(18 days after death): While leaving my bathroom and entering my bedroom, I was surrounded by the scent of her favorite perfume.  She hadn't worn any perfume during the last several years of her illness, and there wasn't a bottle of it in the house.  My husband, who was on the other side of the room, didn't smell it till he walked to within 2' of me. He said it was very obvious at that distance. 

(22 days after death): While grouting new tile for the kitchen backsplash I had to assume a prone position on the counter so I could reach the corner.  It was hot, so the ceiling fan was turned on high.  I suddenly felt much warmer than I had, so I looked at the fan.  The blades were slowing, ready to stop completely.  I checked the circuit breaker; all switches were turned to the ON position.  My husband was at work, so he hadn't turned it off.  And my father was soundly snoring in his room.  I assumed the fan had burned out, but when I pushed the switch in to turn the circuit off, the fan came back on.  Only my mother could have played that little trick to get my attention. 

Since then she has made her presence known by making alarm clocks ring when they're set on OFF.  She'll do it whenever she likes, day or night.  Three alarm clocks can't all go wacky at the same time, it has to be her.

Was this experience difficult to express in words?  No

No, other than trying to keep it as brief as possible.

Did you ONLY sense an awareness of presence of the deceased without actually seeing, hearing, feeling or smelling them?           

No

Did you hear the deceased or hear something associated with the deceased?          No

Did you feel a touch or experience any physical contact from the deceased?            Uncertain

I may have felt a touch a few times, and I swear she tugged on my bathroom the day before yesterday.

            Was the touch familiar or unfamiliar?   Familiar, like when she would touch my hand in thanks after I'd helped her with something.  The bathrobe tug was something like she'd do when she got impatient with me for not doing something I should be doing.

            Was anything communicated by the touch?  A feeling of love and warmth.

            Is there any possibility what you felt was from any other source present in the surroundings at the time of your experience?  Everything is possible.  But it hardly seems plausible when I'm sitting at the drawing board, looking at my hands and feel a touch.

Did you see the deceased?         No

Did you smell a distinct smell, scent, fragrance or odor associated with the deceased?      Yes

            What smell, scent, fragrance or odor did you smell?           Her favorite perfume, Coty's Emeraud.

            Was the smell, scent, fragrance or odor familiar?     Yes.

            Was anything communicated by the smell?   Since I wear Estee and there isn't a bottle of Coty within 6 miles of my house (nor has there ever been), I have to assume her scent materialized to let me know that she is still with us.

            Is there any possibility that the smell, scent, fragrance or odor was from any other source present in the surroundings at the time of your experience?        Absolutely not.  It smells like nothing any of us wear.

How long did the experience last?        About 5 minutes.

Was the beginning and end of the experience gradual or more sudden?         It was suddenly there as I walked into the bedroom and then slowly dissipated.

Could you sense the emotions or mood of the deceased?           Yes

I felt as though she knew I understood what was going on.

Did the deceased give you information you did not previously know?  No.

How do you currently view the reality of your experience?           Experience was definitely real

            Please explain why you view the reality of your experience as real or not real:           I suppose it could all be a figment of my imagination, but the many experiences I've had over the years have happened quite often when non-believers have been present and unprompted.

            Was the experience dream like in any way?   No         

Describe in detail your feelings/emotions during the experience:           From all the experiences I've had over the years, I accept that there is something beyond this life/present reality.  There is nothing frightening about these visitations.  I feel good about them. 

The coat on the bed was a surprise and also a confirmation. 

The perfume made me laugh. 

The ceiling fan incident had me baffled at first, then made me shake my head because it was just like one of the pranks her sisters say she used to pull on them. 

The alarm clocks going off during the day are like playing a game with her; not so when they go off at 6:00 a.m. on weekends!  But that's also like the tricks she would have played on her sisters. It's just her being herself.

Was there any emotional healing in any way following the experience?           Uncertain

Her death brought emotional healing--for her, my father and myself.  Alzheimer's is a horrid thing, and being her caretaker for 5 years I could see and hear how she was suffering.  With the experiences after her death, it felt good to know she was no longer in mental or physical distress.

What was the best and worst part of your experience?      These redundant psychiatric questions.  Seriously though--there were no best or worst parts.  Well, there is the alarm at 6:00 a.m. on weekends that gets on our nerves.  That got old pretty quickly.

Has your life changed specifically as a result of your experience?         No      

Did you have any changes of attitudes or beliefs following the experience?   No      

Did the experience give you any spiritual understandings such as life, death, afterlife, God, etc.?  Yes     It further confirms what I've come to believe.

Death Compacts are when two or more living people promise among themselves that whoever dies first will try to contact the other(s).  Have you ever made such a compact?        Yes

My soul mate and I have said we will try to contact each other. 

My mother was not included in the compact.

Did you observe or hear anything regarding people or events during your experience that could be verified later?          No

What emotions did you feel during the experience?            I believe I just related that in question 23.

Was the experience witnessed or experienced by others?           Yes

See response to "Details of location..." above.

Did you have any sense of altered space or time?   No

Did you have a sense of knowing, special knowledge, universal order and/or purpose?    No

Did you become aware of future events?       No

Did you have any psychic, paranormal or other special gifts following the experience that you did not have prior to the experience?         No

Did you experience a separation of your consciousness from your body?     No

Did you meet or see any other beings other than the deceased?            No

Not during these experiences with my mother.

Did you see a light?           No

Did any part of your experience seem to occur in a place other than the location described above?            No

Have you shared this experience with others?        

Yes     My father was happy to hear that she's still with us...he wants to believe there is life after death and that he'll be with her again, but he's not open enough to feel her presence. 

My husband used to be a non-believer, but he has witnessed her presence and also the presence of all the spirits that lived in our last house, which was 135-years old and filled to the brim with spirits. 

Some of our friends believe it, while others think we're smoking something illegal.

Have you shared this experience formally or informally with any other researcher or web site?   No

 Is there anything else you would like to add regarding your experience?       I believe I've told it all.

Were there any associated medications or substances with the potential to affect the experience?            No

Following the experience, have you had any other events in your life, medications or substances which reproduced any part of the experience?         No 

Hardly ever have a drink, don't take drugs of any kind (other than aspirin), don't smoke, and I haven't fallen on my head since I was a toddler.  So the answer is a definite no.

Did you ever in your life have a near-death experience, out of body experience or other spiritual event?           Yes 

Maybe you'd like to email this question to me?  Writing in these little boxes is giving me claustrophobia. 

Okay, here is more information than you probably want to know: 

1- My grandmother died when I was 17.  The night before she died I was staying with a friend and sat bolt upright in bed in the middle of the night.  I had no idea why, but I knew something dreadful was going to happen.  I got dressed and waited.  The call from my mother came at 7:00: "Please come home, I need you.  Nana has passed away." 

2- You'll have to decide if this one is a NDE, a spiritual event, an OBE or a what have you, as I've never been certain what it was.  I turned 18 in 1962.  My friends took me out to celebrate and gave me my first alcoholic beverages.   I tried everything they put in front of me and ended up with what was probably alcohol poisoning. (Lesson learned, I've seldom had more than one drink since and those drinks have been few and far between.)  My best friend got me into the house and up to bed without my parents noticing how sick I was.  We thought we had gotten away with it, but my mother came upstairs to see if I'd had fun.  My friend did most of the talking to keep my mother from noticing how green and lethargic I was.  And while they were talking, I separated into two beings--one on the bed who participated a bit in the conversation; one who floated above the one on the bed, observing and listening.   

3- Seven months after my birthday I had a high fever that couldn't be explained and lasted for nearly two weeks.  When the fever finally broke, I immediately drew a warm bath.  I remember getting in, settling back, relaxing.  The next thing I was aware of was my mother frantically screaming down at me.  I could not hear her, I could only see her mouth move and the panic in her eyes.  She was trying to pull me out with one hand, while attempting to yank the plug and let the water out with the other.  My arms and legs were twisted around like pretzels and I couldn't move.  

By the time she managed to drag me out and safely to the floor, I could hear her say she was going to call an ambulance, she'd be right back.  The EMS team gave me oxygen and rushed me to the hospital.  A neighbor later said she thought I was dead because I wasn't moving and was a whitish-gray.  Many tests were run with negative results.  I was a mystery; they thought I might have meningitis and put me in isolation.  My fever was so high I felt as though I were freezing and kept asking for blankets.  They thought I was going to die so granted my wishes till I was beneath a total of 13 blankets by my fourth day there.  

An aside: For a variety of reasons, my grandmother hated the #13 when she was alive.  After her death, I had adopted it as my lucky number and always thought of her when it was mentioned.  Perhaps the following happened through her influence after that 13th blanket was placed.  Old English Roses were her favorite. 

Blanket 13 didn't stop the shaking, but I began to smell roses; the light in the room dimmed, focusing in on a crucifix opposite the bed.  The light around the Jesus figure grew brighter till it filled the entire room.  He turned his head and smiled at me for a few seconds, then everything went black.  I awoke the next morning feeling weak but well, and 50 lbs. had been burned off in those four days. 

4- In the early 1980s I began a new job.  Shortly after starting I met a co-worker who was studying metaphysics and we would discuss our experiences out of ear range of anyone else.  

I was new, but one of my bosses had entrusted me with a big military job that had to be precise.  I was feeling nervous and a bit stressed when I went home that night.  Just before falling asleep I suddenly found myself floating into an apartment I'd never seen before, going down a dark hall, swooping into a bedroom.  A man and woman were sleeping in the bed.  It was my new boss and his wife. 

The next morning I told my friend about it.  Just as I finished, she said, "Well, there he is.  You've got to tell him."  Hearing her, he naturally wanted to know.  I refused, so she began telling the story.  He gently demanded I tell him, so I did.  He insisted I tell all the details: how was the room laid out, what kind of furniture was in there and where was it placed, what did the bedspread look like, in what position were he and his wife sleeping, could I tell him the layout of the entire apartment?  My description was spot on.  So he asked me to do it again that night, but this time tell him what was in their living room, and he added, "But please stay out of our bedroom!"  The next morning I told him what I saw and again I was spot on.  "Did you come into the bedroom?," he wanted to know.  I kept my word, I did not go in. 

5- Word got around and I was asked to do the same for other co-workers.  I kept ending up in their bedrooms, which was unnerving for them and me.  So I refused to do it again while I worked there, gave up telling anyone about it, and haven't tried to have an OBE since.  Though a few have come spontaneously since then, but they were quick visits and not worth the telling.

Did the questions asked and information you provided accurately and comprehensively describe your experience?               Uncertain

Some of the multiple choice questions didn't reflect me or my beliefs, I could only respond by following the direction they pointed to.  For example, 15 & 19.  I would have responded much differently, had I been allowed.

Please offer any suggestions you may have to improve this questionnaire.    It's much later than I thought and I can no longer think.  "I'll worry about it tomorrow."