Gims, I've seen and heard of this happening to many people just before they die. My grandmother had been in a coma for weeks...moments before she died, her nurse said that my grandmother sat up in bed with her eyes wide open in delight and said to someone at the foot of her bed (not the nurse): "You're here! I knew you would come for me. I've waited so long for you." And then she reached out her arms, laughed and then died.

Hubby's sister recently passed away...the day before she died, she told her daughters that John (her husband who had died many years ago) had slept in the bed with her the night before. She even shared the long conversations that they had (very coherent conversations!) and mentioned that a few other people had "visited" her during the night (also all dead for many years). The daughters thought she was hallucinating, but I don't doubt for a moment that John was there with her. I really believe that there's a buffer zone just before we die, where we're still technically alive but not really there at all...and I think that it's entirely possible that our loved ones who have gone before us meet us in that place to help us cross over.

The day that Gary (my brother) died, we didn't know that he was going to go that day, but I was by his side the entire day, and could feel Mom and Dad's presence there like I've never felt them before...it was so strong that something inside of me knew that this was it...they had come to help him cross over. There were five of us at his side when he died, and we all felt that the room was FULL of light and presence...we just knew that Mom and Dad (and others) were there to take Gary home.