Wiccan Whirlpool

In the last three weeks I’ve actually received three NODA activations but I’ve needed to attend only one patient, whom I will call A.  Sitting with A was a most amazing experience.  I was amazed at how comfortable I felt and how easily I fell into the roll of companion.  A was not conscious, and was not aware on any level I could detect.  When I arrived at the hospital at about 11:30 PM to relieve another volunteer her vitals were stable.  At about midnight she stopped urinating, but her vitals stayed strong if a little low the entire time I was there.  I could tell she wasn’t in any pain, even before Ted the wonderful ICU nurse assured me that she was being given plenty of medication to insure that she was comfortable.  It took a little while to get used to hearing her gurggly and uneven breathing, but soon it was hardly noticable.  I had decided I would use my time with her to catch up on some reading that I don’t usually get to do at home–”The Road to Hel” by HR Ellis-Davidson.  In between sections I’d talk to A a bit and pat her arm to let her know I was there.  I would have held her hand, but she was covered up to her chin and looked quite comfortable as she was and I didn’t want to disturb her.  Ted checked on us a lot and really went out of his way to make sure that I was ok with A.

At one point, while I sat with her, I thought I might try a bit of spirit communication to reach her through trance.  Here she was, not expected to live until sunrise, determinedly drawing each breath and then another…maybe if I could tell her that it was ok to go she’d be more willing to vacate.  So trance I did.  Because of my tired state and the weirdness of the situation I didn’t have any trouble, and I didn’t have far to go.  It was easy to get to where she was, but it was not easy to get through to her.  She wasn’t afraid to go, she was simply totally resistant to change.  There was no use in me saying anything about it.  A would have to just go when her body wouldn’t allow her to stay any more.  Interestingly enough, when I came out of trance I realized that there was someone standing at the foot of her bed across from me.  I don’t have any idea who it was, but it felt like a parent or grandparent, and he or she was there to wait for A to finally let go or be pushed out, and ready to hold her hand on the way to wherever it was they were going.  I don’t know if Ted had a sense of this, or if the next volunteer did either, but it was nice to know that someone had come for her.

A didn’t die while I was there, and I left at 3:30 AM.  Her obituary stated that she did die sometime that day, but it didn’t say what time.  I’m truly blessed to have been able to sit with her, learn from her, and offer her what comfort I could in some of her final hours.  Having done this once I am actually eager to do it again, and I highly recommend this as a volunteer opportunity to anyone who lives near a hospital that provides a NODA program.

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