I lost both parents within 2 months.

June 22, 2026, my dad took his own life. The day after Father's Day. His last text to me was, "I’m sorry, Dana. I’ve been so proud of you. I’ve got to do it. Love you. Goodbye forever."

I immediately called the sheriff's office in his county (I lived 2 hours away) to do a well-being check on him and left work to drive there. I got a call asking what he would be wearing because only my mom was in the house when they went inside. She had mild dementia, so she didn't understand what was going on (thank God). I told them the type of clothes he was probably wearing and hung up. I got a call when I was roughly 15 minutes away from their house asking for my ETA. I asked if they had found him, and the deputy who called me said I would need to talk to the detective. I work for a sheriff's office (I'm in IT), so I know that means they found him deceased and didn't want to tell me over the phone.

When I got there, I turned the corner and saw the Crime Scene van. After talking to the detective on scene, I went inside and calmed my mom down. I told her we were going to pack her clothes and head to my house for a little bit. I became her caregiver that day.

My mom didn't know what happened, and I wasn't about to tell her while she was.cobfuaed, so I decided to wait until she was having a better day. It was hard trying to hide the grief from my dad's death from my mom. She had end-stage kidney disease and mild dementia so she would ask me if I knew where dad was or if he was still asleep, etc. She was having a good memory day so I sat down that night and told her what happened. She said he came into her bedroom with the gun and told her he was going to do it, but she didn't know if he actually did. That broke my heart. We hugged and she said, "We'll get through this."

Over the next 2 months, I busted my ass to make sure my mom had the very best quality.of life possible. I learned everything I could about the renal diet and her target numbers, and cooked all of her meals from scratch to make sure nothing snuck in there that she wasn't supposed to have. I guarantee that my grief, my trauma-response, and pure adrenaline is what kept me going.

She woke up on August 2nd yelling that she couldn't breathe. I called 911, which led to her being admitted to the ICU after she stabilized in the ED. She stayed at the hospital until myself.and 2 of her sisters decided to call hospice. That was the hardest decision I've ever had to make, but I read her living will over and over and knew it was what she wanted. She was admitted.to hospice, and passed at 11:40 pm on August 19, 2026.

Almost 2 months to the day of my dad's death. They were married for 51 years in January.

My mom was the absolute best person in the world. She was kind, empathetic, patient, sweet, funny, and all around an amazing woman.

My.dad was a hard-headed, stubborn, grumpy Marine Corps Vietnam veteran. He didn't show his emotions well, or even at all, but once you got to know him, you'd see how he did.

I turned 45 in August, so I knew my parents were getting older, but had NO idea this would be the way I'd lose them. The only way I know how to cope is through morbid humor, so that's been getting me through these past few months.

I'm on my phone, so legally,.I think that exempts me from being chastised about typos or grammar mistakes. 🤣