My Angel Experience

By Shawne Patrill

I’ve always believed in angels, since I was a kid.  I didn’t know exactly why, but I supposed I associated them with Chrismassy things and happy times.  But the one and only time that I’ve actually had an ‘angelic experience’ wasn’t such a happy occasion.  In fact, it was the most terrifying experience I’ve ever had.  But I do know that I was saved that day.

I hadn’t had my license for long, but I was a competent driver (or so I thought).  The accident wasn’t entirely my fault, but in the craziness of moment I didn’t know what was up and what was down.  I didn’t even know where I was.  All I knew was that there was a lot of commotion going on outside my upside down car, and I could hear sirens getting closer and closer.  I don’t remember much because everything was blurring and foggy and I seemed to be falling in and out of consciousness.  I could smell something burning and felt heat around me.  The sirens were getting closer, but I could feel myself slipping away. 

All of a sudden I felt a presence beside me.  I couldn’t see it clearly ... it was more of a feeling or something I thought I was seeing in my mind’s eye.  At first I thought I was imagining it, but it felt so real.  I tried to focus on the presence and started to see the outline of what I thought was a person.  In my clear mind I knew I’d been in the car alone, but I could sense and almost see a figure next to me, somehow hanging in the air of my upside down wreckage.

I heard a voice, outside of myself but in my mind, somehow.  It was soft and melodic and it kept reassuring me that I would be okay ... that all would be ok.  The voice kept telling me to hold on and believe that I would live.  I felt a calmness envelope me, and although it seemed to be getting hotter inside my car and I could feel pain in my legs and lower back, I just knew I would survive.  I knew without a doubt that I would make it through this.  I must have blacked out at that point because the next thing I remembered was coming to in the ambulance.  I had tubes and machines all around me and couldn’t breathe properly and I started to panic and hyperventilate, my heart beating erratically.

I looked up at the paramedic tending to me and focused on his face.  But behind him I could see (or at least I thought I could see) beautiful colours, like a rainbow kind of.  I felt something brush against my face, stroking gently like whispy feathers and I just knew I’d be okay.  

5 months later I was discharged from hospital, but had another six months of rehabilitation ahead of me.  I never saw the angel again, but I will never forget it.

By Shawne Patrill

The Hospice Angel

Contributed by Nina Wheeler

My Dad had been battling cancer for six years and we all knew that he was in his final days.  My family (my Mother, sister Kerry, brother Andy and myself) were crowded into the tiny hospice room, morbidly glancing from one set of eyes to the next, no one really knowing what to say or do.

My mother needed a break to stretch her legs.  She’d been sitting at dad’s bedside through the night.  Andy lead her outside to the gardens for a breather, my sister Kerry following suit right behind them.

Looking around the silent, darkened room, it was just me and Dad.  I sat quietly staring at the frail, weak and sickly man who had once been so strong and vibrant.  He had battled so hard for so long, determined to defy the vile disease.  But it had him beat and it was only a matter of time now.

Dad let out a long, heavy sigh and gingerly lifted a hand and reached towards something (or someone) I couldn’t see.  I stared in fascination and felt riveted to my chair.  Staring intently, I began to see the outline of a figure standing next to my father’s bed.  I blinked a couple of times, not believing my own eyes  -  but I knew I could see a figure becoming clearer and clearer as I watched on.  I could vaguely make out a shimmering glow around the figure, although it was kind of transparent and seemed to be a bright white but with colours.  It was an incredible sight and I sat transfixed for what seemed like an age, although logically I knew it was only a matter of moments.

I heard footsteps approaching in the hallway and glanced at the door as it opened.  My brother, sister and mother bustled back into the room.  I glanced back at my father’s bed, and the Angel was gone  -  and so had my father, leaving only the shell of who he had been behind.  His battle was now over and he was finally out of pain and at peace.

I never mentioned the Angel to anyone, but I thanked her silently for guiding my Dad over to the Other Side.

Contributed by Nina Wheeler