Being told someone is dead on the telephone.

For some stupid reason I broke the news over the phone to someone that her boyfriend had died.

I remember the day my dad died. Twas a Friday morning laying in bed when I should have been getting ready for college. My phone was going off in the other room. I said feck it, if it's important they would ring me later. Anyway an hour or so past and the phone stopped going off. I decided to get up. Went over and looked at the phone and saw loads of calls missed from home. Saw I had a voicemail and that's when I found out and it crushed my world. Still miss you dad.

Only recieved one call about someone dying ... and that was the hospital ringing to inform that my Mam died.

That's not the kicker tho. My dad, my brothers, myself, we all had mobile phones. The house phone would never ring. The only place that had the number at the time was the hospital my mam was in... It wasnt a question of if she would survive, but when she would pass So when the phone rang me and my brothers knew what the call was.

Always remember walking into the sitting room to pick it up at 3.20pm. I can't really describe it. It's like reality is calling. You know it's the call and you are going to pick it up. Then to be told those words... I can't describe it. It's like everything is 'real' - You can feel the breeze pass the hairs on your arm... i dunno. I cant describe it.

About three years back I got a call from my sister to say that my mother had been taken into hospital by ambulance and that she was on her way to the hospital and would ring me when she knew what was what.

A couple of hours later she called and said that the medical staff had told her that family should come immediately if they were able as she was dying. I felt like she was talking about someone else. It seemed completely unreal. I had to phone my other three siblings, two of whom live abroad (12+ hours flights) and tell them to come if they could. It was so difficult finding the words. Then phoned family friends to ask if they could come and stay with the kids and when they got here, left and drove to the hospital. It all felt completely unreal. Passed a very long night trying not frighten my mother, who was very weak but compos mentis, with the living in Ireland contingent turning up in the dead of night. My sister from abroad arrived home the next day and my brother the following morning but by that time my mother had defied the odds and things were more hopeful.

She recovered and we had the best family barbecue ever which she gives out about missing because she was stuck in hospital. It broke my dad though and he turned from a hale and hearty oldie into a shook old man overnight and he's never gotten back to the man he used to be.

I dread the next time I get or have to make those phone calls for either of them.

Happened to me twice, about a family friend in Sweden and also the father-in-law.

Two worst calls I ever took.

I've had the call only once. My phone had been off for the morning for work. When I switched it on I got those texts saying I had missed calls. I think it was about 8 from my Mam and 4 from my older brother. I didn't call them back straight away but found a quiet room in the office to call them from. I knew it was bad news, and thought maybe a grandparent had died, but I nearly got sick when I was told a young aunt had died suddenly and unexpectedly. I was in Belfast at the time and was due to get a taxi back to Dublin that day anyway. Two things that stand out in my mind now are when leaving the office, I had to take someones email address to send them on something, and I noticed my hand shaking badly, and the other was the journey back with a Unionist taxi driver who clearly wanted an argument. I didn't tell him I'd gotten bad news but everything he said just seemed so trivial to me then and he must have been disappointed I didn't engage with him.

I had a boss in work who had a call to say his son had just committed suicide in Australia. We were just walking along, heading towards his car after a meeting. I'll never forget the look in his face, the colour literally drained from his face. He went weak and limp, his knees gave way and put his hand on me to stop himself collapsing. I'll never forget it as long as I live.

OP - yeah i know that feeling
found out my dad was dead through a phone call from my mam when i was 21
wasnt sure what to do so i tried to make myself cry but it didnt work
just sat there shaking until the taxi arrived to bring me back to my parents house
for a long time afterwards any time i saw her number id think something terrible happened again, thankfully gotten over that now

although if i get a few missed calls or a call in the middle or the night from anyone it often crosses my mind.