad can make it out here, problem is we have only been here 11 months, when we have been here for 2 years he will be able to apply, he does have alot to do back home, I had 3 weeks with mum in hospital, which i am really thankful for, also there for her 63rd birthday and mothers day, I am keeping strong for my dad during the day, I cope by telling myself I can cry at night which i do often, so he can't hear or see me. I know in time we will all be stronger, at the moment I feel totally alone, mum was always writing or ringing which i think helped me to settle better here, i think we have had a rough time since being here, but after spending 5 weeks in the UK, I really wouldn't want to live there, Don't know what the future holds for us, a decent job for my hubby and some money coming in, is all I want to come out of the rest of this year! then i will be happy.

best of luck with everything
take care
yve

whisky

Yve, Larrissa, everyone that is having a bad time, I just want you to know that i ma thinking of you all.
You were all here for me when I lost my Cousin last year.

Yve, if you ever feel that you need someone to pour it out to, I am not far from Port Kennedy.

Whisky

bundy

Ditto - you lot all got me through when my mum was first diagnosed and I'd like to return the favour. Can't come over to Perth for shoulder-lending duties, but can be a virtual shoulder to cry on for anyone that needs it.

It's a horrible time - like your world is falling apart but everyone else just seems to carry on as normal and that feels odd. I did the crying into my pillow thing as well. I couldn't allow myself to cry in front of my parents or brothers. I went to the funeral of a close colleague last week (she died of cancer aged 41 with two young kids) and it was the opening of the flood gates - I started crying and couldn't stop and 3 months of worry and stress and tears came out all at once. I've been feeling a lot better since though.

Don't go through it on your own - even just pouring your worries out here can help. It helped me a huge amount. And my mum swears that all the expat positive thinking helped turn things around for her!