NI woman’s grief and learning to live again after her father’s death –

The Lisburn woman said she lived with pain after the death of her father, “who never stopped battling cancer.”

Rachel Logan’s father, Andrew, passed away at the age of 58 after a final diagnosis and his life changed instantly.

Andrew was suddenly diagnosed with cancer and treated for the rest of his life at Marie Curie’s home in Belfast, where he spent the six weeks prior to his death.

Rachel explained how her father was “too strong”.

He lived a very difficult life during his father’s illness and after his death.

“I had a hard time figuring out who I was again,” Rachel said.

A Lisburn woman approached Marie Curie for help when she was in too low a “shortly after the accident…”

Rachel added: “I didn’t have cancer or come down before my father got sick. Very stressful work. My mother has been with him for the past six weeks. It was amazing for him to be with her in hospice.

“At first, I was at university studying in London when I found out. The next day, I came home, finished my stay first and spent the whole summer at home. My father was in and out of hospital and I wanted to be with him.

“First of all, walking through the hospice doors was really shocking. I thought it would be a really boring and sad place. But it wasn’t. It was so happy and bright.

“My dad was so strong that he was amazing to us. He never gave up and never stopped fighting, but he also admitted that he could enjoy his last months. He never blamed himself. He never said, ‘Why me?'”

Initially, before closing, Rachel managed to complete several university exams and even managed to get a master’s degree in an accounting firm.

However, during the first few checkups, she started to feel pain and called the pain support line.

Rachel said, “It was very difficult to deal with this situation in my youth when I went back to university. I guess I’ll just take it now. It was my last year and I was doing two jobs. Before my friends bothered to go out, I had to organize my life at work and go home to be with Dad… I made sure I was at home as much as possible.

“A week before my dad passed away, my mom called me home. I flew straight home and spent all of that week with him in the hospice. It was only a week, but it felt like a month. It was so long.

“The Marie Curie nurses were absolutely fantastic. Dad wasn’t asking, but he wasn’t afraid to say what he wanted either. Nothing was too much trouble. The doctors always felt involved too. They would definitely ask me if I had any questions or if we needed any. Thing.

“There was a Dr. Marie Curie that I was in contact with already, Hazel. She seemed like another mother. He was very calm and very direct about everything. He was called that night when my dad died, he turned around and sat with us. We felt very comfortable with him.

“Being with my dad helped me a lot when he died. It would have been harder if you weren’t. There’s no way of knowing if it hurt. But I think it could have been worse if you weren’t.”

“We were fortunate to have been one of the last proper burials before full containment and closure. I am really grateful for this.”

He added, “I came home in February 2020 and took my last home exams in April 2020.

“It has been helpful for me to be with my family during the period of isolation and to spend that time together when we were sad. I am not sure I would have done that if I had to go back to college after my father passed away.

“On the other hand, I had a feeling that my world came to a halt after my father passed away and that everything was plagued by epidemics.

“It was almost the start of a new life after college, because not only were we locked up, the guy was gone.

“I had a hard time figuring out who I was again.”

After graduation, Rachel started a full-time internship in accounting in September 2020.

Currently, sadness and anxiety have become dominant themes in her daily life. He said, “I remember (at work) taking my first accounting exams and don’t know why this put me under stress, but I had a little meltdown. I’ve never felt this before. I couldn’t get out of bed. I cried every time I tried to speak.”

“My mom told me, ‘You have to do something about it. “

“They gave us a form that you can fill out for counseling when my father passed away. I spoke to this lady in Marie Curie, her name is Angard, and she was absolutely wonderful. He coordinated my calls and was very nice. Called me as a volunteer.

“Then it occurred to me. I think I used the university as a distraction and all of a sudden we encountered another lock – and I heard, where are they now? What do I do?”

During confinement, Rachel considered running a hobby and goal, with the goal of finally running a marathon.

He ran the London Marathon in October 2021 and raised over 900,000 for Marie Curie.

“I was very attached to my dad and ran for his memory and to raise money for Marie Curie and their vital UK business. My dad ran a marathon for the past 15 years and I always had something like this in my head that if he could do it, I could.

“Running in the London Marathon has become a goal and I know my dad will love every second of training. Running has never been my favorite thing. Obviously a lot of fun now. Doing it means shaking your head in his face.

“I think about it when I run. It makes me feel close to it. It’s the driving force behind everything now,” he said.

On the 23rd of this month, National Reflection Day, narcissistic Rachel will be her father.

Rachel added: “I urge everyone to wear Daffodils for the rest of this month and support Daffodil’s great appeal. Marie Curie is a wonderful charity with an incredible purpose. I can speak from experience, their doctors, nurses and staff supporting families like ours through the toughest times and the surest.” That people like my father could go on with their lives in comfort and dignity.

“I want my father to treat people like him. They even massaged his hands the day he died. He was very relaxed and happy.”

Wednesday, March 23, 2022, National Reflection Day is a day to support the millions of people affected by the pandemic and to reflect on the lives of those killed. Find out more and get involved at mariecurie.org.uk/dayofreflection

The Belfast Reflection Wall Event and Exhibition will be held in conjunction with Imagine! Festival Wednesday 23 March, 2 Royal Avenue, Belfast BT1 1DA

During the month of March, the Marie Curie Foundation for Fundraising participated in fundraising and raising awareness of the importance of philanthropy and its activities. Marie Curie is calling on Stormont decision makers to implement the new end-of-life care strategy in Northern Ireland.