(This was originally sent on January 30, 2008 – but the slow, senile Comtesse didn’t post it until today.)
“I had a brush with morbidity last week… I watched my grandfather die at the age of 82. It was a very surreal experience.
“He was originally diagnosed with cancer in his lungs (of the bowel cancer variety), which eventually spread into his brain and spinal cord. He fought it for four years, but rapidly deteriorated in the ten days before his death.
“When I arrived at the house to see him, it was three days beforehand. He was sleeping pretty much all the time, but could mumble a little bit in recognition that he was being spoken to. That night he was given morphine, and after that he didn’t open his eyes again – until about 3 minutes before he died.
“The family had gathered in the room, as we realised the time was drawing near. His breathing was heavy, laboured and very rapid and his jaw seemed locked open. It continued like that for about 10-15 mins. After which, his breaths were still sharp and heavy, but growing further and further apart. The death rattle wasn’t very intense, which made the experience a lot less creepy.
“Then his breathing stopped… and everyone burst into tears thinking it was over. Then, all of a sudden, his body strenuously gasped, which scared the living daylights out of everyone — at that moment, he turned his head to where most people in the room were, closed his mouth, and opened his eyes – which were all clouded over. (Apparently this isn’t uncommon, as a few of my friends said they had similar experiences.)
“I know he was probably brain dead by that time, but I still wonder if he knew it was happening, or if he could hear us?
“Over the next couple of minutes, his breath became gentle, slowed down, and eventually just stopped.
“He died at 6:42PM on January 22nd, 2008.”
What an intense experience. He was lucky to have you all there with him.
More brushes with morbidity are available to peruse using the archive links at the bottom of the My Brush With Morbidity page on The Asylum Eclectica.