As a matriarch’s days draw to a close, a vision comes calling

By BOB TEDESCHI @bobtedeschi OCTOBER 10, 2017

In the winter of 2010, 90-year-old Helen Budzinski described what she saw, which no one else could see. ... A blond girl, age 5 or so, at the foot of her bed. Then twin girls. Then a pair of boys named Michael and David. ... Helen’s stroke in October sharpened what had been a slow decline. Her granddaughter, Jocelyn Pappas, whom she raised, now served as Helen’s full-time caregiver at Jocelyn’s home in rural Connecticut.

On Monday morning, Dec. 20, with darkness shrouding the woods outside the window, Jocelyn placed a hand on the back of her grandmother’s blue floral nightgown and eased her upright.

“Oh, you work so hard for me, Jocelyn,” Helen said.

“I only work hard for you, Nana.”

“You only have to work five more days,” she said. “I got my ticket.”

“What do you mean, your ticket?”

Helen said she would be leaving this world at 4 a.m. on Friday. “They’re coming for me.”
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About the Author

Bob Tedeschi

Senior Writer, Patients

Bob Tedeschi covers the patient experience for STAT, while also focusing on end-of-life issues. He previously covered technology, business, personal finance and a range of other topics for The New York Times.

tedeschi@statnews.com

@bobtedeschi