I walked into my Grandmother’s nursing home room. I didn’t know if she would recognize me, but I wanted to somehow let her know that I still knew her and that I cared. Her bed was against the wall and she was on her side facing the wall. I squeezed between the bed and the wall, reached over the bedrails and took her hands in mine. She did not respond as I called her name and told her who I was. She was restless. She did grasp my hands and began moving them around in a way that seemed deliberate. I tried to calm her hands by holding them but she was relentless in her movements. Finally I just let my hands fall limply into hers and let her move mine. She wove my fingers into each other until my hands were folded in prayer. Amazed, I said, “Grandma, do you want me to pray?” Her whole body became quiet and she breathed a sigh of relief. Now I knew why I had come.

Do you have a story where a person’s spirit prevails when the mind and body have stopped working? I’d love to hear your stories.