Teach the oldest one that though death is a part of life that no one can predict, you expect to come home, as people rarely die from dialysis treatments. I had surgery a few years ago and had to prepare my children (my son was 8 at the time) that sometimes things do happen, but they shouldn't worry. We had good doctors and Mommy expected everything to go smoothly. At 8, they understand that. And, Dad and I taught him that I wouldn't be able to play for a while, and might sleep a lot, but once I felt better, then I could play again. My parents stayed with them while I was in hospital. When we came home, my parents had been teaching them the same thing, so even my 3-year-old understood she couldn't bounce on me and had to touch me gently. And, there were times they had to play quietly around the bedrooms where I was sleeping. Soon, I moved from painkillers to just Motrin/Tylenol and was able to hug them. A few months later, I could move without the pain. Your boys will learn empathy and sensitivity to what's going on around them through this experience. Do not worry. Make sure you have your support system in place. Get friends who don't mind cooking meals in advance. See if you have someone who doesn't mind doing laundry. See if you have someone who can run errands to grocery store for you. And, be ok with getting a cleaning service to come in once a month until you're back on your feet. Plan to spend storytime with the boys, so they know that sick or well, Mom is tuned in. You mentioned your MIL and her passing, but you didn't write if Dad is around. If he is taking off during this time, don't be afraid to take this time to lean on him, too. If you are a perfectionist, this is the time to let go of a lot of those tendencies and just let people help in the way that they can. When you've recovered, you can rearrange everything the way you like.