Although this was a setback it did not cross my mind that he was going to die. For four nights I slept in a chair that I had pulled along side his bed.

At night I would watch TV and talk to him about what was going on so that if he could hear me and not feel abandoned. On the night on his birthday, July 12th, I turned off the light and TV (watching British comedies) , pulled my recliner chair next to his bed and  looped my arm through his so he knew I was there (just like I had done each night before). Just before midnight I had a "dream". A tornado moved over me. It was dark purple at the bottom and went up very high.

Looking up inside the tornado I could see the top of it with bright (not blinding) light. The tornado was not violent, did not suck me up. It was not scary but quite beautiful. But I was INSIDE the tornado. Later I wonder if this was a vertical tunnel like so many talk about. 

As this "dream" ended I started to slowly wake up and I realized my dad's breathing was slowing down. I couldn't fully wake myself - I had slept in this make-shift bed all week and it was not a very restful sleep, then had to work all day.

With my eyes still shut I counted the seconds between his breaths: one-two-three... up to 15.

Next breath.

Again with my eyes still closed I counted: one, two three ........ 25.

Another breath.

I counted again:  one-two-three. But this time the count went on. There was no more breathing.  

I woke up completely, checked for a breath, then got the nurse to confirm he had just died.

She noted the time of death was 12:05am July 13th: the day after his birthday.

I believe that I was privileged to witness my dad's soul separating from his body. 

I am not a very religious person and frankly always took the "tunnel" stories with a grain of salt. 

I personally had a weird equestriennes after giving birth. I had lost a lot of blood. I was in the recovery room and holding the baby but felt like I was going to faint and told my sister to take the baby. I blacked out but could hear my sister calling for the nurse who came in and took my BP. I heard her call out to the doctor " Don't leave yet" He answered "What's her BP?" She said "Zip". There was a flurry of activity THAT I WATCHED FROM ABOVE ABOUT THE HEIGHT OF A FILING CABINET - MAYBE A LITTLE HIGHER. I was quite interested and expected to see them get out paddles or jab a needle into my heart. Instead they jabbed a needle into the IV bag that was hooked up to my arm. In a few seconds I was "back in my body" not overhead.  The next week during my first post-natal check-up, I asked my doctor why he jabbed the IV and not my heart. He explained why - but then said, "How did you know that?" "Because I was watching from above." He said there was no way I could have known that since I had virtually no blood pressure. (My heart I believe was still beating - don't know)