As I've written before, my wife passed away about six months ago. I've been keen on seeing signs that she's still a part of my life, in any way, and I've seen a few instances. One thing that makes me a little more sure of it is the impeccable timing of some of these seemingly random coincidences. Yesterday morning is a good example, I'd like to hear what you all think.

I have a number of chronic health problems for a 47 year old (I blame them all on flu shots, lol) and one is a bad back, the result of an injury when I was about 20. This manifests itself in two ways -- commonly, I have a sore upper back that waxes and wanes, but is generally held in check with monthly chiropractic visits. I'm not a fan of claims that spinal adjustment can cure disease, but it certainly helps my back pain.

The second issue that I have is a sudden, mind numbingly painful spasm of all of the muscles on the right side of my back. This happens very rarely -- the last time was about two years ago, but it is crippling. On that last occasion, I physically collapsed on the floor, unable to move without searing pain, and my wife Patti had to come in and effectively pick me up. I wound up at the doctor's and he gave me a bottle of Vicodin, because there's not much else that they can do for that sort of thing.

This Sunday morning, as I'm getting ready for church, I leaned over to put on my socks, must have twisted a little bit, and that muscle spasm starts. First thing I think is "I am alone now, and if I fall down, I'm going to be in big trouble" and so I very gingerly straightened up, and the spasms quieted down somewhat and eventually stopped of their own accord. My back still hurt a lot (think about how your leg feels after a muscle cramp has stopped) but I was able to continue on with my day, and Monday I went to the chiropractor, who checked things over and pronounced me fit.

So yesterday morning (Tuesday), I came in from my morning walk with the dog, and needed to clean up his paws, which were wet and covered with leaves. As I bent down to do so, the full onset of back spasms hit. I fell to my knees, and again, tried to figure out how I was going to get out of this -- every movement and flex that involved by back, neck or head brought on excruciating pain. It was far worse than Sunday, but I was determined to get through it.

Finally, after a bit of trying, I was able to get back on my feet, and went upstairs to take one of those Vicodin pills that I had left over from two years before. Previous bouts had taught me that lying down is a bad idea, because it is almost impossible to stand up again, so I decided to go back downstairs to my office and sit at my desk until the pain pill took hold. I was able to do so, but the pain was getting worse by the minute. To try and get my mind off of it, I stuck to my morning routine, which is to read a devotional, spend time in prayer, and then "talk" to my wife.

Now, another one of those chronic health problems that I have is, essentially, a series of degenerative lung diseases that makes respiratory distress a real problem. Particularly in the past year, I have begun to have breathing problems that compound themselves, and require a real effort to break out of. As I was finishing my prayers, I began to feel the spasms intensifying when I breathed, making it difficult to maintain measured breathing, and within seconds, I felt my breathing begin to fail -- gasping for breath, gasping from the pain, gasping, wheezing, well, let's just say it wasn't going very well as I waited for the pain medication to kick in.

But I tried to get back in control by focusing on a picture of Patti that is on my desk, and a card that she had given me for some occasion sitting next to it. It didn't work, though, I started crying from the pain, and I know from many episodes of crying in grief that this would make things even worse, but I couldn't stop.

Finally, through gritted teeth, with searing pain running through my back and my lungs, I wheezed out "Baby, I need you..."

Immediately, the phone rang.

My home phone, which rarely gets used, and never at 8AM. The phone that used to be on the other side of the room, but that I had moved to my desk about a week ago, now only about a foot from the picture I was focusing on, and that I was able to reach without pain and answer.

It was my daughter, who rarely calls me, and never on that phone. She is at university and texts me quite a bit, but phone calls aren't her thing.

She immediately realized that something was very, very wrong, and was able to get me calmed down and get my breathing back to normal. By the time that the call was ended, the Vicodin was starting to block the pain and I felt confident that things would be okay, and they were. Before hanging up, I asked her why she'd called, and she said that she was worried, because she'd been trying to get a hold of me for a couple of days without success. News to me -- there are no texts or missed calls on my cell phone.

So... either my beloved wife, watching over me; my loving daughter, somehow having insight that I was in distress, or one heck of a coincidence. There is no way to know what would have happened, had she not called, but I know that I was blessed and comforted by the fact that she did, particularly that she did at that specific instant.

One thing I don't get, though -- whether it was Patti whispering "Call your Dad" or my daughter sensing that I was in danger, the seeds of this must have been sown several days ahead of time, for the "I have been trying to get a hold of you" factor. That is puzzling.

Thoughts?

Absolutely, I truly know that people who have passed on get "alerts" when their family is in emergency situations. I have experienced this with my deceased family members. I am also a medium so I can confirm these experiences with them when the emergency situation has passed. Also, we humans have incredible amounts of 6th sense, psychic abilities, whether we acknowledge them or not. Your time of need was felt by your family, and was quickly acted on. Rest assured that you are being loved from the afterlife, and I hope you find some resources for you should this happen again. I have Multiple Sclerosis so I know all about horrible chronic diseases and being all alone with no one to help. Next time should it happen, call to your wife- AND- Jesus or the Archangel Michael. Calling to them will being immediate rescue and intervention should you need it

I can definitely verify that this happens, I've had it happen both ways. So, yeah, I think Patti put the idea in your daughter's head to call you at that moment.

After my mother died, I visited my father, but I didn't usually call him on the phone. I was in my office one morning, busy with work, a million appointments and things to do, purse over my shoulder, getting ready to go to an appointment, and I suddenly picked up the phone and called Dad. I don't even remember thinking I should call him. I hadn't planned to call him. I just did.

A neighbor answered his phone. She was in the house looking for my number. Dad had fallen on the driveway while using the leaf-blower, and she was worried he should go to the emergency room. I went right over.

Another time, I myself was in distress, and suddenly my nephew came walking in the house. Said he was shopping at Home Depot and something reminded him of me, and he drove over.

Yes. It was mother. She sent me to Dad, and my nephew to me. I have no doubt. It was Patti. Don't be creeped out by it, be happy for it. She still loves you.

Interesting post,in that you were having back issues leading up to your daughters call.I have back issues as well and all it takes is to pick up a bar of soap in the shower and I am in trouble! I usually get close calls or twinges of warning to be mindful of every move I make to avoid trouble.For me my muscels get tied up in knots and then pinch nerves,and then comes a slipped disk.I take Soma Compound,good ,good stuff! I dont have insurance,so I only take it when things get really bad.On to your question,I would have to agree that your daughter some how picked up on your troubles at the onstart.Her call came in at the right time to give you comfort only,as by the time you were off the phone the pain med kicked in.She saved you from your self! Your call from help was answered when it was really needed.I hope you realise your wife loves you both and has sent the both of you a love note.My question to you is;did you talk to your daughter about this? If I were you I would like to know her thoughts more than the thoughts of those on ATS.

Telepathy is well documented, your daughter merely picked up on your emotional distress, and was astute enough to listen to it.

Sounds like you're having a rough time of it. God bless you.

Thanks for the replies, I appreciate the insights. I only briefly talked to my daughter about it, later that day, and she didn't really have anything to add, apart from "I was worried about you." She's coming home for the weekend, I'll chat then and ask about that specific moment that she decided to call (she was on her way to her first class, so called as she was walking across the campus.)

Thank you, as well, for the link to the article. While she was alive, Patti and I very much exhibited this behaviour, we were so often "of one mind" that people joked about it. It seems likely that this connection would continue, even after her death, if it is of a spiritual, rather than material, basis.

A couple of days after returning home from her funeral, I was sitting in the same room (the room is somewhat significant, because she had remodeled it about a year ago, it was where she spent most of her time as a remote project manager, and it was where she died,) and was on the verge of a complete breakdown, when I felt a pressure on my chest, and I could feel (not hear, feel,) her voice saying "We are soul mates and we will never be apart." I have never had a similarly vivid experience since, but I don't doubt its significance.

Again, quite possibly wishful thinking, but I'm a wishful person :-)

I will say something that was interesting for me..
BG on me, I have been researching death for a while now.. since about 12 or 13 yrs old.. But never really had any concrete proof of life after untill a few yrs ago when my kids mother's grandmother died..

Anyway the players in this are as follows..

grandmother = kids mothers grandmother
her mother = kids mothers mother... ok? cool lets go..

I tad after her grandmother died my son had a dream where he said he was in it with his grandmother, he was telling us they were in this field playing and there was this guy that was with them. he described this guy to what his mother said were her grandmothers father. About 2 weeks after this dream the kid had they was going through all the crap her grandmother had and there were images of people all over this table.. My kid came in and looked around and found this image of this guy that was in his dreams with his grandmother.. He said this is the guy that was in the dream with us..

This guy I never seen a image of him because she always kept these pics hidden away.. My kid never seen these images because well at the time he was 7ish and well nobody really showed him old images of people in the past, just current family members.. Now this guy he pointed out died in 1942 well before he was born. My son was born in 1998.

The kids mother's mother said she had a dream about her mother and said that she said she saw her mother and that it felt real, the exchange was something along these lines.. She said that her mother told her she was ok, and that everything will be fine.. The mother said that she realized it was a dream and she forced herself out of this incident..

So the above one with my kid I would assume would be the proof of afterlife for me considering my kid had no idea who this guy was, hell I didnt even know who this guy was till he pointed him out in an image..

Anyway.. Ya life after death is real.. We are only here to learn whatever lessons we are supposed to and move on..

ok simple version..

grandmother dies, kid has dream, grandmother in dream, meets some guy in dream, in rl he says that an image of said guy was in his dream. guy was dead since 42, my kid never seen this guy. end of story, the last part is just jibber.. dont worry about it.