Friends,

For the past three years, I've been very sick (I am 29) and have spent most of my time going in and out of the hospital. I almost died a total of eight times and it's still somewhat touch and go.

I had two bleeding and massive stomach ulcers which the docs failed to diagnose for well over a year. Thus, finally one perforated on me and that's how they were discovered after I had spent so much time in the hospital for anemia (they couldn't figure out where the blood was going although I told them about the stomach pain). So, I had my first emergency surgery, and then I had to have a second in which they took 40 percent of my stomach.

So, I just wanted to write and tell you that I have had many "strange" things happen to me. A lot of times, I was in somewhat of a fog since I couldn't eat and was very malnourished and dehydrated. One time, I was in "lala land" in bed. It was nighttime and I was alone in the house. I felt very weak and ill. I woke up to folks standing around my bed and I didn't feel fear at all. I felt that they loved me. One up by the head of my bed, a lady wearing an old fashioned type dress and a man behind her with a handlebar moustache wearing an old fashioned type suit, were especially kind looking. I somehow knew the lady's name was Maggie and she comforted me on many occasions. Later, my mom showed me a photo of her grandma and grandpa when they were still in Ireland and I almost fell over! In that photo I saw Maggie and the man. When I told my mom that it was Maggie she was stunned since, according to mom, no one called her Maggie except a select few.