<p>What do you have to lose? I’m in a bit of the same boat- my uncle has ‘cut’ himself off from the rest of my family and has spoken to my dad or really any of his brother in over 15 years and my grandpa very rarely but I’ve been emailing him and he is starting to open up, particularly since he’s an engineer, which I’m studying.</p>
<p>Definitely let the cousins know about the uncles ailing health and what a visit would mean to him but do NOT make it sound like they have to go and subtley criticizing them for not speaking to him. It was their choice and by doing so for this long they must have been aware that there would be serious life changes like in health they wouldn’t know about unless told.</p>
<p>Sure, you don’t know the depth of the bad feelings, but you also don’t know how the cousins feelings could instantly change knowing the uncle could be at deaths door soon.</p>