Dear Trudy,
This story is about Grandmommie Grimm. At almost 100 years old, having suffered with Alzheimer’s for 15 years, her pacemaker failed and we decided as a family not to replace it. GG, as my children called her, was a Christian who had fought the good fight and was ready to go home to heaven.
The doctors said that without the pacemaker, she would live three or four days. I never left her side. She had been unresponsive for several years, didn’t recognize or speak to anyone and now suddenly, she was talking and she knew us!
As the doctors predicted, though, her heart was weak and when it skipped beats for a long time I would grab her hand and beg her not to go. Being the loving grandmother that she was, she would come back. The same look and gestures each time: Perplexed, she would shrug her shoulders as if to say, “Well, why did you call me back?” On day three, she had a request for something from the grocery store. I left for only 30 minutes. When I returned, the sign on the door said, “Do not enter.”
Grandmommie had to send me away so she could go home to God. When I was finally able to enter her room, she had a very peaceful smile on her face. The angels that she had pointed out to me earlier in the day had escorted her to her eternal home. It was August 15, 2002, her 99th birthday.
Best,
Birt
Hi, Birt,
Thank you so much for sending your wonderful story about Grandmommie Grimm. Many times our loved ones are so sensitive to our feelings that they make efforts to protect them; they know us better than we know ourselves.
I bet this is the way it was between you and your Grandmommie. She knew her time had come and she needed to leave, but she knew too that it would be hard for you. How loving she was to send you on an errand and leave while you were away. She is in heaven now, peaceful and happy with her eye on you all the time. You will see her again and have happiness, too, because you loved her so well.
Blessings,
Trudy Harris
Trudy gets so many questions and stories of end-of-life experiences from Guideposts readers, we decided to make her responses a regular feature on her blog. If you have a story about a “glimpse of heaven,” please share it with us. Send it to glimpsesofheaven@guideposts.org.
