I had been with my grandfather as a teenager when he died in our house after us nursing him over several weeks. I feel very blessed by this as I saw death as very natural and it held little fear for me, so when my mother in law was dying of cancer I was happy to take the lead in the last few days whilst she died at home. I knew about Cheyne-Stokes breathing and could explain the pauses etc to everyone and so they didn’t pre-guess the moment of death. When she did die however I was sat calmly talking to her telling her we were all there and she could let go and we all loved her. She died with her eyes open and I calmly leant forward and shut them only for them to pop open. Luckily I did not scream but I wish I’d known!
