Laura was in her early 50s and dying from ALS.  She was being cared for at the hospice Care Center where I volunteered.  When I arrived for my shift, I asked the lead nurse if there were any patients that were alone.  She told me about Laura and said that she was actively dying (Active Dying is the final phase of the dying process, usually lasting hours to days).  I entered Laura’s room and found the lights dimmed, peaceful music playing softly from the cable TV on the wall and Laura alone, unresponsive and experiencing very labored breathing.  I quietly pulled a chair to Laura’s bedside, introduced myself and took her hand in mine.  Not wanting to disrupt the peaceful atmosphere by talking, I simply sat in silence with Laura and prayed the Prayer of Saint Francis (“Make me a channel of your peace”).  I then silently communicated to Laura that I’m a soul, like her, and that I was there to accompany her on this final leg of her journey, and help her in any way she needed.  Within minutes, Laura’s labored breathing began to calm.  With my eyes closed and still holding Laura’s hand, I saw in my mind’s eye, Laura standing in front of me with a giant smile on her face, then backing away with her hands outstretched toward the sky, looking up and saying “Yes! Yes!”.  The joy she exhibited from finally being free was indescribable.  Laura then exhaled her last breath.

After sitting peacefully with Laura’s body for several minutes following her last breath, I informed one of the nurses on duty that Laura had died and, feeling a closeness and camaraderie with that nurse, I shared the vision I had at the time of Laura’s death. Shortly thereafter, I went to sit with another patient in the Care Center. When I returned to the nurses’ station about 30 minutes later, Laura’s sister was there, and the nurse introduced me as the volunteer who had been with Laura when she died. We spoke for a few minutes and Laura’s sister shared her perspective on death that suggested to me that she would want to hear about my experience with her sister. I shared that I had seen Laura in my mind’s eye smiling as she took her final breath and, as I said that, Laura’s sister held her hands over her head, looked up toward the ceiling and said “Yes! Yes! She has struggled for so long and is now finally free of that suffering!”. I got goosebumps and told Laura’s sister that what she had just done with her hands and words mirrored what I saw Laura do as she passed.