I kind of hard a similar experience but with my mom. I had to help with a certain aspect of her work, which deals with information technology, database stuff. I felt honoured to be that useful and give back something. I think understanding the finite nature of life helps us make better use of our time, especially with regards to family and loved ones.
That's good you were able to give back to your mom like that! It's certainly challenging especially when it's anything database related haha but it's good she had you around to help her out. It does bring things into perspective quite a bit! Life is short we need to appreciate what we have!