The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments

by Hadley Vlahos

Now I wanted answers, so I asked anyone and everyone who would listen how God could allow pedophiles and murderers to exist on this earth, but take my good-hearted friend before he could live out his dreams.

Going from a highly structured schedule to having complete freedom and ownership of my own life proved to be challenging for me.

I felt too guilty to call my family and admit what I was doing, so I pretended everything was great whenever we talked.

It was easier to just not leave the house at all.

While I still don’t have all of the answers, the one thing I can tell you for certain is that there are things that defy medical explanation, and that in between here and whatever comes next, there is something powerful and peaceful.

The hope that I need; to believe, to cope, to live! This is the reason I am finally reading this book when I have owned it for far too long unread. I ordered a signed copy during preorders but have been too nervous to open it up.

“Momma, it’s me. I’m sorry I was so harsh yesterday. I just feel so lost. You taught me everything I know except one very important thing: You never taught me how to handle losing the most important person in my life. What am I going to do without you?”

Gutted

I knew, by allowing a bond to grow between Carl and me, that I was setting myself up for heartbreak. I reminded myself to live for today, not the fears of tomorrow—a promise I had made to myself when I started working in hospice.

I thanked him for doing this, Carl told me it gave him purpose and something to do.

I didn’t think he could walk!” “Me neither,” she panic-whispered back to me.

I took a minute to admire the sky and was momentarily distracted by a bluebird who was perched on the branch of a nearby tree, still and watching me with a steady gaze. I briefly wondered if it was Anna before pushing the thought out of my head.

“I won’t judge you and I won’t push my personal beliefs on you. If you want to keep it, I’ll love it. If you don’t want to, I’ll take that secret to the grave.”

Someone in here yearns for this couple’s life. They want the white picket fence—to graduate college and get married, have two kids, and live happily ever after. But that’s not what God needs them for.”

“You’re going to have to give up your ideal life in order to live the life planned for you. You’re going to have to give up your sorority, your college life, and this path you’re currently on.”

“You need to have this baby,”

“Life is not going to be easy at first, but this is the life planned for you and it will be worth it,” Father Tom finished.

Somehow, in the place I least expected it, I had found comfort.

“No, he’s here to get me. I finally get to be with him again,” she said with a slight smile, her eyes closed.

With her eyes still closed, she said, “Hey, I know that one day you’ll have a long line of people waiting to greet you at the gates of Heaven, but they better get out of my way because I’ll be the first one to hug you when you get there, okay?”

“Mom said not to call you when she died. She said that Dad told her that you couldn’t handle it.”

Beautiful. Heartbroken.

It felt so special to be included in this synopsis of Ms. Sue’s long life, to be a part of how she would be remembered forever. I will remember her forever too.

To this day, I still think about how miraculous it was that Ms. Sandra’s daughter made it to her side, just as her mother took her last breath. I think about Sandra and how she was a mom to the end, holding on for as long as she could so that she could hold her child’s hand one last time.

Nope, not okay. Sobbing ugly cry

Over time, she went from being able to speak twenty words to under ten, to fewer than five, to just one word: “John.”

My heart!

“I promise not to think you’re crazy,” I assured him. At this point, I didn’t think anything could really surprise me. “Do you remember when Edith thought the bedroom was on fire?” he asked. “Of course. I’ll never forget it,” I told him sincerely. “Well, they aren’t really sure what happened, possibly an electrical fire, but that bedroom caught on fire one night a few months after Edith died,” he said, excited. I’m sure my face showed my shock. It took me a minute to slow my racing thoughts and respond. “Are you okay?” I asked, figuring that was the most appropriate question. “Yes, but only because I never moved the bed back. I’ve been sleeping in that extra bedroom ever since you moved the bed.” John paused for a moment before confidently saying, “Edith knew.” My brain reached for any other possible conclusion, but I couldn’t find one. “I guess she did,” I said slowly. But…how could she have known?

chills.

“If there’s an afterlife, will you send me a sign, baby?”

At that moment, the radio host announced that “a special request just came in for a special someone” and the crow of a country singer soon followed. “Randy Travis,” Lisa said. “This was the song we danced to at our wedding.” Chills ran up and down my spine. “ ‘Forever After All.’ He picked it for our first dance.”

On my first day back at work a week later, I started wading through emails in my car outside the office. I wasn’t ready to face anyone yet. I was still angry at Travis, and I was also feeling anxious about what awaited me inside after the text I’d sent. I read an email from Steve, which felt like the safest place to start. “Hadley, welcome back,” it read. “The funeral was beautiful, a wonderful tribute to a wonderful woman. I wanted you to start your day with this quote: ‘What we once deeply loved we can never lose, for all that we love deeply becomes a part of us.’ I know you will do amazing things going forward. She is always beside you and will always be there for guidance.” I sighed and worried Steve was overestimating me.

Everyone should have at least one “coworker” like this. He knew exactly when support would be most needed.

After about a mile, I realized what the holdup was: A truck had slammed into the back of another truck. My breath caught in my throat as I looked at the damage, which was severe, but would have been much worse if the car that had been hit wasn’t so sturdy. That could have been me and it could have killed me, I thought. Thankfully, it looked like all parties were out of their cars and walking around. Suddenly, I was grateful to have forgotten my name tag.

“Oh, Al kept saying the other day that he had a bad feeling about you getting into a car wreck. Make sure you drive safe, okay?” I froze in my tracks for a few seconds, then turned back around to face Gil. “Thank you,” I said. “I will.”