Thanks to all of our readers who responded to Renée Blinn’s “Last Words” article.
There were so many wonderful anecdotes and stories that we felt like we just had to collect and share them:
1. “Okay Cakie…”
My Husband, Jay, was dying after a 2 1/2 year battle with a type of Leukemia. His nickname for me was “Babycakes” or “Cakie” for short, and his nickname was “Jaybird.”
I was laying on the bed next to him in our home, and the hospice nurse and our children were sitting in chairs around the bed. After a time, he stopped breathing, and had no pulse.
We thought he had passed. I was kissing his face and telling him how much I loved him.
Suddenly, he took a huge breath and his heart started beating again. This happened 3 different times in the course of an hour.
Finally, the Hospice nurse asked, “Jay, Do you see a white light?”
He turned to her and nodded “Yes.”
Then, the hospice nurse said to me, “Jeannie, he is trying to ‘cross over,’ but every time you kiss him and tell him how much you love him, he comes back, because he doesn’t want to leave you. You HAVE to give him permission to go!”
But of course, I didn’t want him to go. So then my son said to Jay, “Jaybird, We are all here, we are going to take care of Cakie; she’s going to be okay.”
Jay looked at my son and then over to me. Finally, I knew what I had to do.
“Jay,” I said, “Do you still see that white light?”
He nodded “Yes” one more time.
“It’s okay baby,” I said, through tears. “I’ll be okay. You go ahead and go to that white light.”
He looked deep into my eyes, and whispered, “Okay Cakie…I will!”
Then he just closed his eyes and peacefully passed away.
2. Life-Cycle
When my mom died, I made sure my 5 year old daughter came to the wake to say good bye.
We held hands in front of the coffin, and we hugged.
When I asked her how she felt, she wiped her eyes and said, “It’s OK Mommy, it’s all part of the bicycle of life.”
3. “Today…”
My Grandfather was having another heart attack, of several. He was on pain medication but talkative.
All at once he said, “I will see the Savior tomorrow,” then corrected himself and said. “No, today.”
He died peacefully shortly afterward.
4. “You say that to all the dads.”
My dad died at home at the age of 95.
He had actually been pretty mentally sound before he fell out of bed, hit his head and had a stroke. Up to then, he could still beat me at cards!
As a result of the stroke, he lost his ability to swallow and came home from the hospital to transition at home.
He lived 18 days, during most of which I got to care for him.
The day before he died, I was sitting across the room and noticed that his skin was very dry, so I went over to put some lotion on him.
Dad was pretty non-responsive by then, and I wasn’t expecting him to have a conversation with me or anything. But my dad had a tremendous sense of humor, and as I was rubbing lotion on his arm, I started to tease him, saying, “Oh Dad, you’re my FAVORITE dad!”
Without opening his eyes, he said back, “You say that to ALL the dads.”
And, I quipped back to him, “Yes, but you’re the only one I really mean it with.”
Then I saw the corners of his mouth turn up in a smile!
They were the last words he ever said.
5. “Home”
My Papa was in the hospital for 3 days before he died.
He was tested and had stage 4 lung cancer, emphysema, and pneumonia… basically a death sentence.
He told my mom that all he wanted was to die at home. We brought him home on a Wednesday afternoon at 3pm, and after he laid down in his room, my mom asked him, “Dad, do you know where you are? Look around. Where are you?”
He used all the strength in his body to turn his head and replied with a raspy voice, “Home.”
He died 2 hours later.
6. “Come get Grandma.”
Three months before my grandmother died, she dreamed she saw Grandpa, who died 20 years before.
She said he was beautiful.
I told my parents that Grandpa was preparing us for him to come to get her soon. She was 96 years old and in great health and spirits, was walking about 2 miles per day.
About a month before she died, her health rapidly deteriorated.
Before she died she spoke to people, looking at a blank wall that she could see but we could not. She was very excited and wanted us to go with her towards the wall.
She was restless and tried to get out of bed, so we had to have a nurse come by and give her a sedative to keep her still and not fall and hurt herself.
My sister, her granddaughter, held her hand the next day and asked out loud, “Grandpa, come and get Grandma.”
Grandma relaxed after that and died peacefully shortly after.
