The White-Haired Boy And A Baby

Hello everyone.  Praise the Lord!

It was a Friday afternoon and a very busy day at our hospice.  When I arrived for service, the nurses immediately told me about a very nice lady who would enjoy some company. 

            She was upstairs, now the second floor, it was the top floor back then.  I walk down the hallway to room two-seventeen.  It is all the way in the back and around a small corner.

            As I entered the room, I see a middle-aged Hispanic lady in bed.  I introduced my self as a volunteer and ask if she would like some company.  She readily agrees, and she mentioned that other volunteers had already been there.  It seems that she cannot get enough visits.  I soon found out why, she is quit the talker!

            She is a little lady and a bit plump!  Being of a normal weight or a bit over normal is a rare condition at a hospice.  I didn’t look to see what her condition was, I never do, since it is not my business to know.  It’s usually a good sign!

            She was very alert and clear minded, and spoke very well.  Something else unusual in hospice care.  She looked like she could just walk out of there any time she wanted.  That all made for a more relaxed and a nicer visit.

            She began to tell me about her upbringing in Central Texas countryside on a farm.  Her family grew cotton, raised chickens and pigs.  This was a normal lifestyle for a farm family in Texas.

  She talked about school, church, and weekly town dances.  The town dances took place at the town school or a large barn near the town.  She said that they all loved to dance and socialize on those warm Saturday nights!

            I eagerly listened as she talked about her past and the nursing home in Austin, Texas, where she was going.  She had a daughter in Austin, which is why she is going there.

            We talked for over four hours together!  We had such a nice visit that the time just flew by!  At that point, her son and grand-daughter came into the room.  As is my custom, I stood up to excuse myself, since family has arrived.  The son looked like he was in his late twenties and his daughter was about ten years old.  Both were wonderful folks.

            I tried to excuse myself, but both of them literally begged me to stay with them!  I humbly agreed to stay and tried to stay out of the way.  The four of us sat and had a very pleasant visit.  The son was very friendly, but his daughter seemed to be very nervous and uncomfortable.  That is a common emotion in that type of an environment.  They stayed and visited for about thirty minutes.

            When they left, I was again alone with her, but it was about time for me to leave as well.  But I wanted to be polite, so I decided to stay a little longer.  I’m glad that I did because things started to get much more interesting!

            We chatted again for about thirty minutes when I noticed that she was looking at the other side of the room behind me with a very concerned look and a more serous continence upon her face!  It was hard for me not to notice it and I asked her what was the problem?

            She peered over my shoulder and asked me who was that boy sitting there next to the wall!  I looked around and behind me and I didn’t see anyone else in the room! 

            A little startled, I asked her, “what boy?”  She replied, “the white-haired boy sitting by the baby!”  I again looked behind me and I didn’t see anyone.  But she for certain was seeing them!  She was getting more tense and nervous! 

            She was seeing a white-haired boy and a baby that I could not see!  I kept my cool so that she would not become fearful.  That room and the one next to it have a reputation of people seeing children in them!

 I was with her for a little over five hours already and I was needing to leave and call it a day.  I didn’t want her to be fearful when I left, so I told her that the white-haired boy and the baby were family members who have come to visit with her.

When I told her that she immediately calmed down and relaxed.  That made all of the difference.  She loves to visit!  Instead of two strange and spooky people, they were now visitors! 

When I was assured that she was to be alright, I excused myself and called it a day, and what a day it was! I later was informed that she had been moved to Austin, Texas, where she passed away two weeks later!

When I told others in the hospice about the sighting, no one was surprised.  I found out that it is a common occurrence for patients in the last few weeks of life to see other people that had passed away years before, or others that people cannot see!

I learned that day that we are truly not alone, and that when it is our time to pass on, that someone, a loved one or someone else, will be there for us to ease the transition!

Has anyone else seen anything like that?  Can you tell me about it?

Brother Roop