All the threads about Ted Kennedy and subsequent closure of at least one of them got me thinking of posting a thread on the same subject that hits close to home. I debated doing it, but here goes:
My Uncle has a brain tumor and has opted not to have surgery. He just turned 80 and he opted for radiation for awhile but now has stopped that. The prognosis is death.
He is my 83 year old mother's next youngest sibling. He once worked along side my dad as a laborer. My dad was a brick mason in the days when there were still "brick" masons. My uncle and he worked side by side for many years and then on weekends on side jobs. Without question, he was the strongest man I've ever personally met. Akin to the prisoner Michael Clark Duncan played in "The Green Mile", but shorter. Now he is honestly, a shell of that man.
He doesn't really WANT visitors at all except close family members, a group which I fall into. I don't want to be one of those people that tell him, "..you're gonna be fine..." He knows he will not. I dont want to break into tears either. What have you guys that have dealt with this done or said?