Don’t Be Afraid of Death

I was working at Charity Hospital in New Orleans as a Registered Nurse. Louisiana State University (LSU) and Tulane University were two medical schools using that hospital for their medical student training, resulting in much activity on all halls. The hospital had an approximate 2500 bed capacity.

One day I happened to see into a room with many dead bodies lying on tables. The bodies were very yellow, perhaps from the chemical injected to preserve them for the anatomy classes. In the past I had patients who died, but the astounding sight of so many at one time and the color of the bodies’ skin was a shocking experience. I’ve thought of that day many times and wondered what exactly takes place when one dies. Of course I know about the body functions shutting down, but for me it seemed that there was more to it than that.

Over the years I have had four close encounters with death. Twice I was in shock, just before the birth of my sixth child and again after surgery, bleeding internally. The third and fourth times were heart attacks. I am still having a problem with angina quite often but thanks to nitroglycerin I get relief. The curiosity of death and fear are all gone. The peace is wonderful. I just have to write about it and hope I can help someone not fear death. I’ve told my doctor I do not want anything done with my heart. I’ve had my share of surgeries and the answer for me is no more. I feel I am going to heaven, so the question is how can I be so sure?