My dad suddenly has been very, oddly peaceful. Smiles a lot, tells me I need to smile more. Thanks me for every little thing I do. Says he isn’t going to make it to Christmas. He has been so depressed lately but suddenly seems... peaceful. It’s the only way to describe it.
Cancer returned went from her lungs, bones and then brain, in 6 months!! She had stopped smoking 40 years before this.
Anyway, about 2 weeks before she died, she said she saw her mother, and some others who had previously passed.
I told her that God is waiting for her to hold her in His arms.
I also told her , that her angel is here with her now.helping her.
( Guess you know by now, we are Catholic) She suffered mentally & physically those last few weeks. I am actually crying as I write this. She was so good, kind, and loving. But the day she died, I went in to see if she would like some tea. She said," I saw a bright light, and my mother again". She told me she loved me, and was disturbed she would not see my daughter graduate from college, a few weeks later.( my daughter & my Mom were very close) She said, no tea, she wanted to go to God.
She died less than 5 minutes later. There is so much more to this story, but now is not the time. I didn't want my mother to die in a hospital, so she was with me. Thank God, for a good husband and friends, and the angels from Hospice care that last month. ( My job was wonderful, and gave me all the time I needed, plus, they paid me, which I never asked for, nor expected.)
I really think people do know when they are ready to die.
I guess because of my belief in God, that she would finally be out of pain, and with the loved ones who predeced her.
And I do believe that we live on this Earth for a very short time, but in Heaven, no one is sick,or in pain. I'm sorry for going on & on. To this very day, I miss her so.
So, no, patients don't always sense their own deaths correctly, but I expect it happens sometimes.
One situation where people "know" when they will die is when they plan it themselves. I have read that sudden calm, peacefulness, making peace with loved ones, etc., can be a sign of planning suicide. I hate to bring this up, mama123, but you mention severe depression. Is your dad being treated for that?
You might find these articles about suicide by WebMed and Mayo Clinic interesting:
https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/recognizing-suicidal-behavior#1
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/suicide/symptoms-causes/syc-20378048
I hope I am way, way off base here, mama, and I probably am. But I'd want someone to bring this to my attention if I were in your spot. Better safe than sorry. Please come back and tell us how this progresses.
Whether it’s a day, week, month, year or years, cherish your time together.
Yes, I think they know. My aunt told one sitter, 2 nights before she passed that her (deceased) husband visited her that night. She also kept saying he was coming to get her to take her on a trip. In the book I mentioned, it says people who are terminally ill will frequently mention they are going on a trip soon. Or they talk about getting in a line.
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