Two days…. until…

There is a spiritual connection in hospice, dealing with death and dying, forty-plus hours per week. We who are in the field see it often, but there are times when we hear it firmly from the patients and families whom we serve. Let me share the most recent event on Memorial Day, 5/29/2023, week.

Seven days a week (I volunteered to work the weekend), I saw my patient with glioblastoma stage 4 brain cancer while transitioning (the period of in and out of consciousness) towards actively dying and was still able to express himself. On Sunday’s visit, he’s up possibly 30 minutes out of the day, eating bites and sips, and able to communicate clearly.

According to his loved one, Sunday evening, around 3:00 PM, he (the patient) started having terminal restlessness… Monday, 5/29, in the morning, between midnight and 4:00 AM, the patient (who was sleeping in his bed) shared, “There are all these people surrounding the bed, young and old…” …. “There is a stairway leading upwards with a blue light shining…” He tells his loved one he’s walking to the light and raising his hands towards the light… and then hears a voice, “YOU MUST REPENT TO ENTER!”

Then he shares the words “two days” with his loved one. Exploring what those two words meant leaves the loved one wondering what will happen in two days.

On Monday, 5/29, I arrived at about 8 AM, and when we returned to the patient, he was able to wake up and talk lightly. I expressed a desire to have a conversation with God. I shared with the family that, based on the presentation of the patient (the holistic phrase I use that considers the velocity of downward changes, complexion, mottling, etc.), it is very feasible that the patient will die in two to three days.

Wednesday, 5/31… two days later, the patient died. Two days!

I don’t know if the gentlemen made peace with God; the patient and family blessed me as much, if not more, than I may have blessed them in my service to all of them. I know God is real, heaven is real, hell is real, and there’s evidence for those with eyes and ears to see and listen.