I’m Not Delaying My Retirement for My Sick Daughter — I’m Done Being Her Cash Cow / Bright Side

Hello Bright Side Team!

I never imagined that I would get to the point where I would say “no” to my child. But here I am – 65 years oldExhausted and ready to retire and my daughter is mad at me because I won’t delay it once again To save her financially.

My daughter Emma is 34 years old. She has been chronically ill for the past three years, and I have supported her through every appointment, every treatment, and every emergency bill. I depleted half my savings, took an additional part-time job, postponed vacations, sold my jewelry, and postponed my retirement twice.

She was used to it.
Everyone has – including me.

But last month, something broke inside of me.

Emma called in tears because she needed another $4,000 for a specialist. She didn’t even ask if I was He could. “Mom, I want you to deal with this,” she said. As if it were a subscription service.

What she didn’t know was that I had just returned from my doctor’s appointment. My blood pressure is high. My knees are failing. I’m too tired to sleep. My doctor told me I needed to slow down or I would retire from life before I retired from work.

I told Emma I couldn’t pay. Not this time.

There was silence, then it exploded. She told me I was “abandoning her in her darkest hour,” accused me of being selfish, and hung up before I could explain anything. An hour later I discovered that she had blocked me everywhere. Calls, texts, social media – gone. My child interrupted me because I said no at the end.

A month of complete silence followed. No updates, no apologies, nothing. I tried to convince myself that she needed space, but honestly? Silence is more painful than screaming.

Then suddenly, a random number was called. He was her boyfriend. “You asked me not to call you, but you need to know what’s going on,” he said.

Then he dropped the bomb:
“Emma has never used your money for medical bills. Not once.”

I literally felt sick.

He continued: “She’s been spending it on expensive things. New gadgets, clothes, subscription boxes…things she doesn’t want you to know about. She says it makes her feel normal. But it got bad. She freaked out when she said no because she couldn’t hide it anymore.”

I sat there realizing how many sacrifices I had made — working extra shifts, delaying my doctor visits, draining my pension — thinking I was helping her survive, not funding her shopping sprees.

I wasn’t even angry at first. Mostly I feel very sad that this is the way things have become… and that I was enabling him without even knowing it.

Agata