Dying grandmother seeing spirits

There seem to be some members here who have studied spirits and related subjects, so I am curious if anyone can provide some insight regarding this situation:

My grandmother is 96 years old and failing fast. She is a wonderful, strong, sweet, loving woman, who is leaving behind a legacy of five children, and many grand-children and great-grandchildren who all adore her. She was amazingly very alert and intelligent until a very old age. Her memory just started slipping the last few years, with it getting much worse in the last few months. She lived in her own home until a few weeks ago, with nurses coming in to help her for most of the day, and her children checking on her daily in between nurse visits. A few weeks ago when she started failing, she was moved into the home of one of her daughters. We are all resigned to the fact that she is likely in her last days, and they even had a priest give her Last Rights last week.

In the last couple of weeks, she has started to see things. She has been saying that her brothers are looking for her, and she has to go to them or they will be worried. Her brothers are deceased, one of them just passing a few months ago. But, she did not really understand that her second brother passed away, and did not seem to know who he was when they tried to tell her a few months ago. Now she is referring to her brothers, as in both of them, looking for her. That part seems normal, as one usually hears of the dying seeing their relatives.

There is another thing she is seeing that is harder to explain. She has been saying there is a little boy in her room. She talks to him, and listens as if he is talking to her. She giggles, and says he is tickling her and her toes. She also says to my aunt and uncle that she hopes someone is taking care of the little boy, because he seems hungry and cold. This is a daily occurrence in the last two weeks.

We had a debate over Thanksgiving dinner as to what exactly is causing this, and what she is actually seeing. Some of us believe that she is very close to the spirit world, and likely seeing spirits. I hope that this is a good spirit, and I believe it must be, as it does not cause her distress other than worrying about the child's welfare. Others in our family believe this is just dementia and normal for someone her age. This did not start until the last weeks. Although she was forgetful for a while now, she did not seem to be seeing things until now.

Does anyone have an expert opinion regarding what my grandmother is experiencing? Is she seeing spirits, or is this dementia?

No definitive answers from me, but God Bless your grandmother...I bet she'll have a great reunion with her brothers.

Thanks for sharing this, very interesting, your grandma could be seeing spirits, who knows ? we'll never know but I wish your gran a pleasent transition.

reply to post by BlueAjah


I cannot say, with certainty, that she is seeing things that are truly there, but I do believe it's possible. There are too many stories, similar to yours, for there not to be something supernatural going on.

Another user on ATS mentioned Nurse Ghost Stories the other day, and it is quite a good read. Maybe you can find similarities in their stories that can give you peace of mind.

reply to post by Bleeeeep


Wow, thanks!
I read through some of them so far - and getting major chills!

reply to post by BlueAjah


I think what she sees is totally legit.
My mom passed away this October after a short illness. She saw my Grandfather (my Dad's Dad, not her Dad) the day she died.

My husbands grandmother also saw my Dad's Dad the day she died.

It makes me wonder if he is some sort of guide. (or maybe just nosy lol)

reply to post by BlueAjah


I work with the elderly... and you should know Dementia is NOT a normal part of the ageing process...

Now on the subject at hand...

Many if not most of my residents experience this... Many will talk to people that are not there, and have full conversations with people when no one is around.

Usually when people are close to passing they will see spirits of their loved ones that have passed in dreams... and sometimes even when they're fully awake.

My grandmother has spoken to my Grandfather a few times in the past as well... Recently shes gotten to the point where shes fully functioning... but her memory is gone. So she moved in with me... She was really nervous about the move... and having a hard time with it... but yet again, my Grandfather came to her with a message...

It was simply... "all you need is a roof over your head, and people that care about you... don't worry about the rest"... After that the move was a piece of cake...

Your Grandmother is speaking to spirits my friend... That IS a normal part of the aging process

Good question!

S&F

VERY typical kind of thing. I'm no expert, but this sure fits in with my family's experiences. It's real, all right, debunkers be damned. What a nice story, too. Thanks for sharing.

reply to post by Akragon


Thank you so much for the reply.
It is good to hear from someone that has worked with other elderly and has seen this type of thing.


Thanks to everyone else as well!

.

It appears that your Grandmother is talking to spirits. It happens often before people pass on. I am sorry that you will soon lose her, but she has lived a very long life and hopefully a happy one at that.

reply to post by BlueAjah


You're welcome and God bless.

Sorry about more chilling stories, while they are evidence of supernatural, they do not match the more heartwarming stories like your grandmother's. I think your grandmother must be a good hearted person and that is why she is experiencing a more loving experience than some of the more chilling stories conclude to.

reply to post by BlueAjah


Dear BlueAjah,

I cannot possibly know what your grandmother is truly seeing, only she knows. I had an NDE and know what I know as have others including one of the moderators on this site that wrote about his. There are two possibilities, one is that she is hallucinating; but, even if she is, it sounds as if she is calm and being tickled. The second possibility is that she is getting ready to cross over and is being welcomed gently.

I was with my father when he passed away, he was on in-home hospice with me. I cannot completely explain it but as he was passing on, he knew it and let me know that it was okay. When a friend of mine's son was dying, I took him from the hospital to get him to eat while the nurses were moving his son around. I told him the story about my father and said that when the time came, his son would somehow let him know he was ready. After his son passed away he told me that his son had done just that.

One thing that may comfort you is that I have almost never hear of anyone having an NDE that wanted to come back (I don't believe those who say that they went to hell and came back to warn us to believe in God - God doesn't act that way from what I have read in the bible). One does not have to believe in the Christian concept of God to understand that NDEs indicate more than that we just die. I will attempt to give my answer is a secular manner based on what I have seen, read about and experienced.

There is more to our human experience than just this physical one. We decide who we are by the way we choose to deal with the challenges of our lives. The next place is better; but, you have to finish your time here before you can appreciate it. Some of us need time to adjust to the idea of moving on. Perhaps that is why some people meet the spiritual side before they leave here. It is fortunate to know that your grandmother has loving family around her to spend this time with her. I was lucky, I got to take of my father before he died, my siblings could not and were in other states and they deeply regretted that they could not have done more.

I send you and your family my thoughts and best wishes. Peace.

reply to post by Akragon


Dear Akragon,

I had just sent you a U2U about my trips and was reading some threads when I cam across your response to this thread. I did not know you were caring for the elderly, how giving and caring it is. You will never regret having taken care of your family and doing the right thing. Peace.

reply to post by AQuestion


That is so fascinating that you had a NDE. Have you shared your experience on this forum already? If not, I understand, but it really is interesting.

reply to post by BlueAjah

Hi, BlueAjah.

What you showed us makes me think of that:

We watched one of the **rare** good shows on TLC, the learning chanel !
[ It's sad there is so much useless crap there.]

The show was about Theresa Caputo, "Long Island medium".
We LoOoOoved it ! ! !

Blue skies.

I'm so glad to hear your family is so close knit and there is so much love and that her passing is with such goodness surrounding. Blessings to you and your dear family and your grandmother for each and every day together. I believe that the veil is thinning and she is being surrounded by loved ones. The boy is interesting, if she thinks he seems cold and hungry, he may have had something occur in his short life, and yet he is led to the warmth and so perhaps she will be comforting and freeing him. I don't know but I don't think a soul from the other side would be seemingly cold or in need, so perhaps he needs the family and warmth to bring him peace.

Someone close to me is in this state. He is over 80 years old and has deteriorated pretty quickly this year. In fact it was quite surprising to me, because he's always seemed so incredibly conscious and active considering his age. In the last few months he started seeing people in the house, kids playing outside the windows, etc. His wife started pretending that she sees them too just to keep him calm and tells him they're just visitors who will eventually leave. He sometimes starts forgetting where he is, he doesn't recognize some of the closest people to him, etc. They recently secured a care taker for him who is around 24/7 to help with everything. He started getting better and hasn't had any more episodes like that.

It's possible that all of this is just dementia setting in, even though it's nicer to believe that these things they're seeing are spirits. I'm as much of a fan of ghosts as the next person, but the brain is a powerful organ that can make you feel, smell and see things which are not actually happening.

My grandpa and grandma are probably reunited together. Looking at all the rest of the family. I always wish them well. I'll one day be gone then can finally be free.

When my great grannie was dying, she didn't see familiar faces. She was smiling at someone at the foot of her bed that we couldn't see and told us that there were two men in beautiful white robes that were there to get her and take her with them... she seemed at peace. She passed shortly after....

reply to post by BlueAjah


Dear BlueAjah,

I have not given details of my personal experience on ATS and have not, that is why I referenced the moderator who did. You can search his thread and I find it very sincere and believable. Many of my family, friends and my ex-therapist all knew about my experience; but, I limit the discussion to people who know me personally and well. I believe every NDE is meant for the individual, I cannot prove this or even that they exist. I don't believe many people who say they had NDEs, I look for certain things in their story (talking to God is not a requirement), I look at how it effected them. I shall leave it at that.

If I did discuss mine, it wouldn't really prove it nor prove that my assumptions about them are true. I have looked at it and believe (not know), from what I have seen and experienced, that it is different for everyone because everyone is different. The experiences, based on people who have returned, seem to be comforting and those have them rarely fear going back. I don't, I don;t fear death at all anymore. I do not wish to be harmed; but, I am not afraid of leaving this place.

I try as best I can to make sense of what happened and have few if any answers. I have many questions; but, I cannot deny to myself what I experienced. I cannot not argue with someone over how they feel, I can doubt their sincerity, I can doubt their rationality; but, in the end, they feel the way they feel and I cannot deny their feelings. That is sort of how I view NDEs. Your grandmother is dying, you have my sympathy for losing her. She is not trying to trick anyone and believes she is communicating with others. It brings her comfort. I read your words and think of other peoples experiences and wonder if maybe some of us need more help in letting go than others, if some of us need a little more assurance. In either case, the good thing is that she is comfortable with it.

There is one NDE that really fascinated me. The comedian Sam Kinison had been a preacher, lost his faith and became one of the funniest, most original, filthy comedians in history. He used to joke about driving drunk, he cleaned up and was killed by a drunk driver, right after getting married. The drunk driver hit him head on and Sam hit his head. He walked around the car talking to himself (apparently), he said he wasn't ready to go and then he said he understood. At that point, he died. You can search for articles on it, I am writing from memory.