I lost my older sister in an auto accident in 1990. She was only 25. She was a registered nurse, working Duke hospital (I recently found out she was a life-flight nurse, which she apparently kept a secret from my mom and dad).
I could (and probably should) write a novel (publication) on how that tragedy changed my life forever, in so many ways, but in this thread I'd like to share a couple of experiences related to the great loss my family endured that summer.
We (the family) didn't start talking openly about a couple of strange occurrences that took place before her passing until after the fact, though they were significant enough to be discussed when they happened.
Occurrence #1: I had come in from band practice one night (24 y/o, working, living with my folks). I went into my room and was putting my guitar gear away. Shortly after, my dad came in my room and began to tell me about something strange that had happened earlier.
He said he was sitting in the living room watching TV when he began to hear a faint moaning sound. He stood up, went to the front door, opened it to listen outside... nothing. He closed the door and eventually traced the sound to the kitchen, where he saw our family dog, a miniature dachshund, sitting upright on the floor outside of her bed in the darkened room.
He realized that she was howling, ever so quietly, while looking out the backdoor into the darkness. I remember exactly how my dad explained it to me. He said he called her name "Heidi," she stopped howling and looked at him with sadness in her eyes for a moment, then looked back toward the door and carried on for about 5 more minutes before it stopped.
I remember vividly my father saying "some Old-Timers believe that is a sign that death is near... maybe my time is coming up." I think I said something like "don't say that, daddy," and it was forgotten. That was about 3 or 4 months before the accident.
Occurrence #2: She dreamed of her own death. My sister worked 12 hour shifts at Duke, which was about 30 minutes from where she lived, here in town, with her husband (my brother-in-law). She'd always stop by and see my folks before heading home. Sometimes she would lay on the couch and take a short nap.
One day (as my dad explained), she woke up suddenly, sweating, with fear and bewilderment in her eyes, looked straight at my dad and said "oh my God, I just dreamed I died in a car accident." That happened exactly 1 week before the accident.
I must say, there is a certain feeling I'm getting, even talking about this right now. A feeling like I shouldn't be sharing this with anyone in the first place. It's the same kinda feeling I've been getting, more recently, while watching old VHS home movies, with sound and images, of my family members who've passed on. I can't explain it better than "I feel like I'm doing something I shouldn't be."
Since I've already written this, I'm going to post it for others to read, and maybe relate. There is another occurrence that happened to me, personally, that I don't want to talk about, right now. 34 years later and it still spooks me. I think I've made this long enough, so I'll leave it there. Thanks for your time. Tom
