Final Week

Ahmad seemed to have it all: he was finally married to the love of his life with two beautiful children. Everything was going great with the work place; Ahmad got a promotion as an assistant manager to the company. The family was living a normal, happy life until Ahmad’s parents’ health started to spiral down out of control. Ahmad knew that someday he would have to make the difficult decision whether or not to move his parents into a nursing home. Ahmad made the difficult decision a couple years later to move his parents into a local nursing home so he and his family could continue to see them each day.
            In order to help pay for the nursing home bill, Ahmad and Taylor worked longer hours and juggled work and their children. Although his parents insisted that they were fine on their own, Ahmad felt that at the age of 55 he could and wanted to provide for his parents, since they did so much for him. The added stress caused Ahmad to struggle with his Lyme’s disease, and he began to focus not on his health, but on his parents’ bills and their family struggles. Eventually the added stress caught up with him and he was hospitalized for a couple days. This did not help with the bills, but it was yet another wake up call that he must care for himself along with his family. Unfortunately a short time after his hospitalization, both of his parents died; first his mother and then his father. Even though he did not have to worry about nursing home costs anymore, he grieved for the loss of his parents.
            Taylor started to worry about Ahmad. He had taken at least one day a week off from work during the past four months as he was still struggling with the death of his parents. He also started to drink daily to try to forget about his parents. On top of this, their twin girls were having difficulties in middle school. The school had to separate the twins to make sure they were not in the same classes because they fought with each other so much. They would lash out at each other by scratching and pulling each other’s hair. Taylor and Ahmad have seen this at home as well, but Ahmad did nothing to stop it. He was in a dark place where all he could think about was how life used to be with his parents. So Taylor was stuck trying to calm the twins down, but they refused to listen to their mother. Taylor insisted that Ahmad go see a counselor to talk about his feelings because now his drinking habits are interfering with home life and work life. She wanted Ahmad to get back on track and contribute to the family, but he just seemed so lost. Ahmad finally agreed to see a counselor and realized that it helped to have someone listen to him. With the help of therapy, Ahmad did not feel the need to drink as often and slowly became a more active and sociable person to be around. This change in Ahmad’s mood reflected on his twin daughters. With Ahmad’s rebound, the twins’ attitude in school also changed as they could now manage to see each other in the hallway or cafeteria without any fights breaking out.

It's hard to believe that almost 8 years have gone by since the death of Ahmad's parents. Ahmad finds it amazing how he managed to pull himself out of such a dark place, but knows Taylor was the glue who held him together and forced Ahmad into therapy.  Kristen and Aubrey have grown so quickly, they are now in their senior year of high school! So much has happened over these past years. Kristen always struggled with her academics, but Aubrey has been top of her classes almost every semester since Ahmad got better.  It wasn't until things settled down in the family that Kristen was given the attention she needed; her teachers spoke with Ahmad and Taylor and recommended Kristen be evaluated for special education services.  The testing revealed that Kristen has ADHD, so medication and an IEP was created right away.  Since services began, Kristen has been able to bring her grades up quite high, but can't seem to get on Aubrey's level.  But her parents were okay with this as they were just happy to see Kristen learning. Now that it is senior year the Nassar twins are looking at colleges and figuring out their next move, while Taylor and Ahmad worry about how they will be able to afford it.  Aubrey will surely get an academic scholarship, and Kristen may spend the first year at the local community college to improve her grades, but time will tell.  

72 years old. Wow. Ahmad and Taylor can hardly believe they have reached the age that one never thinks will actually come.  Where did all the time go? And the girls, well they are out of college and doing just fine.  Aubrey is working in her residency at a hospital in Baltimore, and Kristen is working as a special education teacher at an elementary school in Richmond.  Ahmad and Taylor are so proud of them both.  Ahmad has continued to struggle over the years, and his Lyme mixed with old age has proven to be most difficult.  A few years back, Ahmad was in so much pain while trying to get out of bed that when he stood he fell and broke his leg.  It was a very long recovery, and now he uses a cane to walk, but nonetheless he is alive and that is what matters.  Last winter was also another scare for the family. Ahmad was so sick he had to spend a week in the hospital! The whole family was very nervous, and this was the first time Taylor and Ahmad made a plan as to what will happen if Ahmad did pass.  The couple decided to sell their home for a smaller one-bedroom condo.  Through the sale of the home and their savings, they were able to make this purchase with minimal mortgage left, a great relief to both of them.  Ahmad and Taylor are enjoying their retirement and the time they have left with each other, and watching their children succeed in life is amazing.

Unfortunately, at age 80 Ahmad’s health quickly deteriorated. He was in and out of the hospital for heart issues, and his Lyme’s disease did not help his condition. He was very weak and the family eventually had to hire a full-time nurse to watch him 24 hours a day. At age 81 Ahmad passed away. His wife Taylor died a few years later. Their daughters were devastated but remembered how Ahmad dealt with his parents’ deaths and they decided to go to counseling immediately to help them cope through this difficult time.