I did forget to mention one little tidbit , of which my mom reminded me. A few days before he died my dad had fallen asleep in his chair in the living room (not an unusual occurence). She woke him up to watch their favorite daily news show. He was difficult to wake up. He groggily watched the show. After the show, they ate dinner, and my dad did not say a word throughout the meal. My mom assumed he was in a foul mood. He went to bed after dinner. That was odd, but my mom was kind of happy not to have to deal with a husband in a foul mood, so she said nothing.
The next morning, a Friday, they were pulling out of the garage to go shopping (a past-time for these retirees). He said, "Kay, I don't want you to make a big deal out of what I'm about to tell you - " My mom's stomach sank. She knew she wasn't going to like what he was going to say. He continued, "When you tried to wake me up yesterday, I was in a deep sleep - and I had this feeling of euphoria...and - " and it's there that my mom can't remember if he said he had a hard time coming back or he didn't want to come back from his deep sleep. Then he added "Don't tell the kids about this."
You see, there's history here. We called my dad the guy with 9 lives. He had heart problems and cheated death a few times. But once, he had a heart attack - about 17 or 18 years ago, and was brought to the emergency room - his heart closed up 100% while they had an angioplasty tube (or whatever it's called) right there to open up his artery - so he died for a moment. He said he had this great feeling of euphoria and felt complete peace. Just like this deep sleep he was explaining to my mom last September, he didn't want to come back. he said it was the best feeling. It felt like home. From then on he said he wasn't afraid to die.
So, his sleeping episode happened on a Thursday. Sunday, Mike the kids and I visited and he insisted on showing us a bunch of his stuff - his grandfather's watch, guns - it was weird. Then, he insisted Mike take this duck hunting blind home with him that my dad gave him. My dad died Wed. morning at 2:15am.
It was recommended I read "90 Minutes in Heaven" - a book about a pastor who got in a car accident and died and came back to life, and his experience. I bought it yesterday at Target. All I can say is wow. I'm finished.
I'd recommend it to you. You'll love it, I'm sure. Very quick reading. Especially if you've lost a loved one - and, even if you haven't - it's just interesting reading! I believed it. And, I'm a sceptic on things like this.Have a great weekend, bloggy buddies!
4 comments:
Wow, what an incredible story!!!
I want to read that book. I will have to remember to get it after we move.
funny that you wrote about this. i was thinking about this because my grandma died almost a year ago and i have been having dreams about her. i will get the book soon.
My fiances father said the same thing. A number of years ago, he had a heart attack and died at the hospital. He said he felt a lot of pain and then it was gone. He said he felt peaceful after that. I'm not sure how long he was gone, but it was long enough that several doctors and nurses, from all over the hospital,came to ask him what he saw or if he remembered anything.
Unfortunately, he died a couple months ago from another heart attack.
I have heard about this book before, and I think I might check this book out.
New to your blog and found this post as I scrolled down...God is awesome!
I read the book shortly after I almost died in 2000, or shall I say DIED! At first, I could only talk to my daughter about that journey. But I can relate to what your dad was saying. It is very peaceful, it does feel like home, many are already there waiting for us, and like him, I am not afraid to die.
I have beat the odds a few times myself and continue too. One doctor even told my hubby, I should be dead and can't explain why I am not.
Now with so many more tumors, at times pumping blood into my body cavitities, the pain can be debilitating. My routine is to read the Bible, enjoy my dreams, and let my family know I am okay when it happens. Only God knows when he is ready for me, and though I am ready for Him, I will enjoy Our Journey Through LIFE while I am here. Somedays are not very joyful in body, but they are in spirit and I know, when he finally calls me up, I am ready and those I leave behind will be ok because I shared the journey with them.
Great book. So sorry about your loss, he stays in touch with you even though you don't see him. He is there.
Post a Comment