[oldE]

Don't be freaked out. It is hard to determine all the ways in which people communicate. Such occurrences don't seem unusual in my family.

For instance: Sister#3 was speaking with one of the ministers in the charge a few years ago and he was relating how his marriage fell apart after his son died in a motorcycle accident. He said it was a hard blow to both of them and in their grief they went in separate ways. He also said he got some consolation through his former next door neighbor one day, when she called and asked him to come over, as someone had something to tell him.

When he arrived, she introduced him to her Sister-in-law, who had asked her, out of the blue if she knew a young man who had died. The S-I-L described the fellow and said he was wearing a leather jacket and helmet. She said he wanted to tell his parents "he was alright and they could stop worrying." The neighbor felt she might be talking about the son who had died and called the minister in order to put them in contact.

The minister said this had been a great comfort and had helped him move on. Sister #3 asked him a bit more about the circumstances and found out the identity of the neighbor. Then she realized: the neighbor's sister-in-law is our Sister#2, who had been visiting from Ontario.

In '87, my Dad had an accident and had been run over with his tractor (fractured pelvis, crushed urethra, prolapsed bowel) and was in Intensive Care. The accident had happened the week before, I had made the drive (3 hours) to visit on the weekend, but had gotten off work early on Wednesday and was looking for an update. I called the hospital, they put me through to the IC nurse who said,
"We can't give you any information, but his wife is here. Would you like to speak with her?" then seconds later,
"We have to keep this line clear!" and hung up.

Later, I got filled in on the circumstances. Dad had gone into cardiac arrest. Apparently a clot from the wound site moved. Mom said the alarms went off, she was hustled over to the Nurses' Station and there were three nurses and a doctor working on Dad. After a while she was allowed to return to his bedside.

Dad remembered it this way. He said he was above his bed, looking down on the people working on him. He said he could see a cane by the Nurses' Station and felt, if he could reach it, he could walk out of there. Then he woke up in bed again.

Why did I choose that exact moment to call? Co-incidence? Sure.

Life is interesting, isn't it?
Best
Les