Right On!
Right On!
I reached out to Natalie to connect with my father who passed over several years ago. We naturally began to talk about the rest of my family and I happened to mention that my elderly step-mom is in a nursing home suffering from dementia. With Christmas fast approaching, I commented that I didn’t know what to bring her since has essentially become non-verbal and no longer even knows who I am. Natalie noted that she seemed to be missing something from home and suggested that I bring her a blanket or throw.
In my mind, this was just two people talking – nothing to do with the reading – and I didn’t think too much of it at first. Bringing a warm blanket to someone in a nursing home seemed like a logical suggestion that anyone might make. But then Natalie got very specific. She wasn’t talking about one of those little fleece throws you can buy in any store. It should be something nubby or textured. She even grabbed one off the couch behind her and showed it to me as an example. That stuck with me and since it was as good an idea as anything I could think of, I went out searching for something to fit the bill.
I didn’t have high expectations when I brought her the gift. She generally doesn’t react to anyone around her or anything you say. Sadly, she seems to have become locked in this parallel reality where she exists but we cannot communicate. So, I wasn’t surprised when I went in and “introduced” myself and got no reaction. Undeterred, I told her I’d brought her a present and proceeded to unwrap it. That’s when things suddenly changed. This woman, who hasn’t truly interacted with me for over a year, got visibly excited when I showed her the blanket. She gestured with her hands as if to tell me to hurry and give it to her, and rubbed her arms as if to say that she was very cold. I was stunned. She has never before indicated that she was chilly, even when she could talk! I assumed that either she was one of those warm-blooded people that never got cold or the nursing home simply kept the place warm. When I wrapped the blanket around her, she literally cooed and murmured “mmmm” as if to say “finally, I’m warm!”. It was mind blowing.
Then she started to babble. She wasn’t using actual words, so I don’t know what she was trying to say, but the feelings she was expressing were very clear. First, she excitedly told me a story. Then later she got teary and told me something sad. When she finished talking, I asked her if she ever saw my dad. I didn’t get a response right away, but I told her that I knew he was thinking about her and suddenly she said his name, clear as day. Whoa!
The visit didn’t last long. She seemed happy with her new blanket wrapped around her, so when she contentedly closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, I left. But that exchange made a deep impression on me.
Whether Natalie gleaned this need of hers from my dad during the reading, somehow heard it from my step-mom, or it was just pure intuition, I will never know. But what I do know is that I would not have selected a blanket, and especially that particular kind of blanket, to bring to her if it hadn’t been for that reading and it truly did make her extremely happy. The advice Natalie gave me based on the reading was absolutely right on!!
