Don't give up!  It may seem overwhelming at
times, but you must move forward and not give up.  My folks gave up, but
nothing will change if you quit!  Now I'm happy to say my Dad and I are
very close and we are continuing our plans to have him take back his life
in a cleaner environment one step at a time...

Below is the result of your feedback form. It was submitted on Tuesday,
April 29th, 2008 at 03:38 AM.


Relationship : Daughter
Source : I learned about this after my mother's death and I discovered
the secret she kept from me
Message :

During the time my mother passed away I found her lying on a
dirty floor on a mattress.

My mother was obese and had many leg infections.  As I knelt down I
kept saying what happened to you Mom.  The entire place was surrounded in
boxes and junk like I had not seen.  I had nor six yearso idea if she
ever had slept in a real bed, much less with clean sheets.  My mother
and step dad had been living apart for six years, her in a little
apartment next door to their main house. 

A few days after my Mom had died I
was meeting my Dad to make some of the arrangements and I called and he
didn't answer I began having panic attacks that he had died too.  My
Aunt lives next door so she let me in to my childhood home to see if my
Dad was alright. 

When she opened the door I could not believe my
eyes...the house was packed with boxes, trash, junk, cobwebs and it smelled
really bad.  I later found they had an infestation of mice!  We found my
Dad at my Mom's little apartment, where they played it off that it was
easier for her to go to the bathroom as she didn't have as far to
walk. 

When I told my Dad I saw the house and why didn't he tell me things
were so bad, he looked at me with tears in his eyes and the look of
desperation and simple said your Mother didn't want to worry you.

I told my Dad don't worry we (my husband and 2 boys) will help you
reclaim your house back.  It's taken all of my energy and sometimes I get
mad, depressed but I continue on to help him purge on, and learn to live
a better healthier lifestyle.  I managed to get most of the clutter
and mice fecies out of the house and we bought new furniture and are
working on painting etc. 

Don't give up!  It may seem overwhelming at
times, but you must move forward and not give up.  My folks gave up, but
nothing will change if you quit!  Now I'm happy to say my Dad and I are
very close and we are continuing our plans to have him take back his life
in a cleaner environment one step at a time.  I too have learned a lot
about OCD, Hoarding and how this runs heavily in our family.  Learn
how to help, read up on it, and don't be afraid there are many people
suffering in silence with this disease.  Just don't give up, show them the
way to a better life...they really do want the help deep down they
just got so overwhelmed they gave up.