Folks, I have many questions. But for now? I decided to just share my profile information and go from there so that you all have an idea where I am coming from before I just ask away...
I am unsure if I have picked the proper site. I am 55 years old. Male. Pretty much my whole adult life has been spent caring for others. My granddad, grandma, then my mom, my great uncles, aunts. My own three children that I had full legal and physical custody of. I was also a senior Pastor, and in full time ministry somewhere in there. I eventually after caring for my mom who in '14 was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer, was within a year and a half of her death, informed (because I almost physically assaulted the doctor) that my youngest son had stage 4 colon cancer. It had invaded his spine, liver, lungs. I cared or stood watch over him during multiple hospital stays. I eventually lost him in '18 at the age of twenty-four. I cannot begin to tell you how devastating that was. The pain was almost intolerable and still is. During his diagnosis and fight for life, I found that all three of my adult children had become heroin addicts. And for all intent and purpose I essentially had lost them all because of that. During my son's last year of life, my then wife and I applied for guardianship of my daughter's son, not quite two years old. We were granted that, and just before that, I suffered a grand-mal seizure at work, and was also diagnosed with diabetes. Both I was told due to severe stress, anxiety, and depression. After receiving custody of my grandson and losing my son Jordan. My wife and I separated and still processing through a divorce. So, I am now alone at 55, and raising my now 6-year-old grandson. I spent ten or more years raising my own children after my then wife, and mother of them, decided to go back to a life of drugs and left us, but I was younger then, and I had not been in what feels like a 16-year boxing match. I am exhausted. I do not know where to look for help, nor am I sure there is any available. I feel old, worn out, and just weary.
Thank you for your time.
Casey
Have you checked out fora that specialize in grandparents raising their grandchildren?
You are certainly welcome to vent here (there is a thread devoted to dysfunctional families and one just for whining) but in terms of actual advice, we may not have much information.
At 55 yourself, you don't really qualify as "aging." And your primary care responsibility is to your six year old grandson, who certainly doesn't. So on the face of it AgingCare isn't the right forum for you but I would hate you to think you've gone unheard.
What sort of help would actually help?