Journal entry by Kathy Watkins —
As everyone who follows this page knows, Dan has passed. But I want to share the amazing things that happened during his final hours. This is Jennifer’s chronicle of the events that need to be told. The video Jennifer talks about, that was recorded of the music box playing, cannot be downloaded on this site. But all the same, the events are amazing.
Written by Jennifer Daues:
I thought you might appreciate this story, and I wanted to get it all down for myself also.
Sunday night, Dad went home on hospice.
Monday night, Kathy and I were going to try getting some rest while my nephew D.C., stepsister Jess, and stepbrother Levi stayed up with Dad. Not long after we had both left to lay down, they heard music playing and realized that it was coming from a Precious Moments music box figurine. They took a video which I will attach. Kathy is one of 9 kids. That figurine belonged to the only one of them who is no longer alive. She passed away before my Dad and Kathy met. She had bone cancer. Kathy had been praying and asking her sister to help Dad, especially with the pain of the cancer since it had moved into bone in many places.
That music box hadn’t been touched in years, Kathy doesn’t even remember the last time she dusted in there. There’s an on/off switch and it did stop once they picked it up and moved the switch.
Also, Kathy wears a Fitbit or similar type of device and leaves her phone in the living room. She got a notification on the device that showed "This is the day" sometime in the early hours. She assumed it was from a verse a day that she gets. When she checked her phone later, there was nothing to attribute that notification to.
I woke up at 6:30, went to the bathroom, and she told me these things. I had what would be my last moments alone with Dad while she visited the restroom & when she returned, I went downstairs and relayed the events to Chris. Just a few minutes after 7:00 and after I finished telling them, Kathy called my name from the top of the stairs to tell me that he did it, he was gone. He'd been breathing steadily so we had no indication that the end was so near.
Lastly, his dog knew. Levi was asleep on the couch, Jess has gone home, D.C. was asleep in a bedroom, and Chris, the girls and I were all downstairs. Kathy was sitting in her chair near Dad and felt "something" while looking at her phone (maybe subconsciously realizing he wasn’t breathing any more), the dog barked twice from his kennel in the master bedroom (he normally never barks while in the kennel), then she realized that she wasn't hearing Dad's breaths anymore.
I am so grateful for all the prayers and support from friends and family through this extremely difficult time.
Beth, you said, “Remember to look for the blessings. They are there even in the midst of sorrow and they hold us through.” How right you’ve been!
Sunday night, Dad went home on hospice.
Monday night, Kathy and I were going to try getting some rest while my nephew D.C., stepsister Jess, and stepbrother Levi stayed up with Dad. Not long after we had both left to lay down, they heard music playing and realized that it was coming from a Precious Moments music box figurine. They took a video which I will attach. Kathy is one of 9 kids. That figurine belonged to the only one of them who is no longer alive. She passed away before my Dad and Kathy met. She had bone cancer. Kathy had been praying and asking her sister to help Dad, especially with the pain of the cancer since it had moved into bone in many places.
That music box hadn’t been touched in years, Kathy doesn’t even remember the last time she dusted in there. There’s an on/off switch and it did stop once they picked it up and moved the switch.
Also, Kathy wears a Fitbit or similar type of device and leaves her phone in the living room. She got a notification on the device that showed "This is the day" sometime in the early hours. She assumed it was from a verse a day that she gets. When she checked her phone later, there was nothing to attribute that notification to.
I woke up at 6:30, went to the bathroom, and she told me these things. I had what would be my last moments alone with Dad while she visited the restroom & when she returned, I went downstairs and relayed the events to Chris. Just a few minutes after 7:00 and after I finished telling them, Kathy called my name from the top of the stairs to tell me that he did it, he was gone. He'd been breathing steadily so we had no indication that the end was so near.
Lastly, his dog knew. Levi was asleep on the couch, Jess has gone home, D.C. was asleep in a bedroom, and Chris, the girls and I were all downstairs. Kathy was sitting in her chair near Dad and felt "something" while looking at her phone (maybe subconsciously realizing he wasn’t breathing any more), the dog barked twice from his kennel in the master bedroom (he normally never barks while in the kennel), then she realized that she wasn't hearing Dad's breaths anymore.
I am so grateful for all the prayers and support from friends and family through this extremely difficult time.
Beth, you said, “Remember to look for the blessings. They are there even in the midst of sorrow and they hold us through.” How right you’ve been!
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