It is very common to hear from patients who are in their final days that they have seen loved ones who have gone before them.  This is one such story.

I first met Bob after his daughter, Amy, asked if I could record a “Personal Reflections” video (i.e., A digital recording of Bob recounting meaningful moments in his life, and words of wisdom he wished to share with loved ones).  Bob was 87 years old, had recently suffered a stroke and was living in a skilled nursing facility.  After recording his personal reflections, Amy called to let me know how much Bob enjoyed our meeting and asked if I’d be open to visiting with him regularly, as everyone else he encountered at the facility were women and he really appreciated just chatting with “another guy”.  I spent a few hours each week with Bob talking about his son and daughter, his granddaughters, his highly successful career as an entrepreneur, his love of diving, his world travels, his high school and college sports experiences and his love for his wife, Marcia, who had died a few years earlier.   He also talked about how he and Marcia had built an amazing home in the mountains outside of Denver and had loved taking walks in a park at the edge of a high-alpine lake in their small mountain town.  

Bob had not physically left the skilled nursing facility since I first met him several months before, however, when I arrived one afternoon for a visit, Bob described how he had just taken a walk with his wife around their favorite lake.  I asked him if he could share more, and he described the lake, the park, and the walking path in detail.  He talked about holding his wife’s hand as they walked.  Bob was incredibly happy to share this with me and was serene as he described this experience.  He fell asleep a few minutes later and died peacefully early the next morning.