Paternal Grandmother, Leila, 9/11/99, 2:35am

I was in a deep sleep. My grandmother had been sick for many years with chronic kidney failure. She had been currently hospitalized and the prognosis was initially unsure. As she continued to decline my parents visited her in the hospital and the prognosis quickly worsened. My parents are temporarily stepped away, to get coffee, and in the minutes they were gone my Grandmother died. After a few minutes, upon their return they were advised for passing. One and a half hours away I was sleeping and I heard, specifically in my left ear, 'Rick, I've got to go.' It was my Grandmother's voice. I bolted from bed, sitting on the side, trying to wake up and get my thoughts organized, when the phone rang. It was 2:35 a.m. on the other end of the phone was my Father, who said 'Rick, I'm calling to let you know that your Grandmother didn't make it.' I said 'I know Dad,' and we hung up the phone. I knew she was gone, she came to me and told me. Initially the loss was great, but at the funeral I didn't shed a year. She was fine and I knew it. She basically told me herself.

Father, Jimmy, 4/14/16, approximately 4pm

My Father passed, in his sleep on the night of 4/13/16 or morning of 4/14/16. He went to bed without incident, but never awakened. I received a call, on my cell, at approximately noon, on 4/14/16. My Mother on the other end of the phone was screaming 'I need you!!!' I left, driving the 12 miles. I never asked what was wrong. All I said was 'I'm on my way.' I don't remember much of the drive. En route I phoned my brother, who in turn phoned his wife, my sister-in-law. After arriving at the house I checked on my Mom and moved her into another room and phoned the city police, to report a death at home. My brother arrived shortly thereafter and the police arrived within minutes after him. The police contacted the coroner who advised them of the procedure to remove the body and have it declared at the hospital. Upon my sister-in-law's arrival I was pacing about the house and she and I were passing each other in a 12-foot wide doorway. There was plenty of room for us to pass without touching each other,  but as we passed we both glanced down at our legs assuming that we had bumped each other. We did not bump each other. Then I thought perhaps it was the dog that ran between us. The dog was locked in another room. At the same time she and I looked at each other and questioned what had just happened. I found it kind of humorous because my Dad was not very fond of my sister-in-law. What had happened, in the doorway completely freaked out my sister-in-law. I kind of enjoyed it. It would have been just like my Dad to pull something like that on her. I guess he knew that it wouldn't weird me out, but he knew she would be totally freaked out.  The second incident happened the following day. My Mother's friends had begun to arrive at the house to pay their condolences. It was very strange because everyone that came to the house and brought her a red begonia plant. She hated red begonias. She told me to put them all outside on the back deck. Later that afternoon we had a horrible storm with high winds lots of rain and thunderstorms. As a result of the storms most of the blooms were blown off of the red begonia plants. So that afternoon, after the storms had stopped, I went out to sweep the begonia petals off of the deck, because they were easily tracked inside and when stepped on they made a red mark on the floor. I slept for about an hour. After I finished I was going back in and happened to look down and there was one, single, red begonia bloom left on the ground, right in front of the door. I bent over to pick it up so that I could throw it away when I went inside. Looking at the bloom it almost looked as if there was something printed on it. I focused for a second and realized that it appeared to say 'Jim.'  Everyone my Dad ever knew called him Jim. I went inside, told my mother to sit down, and I placed the bloom on the table in front of her. And she looked at me with tears in her eyes and said 'he's trying to let us know that he's okay.' I took a photograph of that begonia bloom. I cherish it

Approximately one month after my Father's passing, I became increasingly concerned about my Mother living alone. She didn't want anyone to live with her so we compromised by installing ADT security cameras, with motion sensors, so that I would be able to monitor her when I was not there. Well then just a couple of days I started noticing anomalies on the cameras. These cameras appear to be what others refer to as 'orbs.' These orbs would set off the cameras without any other activity in the room. Then I noticed his time progressed, that the orbs seem to focus themselves around my Mother. One evening at dinner I finally got the guts to explain to her what was happening. And then I showed her the videos. My Mother looked at me and said 'That's your Dad checking on me, he said he would never leave me, he's keeping his promise.'

Mother, Shirley, 4/12/20 4:30am

My mother's health was in a constant downhill spiral. She suffered from epilepsy, seizures, kidney failure, COPD and a variety of other minor ailments. She had osteoporosis very badly and suffered from falls and consequently broken bones. After my Father's passing she quickly declined. I cared for her for the last 4 years of her life. 5 weeks before her passing I suffered a heart attack and subsequent bypass surgery. On her last day at home her oxygen saturation was only at 60%. She was extremely restless and she fell while attempting to stand without assistance. I had no choice but to call an ambulance. She spent several hours in the hospital and I sneaked in to see her, (this was at the height of Covid-19). I wasn't permitted to stay. The charge nurse recognized me as a patient a few weeks prior and he ordered me to leave. While I was standing bedside with my Mom, it was so weak she could barely speak, suddenly removed her oxygen mask, raised herself up on her elbows, looked forward at a blank wall, appearing to squint and said 'It's SO BRIGHT!' I asked her what she was looking at but she never answered. She lay back and appeared to be staring at the ceiling. About that time the charge nurse recognized me and told me I had to leave. I kissed Mom on the cheek and said I love you. She answered 'I love you too.' I never saw her alive again. Her nurse phoned me around 11:00 p.m. telling me that it looks like she would not survive the night.

My mother's advanced directives were DNR and DNI. She did not want to be resuscitated. She had told me earlier that she was so tired and ready to go. At 4:30 a.m. the next morning her nurse called to tell me that she had passed peacefully. A few days after her passing the security cameras at their home begin to alarm. My Mother had never returned to sleep in the bedroom where my Father had passed. Instead the insisted on sleeping on the sofa in the family room for the last 4 years of her life. The security cameras began recording those same orbs in that room, specifically on and over the sofa on which she slept for so many years.

The orbs have all but stopped, but one the most recent incidents culminated and what I would refer to as a 'orb swarm.' The cameras alerted me one night and I awakened to witness the recording of the orb swarm. I couldn't believe what I was watching. It had occurred only a minute before and so I quickly switched to live view and I watched the swarm live. I had never seen an orb as it occurred, only the recording. I sat and watched this massive orb swarm for about 3 minutes before it dissipated into nothing.

Was this experience difficult to express in words? No

Did you ONLY sense an awareness of presence of the deceased without actually seeing, hearing, feeling or smelling them?      No

Did you hear the deceased or hear something associated with the deceased?          Yes

          Describe what you heard, how clearly you heard it and what was communicated:   My grandmother was the only one that I've ever heard and she said to me: 'Rick, I've got to go.' Just as if she was hanging up the phone.

          Did the voice or sound seem to originate externally or outside of you, inside you, or did you not hear a voice or sound, but had a sense of knowing what was communicated?     The voice definitely originated externally.

          If you heard a voice or sound, was it similar or dissimilar from the voice or sound the deceased made when they were alive?     It WAS my Grandmother's voice.  I would recognize it anywhere.

          Is there any possibility what you heard was from any other source present in the surroundings at the time of your experience?   I was alone at the time. There was no one else in my home.

          Was there any possible impairment to your hearing at the time of the experience?   There was no impairment.

Did you feel a touch or experience any physical contact from the deceased?         Yes

Within hours after my Father's passing, both my sister-in-law and myself felt something brush against us as we passed in the doorway.

            Was the touch familiar or unfamiliar? I can't say that it was familiar but considering the circumstances with my sister-in-law I did think it was very funny. It would have been just like my Dad to shock her. I was surprised, but not frightened.

          Was anything communicated by the touch? Only that it would been very much like my Father to put my sister-in-law ill at ease.

            Is there any possibility what you felt was from any other source present in the surroundings at the time of your experience?   I did not hear anything specific to this particular incident.

Did you see the deceased?       No

Did you smell a distinct smell, scent, fragrance or odor associated with the deceased? No

How long did the experience last?      Just a couple seconds.

Was the beginning and end of the experience gradual or more sudden?       Very sudden.

Could you sense the emotions or mood of the deceased?          No

Did the deceased give you information you did not previously know?  No information was divulged.

How do you currently view the reality of your experience?          Experience was definitely real

          Please explain why you view the reality of your experience as real or not real:   I believe I have hard evidence in the photos and videos.

          Was the experience dream like in any way?  No     

Describe in detail your feelings/emotions during the experience:  It was a mixture of emotions. Extreme confusion, happiness, grief, disbelief.

Was there any emotional healing in any way following the experience? Yes

It gives me great hope that I may be able to see them once again.

What was the best and worst part of your experience?          The best part was that it happened at all. It felt like confirmation to me. The worst part is that I cannot be sure.

Has your life changed specifically as a result of your experience? Uncertain                 Describe:     I try to be more understanding when people describe things that I don't believe could possibly be true.         

Did you have any changes of attitudes or beliefs following the experience?      No     

Did the experience give you any spiritual understandings such as life, death, afterlife, God, etc.?  Yes    I've always believed in a creator, somewhat of an intelligent design believer, but these experiences have given me even greater hope that there is something else after this.

Death Compacts are when two or more living people promise among themselves that whoever dies first will try to contact the other(s).  Have you ever made such a compact?    Yes

I made a pact with my grandmother, approximately 5 years prior to her passing. She and I made a pact that whoever went first would try to communicate with the other. She told me that she would send me a feather. She picked the feather because she had a little cockatiel that she absolutely loved. The cockatiels name was 'Sweetie.' Sweetie was a lutino cockatiel. They are yellow. when I told my Grandmother that I would be able to find a feather just about anywhere, she said 'yes, but I'll send you one of Sweeties feathers.' About a year after her passing I was working in another state and we were unpacking boxes and suddenly out of nowhere I noticed a yellow feather come fluttering down from the ceiling. No one knows where this feather came from. We were not unpacking anything with feathers. It seemingly came out of thin air. I watched it fall all the way from the ceiling to the floor. It was a pretty emotional experience for me. I took it as a sign from my beloved Grandmother.

Did you observe or hear anything regarding people or events during your experience that could be verified later?          No
What emotions did you feel during the experience?         To this day it's an extremely emotional experience when I recall. I can barely recall any of these incidents without becoming extremely emotional. I believe a lot of it is still grief, but at the same time it gives me hope that there is something else beyond what we can see, feel and hear.

Was the experience witnessed or experienced by others?          Yes

My Father's incident(s) were witnessed by my Mother and sister-in-law and other incidents via security cameras.