Talk to Me (18 page)

Ron and Casey arrived, and the whole family stood by Sean's bed. All of his friends were there as well. We prayed to God to watch our son and give him peace.

At that point our family also decided if Sean couldn't come back to us, and his organs were still good, that he would want to be an organ donor and give life to others. And that's exactly what he did.

When I returned from Dallas, I went back to work right away, but I kept feeling like there was something pushing me to go to the bookstore and look at books about the afterlife that would give me strength. So I followed the need, and while I was at the store I saw Allison's book
We Are Their Heaven
and I bought it.

This is important because later, during a reading, Sean told me that he gave me her book. It explained why I felt like I was being pushed to go to the bookstore; also, when I saw Allison's book, I felt his energy so strongly.

On 13 March 2011, I went to one of Allison's events. I told my sister, ‘Sean is definitely here,' and he was.

That night, I was one of the audience members who received a reading, and Sean came through. He sounded so happy! He told Allison that he was in a good place and he liked the necklace that his brother wore. The necklace has a guitar on it, and reads ‘RIP Sean'. He said he liked the photo in the living room of him. It's a large picture of Sean sitting in front of a motorcycle and smiling. I was so relieved after the reading. But I wanted more.

I had my second reading with Allison over the phone about a month later. Allison started by saying she would ‘bring him through'; however, she explained it might take a while. There was silence on the phone for a few seconds, but then she jumped right into the reading. Allison asked how long Sean had been gone, and I said it had been eleven months. Allison stated, ‘It is very rare to have a person who has been gone for such a short time come through so strongly.' She also said that Sean and I had a very strong energy binding us together.

Allison started laughing because Sean kept saying he was the ‘good-looking one'. Sean was taller than his older brother Ryan, and Ryan never liked being short. Sean also had blue eyes and blond hair. He was a great-looking young man. Sean even said that he could have been an actor or model, and it's very true.

In the reading Sean said that no one could believe he was gone because he was the ‘golden boy'. Sean's personality was very strong. He was the joker among his friends; he could always make someone roar with laughter. Many of his friends claimed that the party didn't really start until Sean walked into the room.

Allison also said that she sees a domino effect with Sean's friends, that his death has changed them all. And I do know that because of Sean passing away, many of them have stopped drinking, and started turning their lives around for the better.

Allison kept seeing Sean playfully teasing a black cat that he said he now took care of. I checked on this later, and it was his girlfriend's cat. Sean told me that his girlfriend will never really get over him, but he truly wants her to be happy again.

Allison asked me if I had any questions. I did. I wanted to know what happened the night of the accident. Sean said that he wasn't paying attention when he was driving, and he tried to get out of the accident but he couldn't fix it. He had always landed on his feet throughout his life. He thought he was invincible, and he wasn't. He wanted to assure me that even I couldn't have prevented his passing. This is important, because I was always with Sean when he got in trouble; I never left his side and it would always turn out okay, but not this time. He wanted me to know that it was his time, and there was nothing I could have done.

Sean explained that he was now like a counsellor helping children cross over, and that children like him. Children did like Sean—he would always tease them and play with them—he was a big kid.

Another question I had was who Sean was with, but before I could ask Allison, Sean stated that he was with my dad. Sean was always very close to his granddad, so that didn't surprise me. My dad also came through in the reading to tell me that he was sorry for the pain he had caused me, and he was very proud of me and he loved me. My father was still young when he died at the age of 57, and I always felt guilty because I didn't get to say goodbye.

Sean also said he was with a man who had a lot of cancer. That was my grandfather, a Baptist preacher. My grandfather said I raised a good son. The last time my grandfather saw Sean was when he was four or five years old, so it was comforting to know they were together.

Then, when Allison said, ‘Sean is with your grandmother on your mother's side,' I started crying. A week before the reading my youngest sister, Rebecka, had dreamed about my grandmother and Sean being together and how happy they were. Rebecka had said she was so pleased to see them in the dream, they all exchanged hugs and kisses, and she didn't want it to end. But Sean and my grandmother told my sister to go, because they were happy and fine.

Sean also told me not to worry because our family on the other side love to cook, so he is eating and well taken care of. The older generations in my parents' families did love to bake and cook, so I felt better knowing that they are taking care of my son.

Sean insisted that he was ‘still in the family'. He wanted me to hide Easter eggs for him, and he wanted an Easter basket. There wasn't a year that would pass where I didn't surprise my sons with Easter baskets, no matter how old they got.

In the reading Allison mentioned missed calls, and Sean said he still plays with his mobile phone and it carries his energy. His brother Casey has his phone and Casey wouldn't let me change Sean's number, but I wasn't exactly sure what the reference to the phone was about. After the reading, I asked Casey about Sean's phone. He said he had thought something was wrong with his own phone because on three occasions Casey had got a missed call from Sean.

‘No, it's not broken,' I explained. ‘It's Sean's energy.'

I also told Casey that Sean said he loved his Guitar Hero game, and the time he spent playing it with him, and he wanted his brother to have it.

When I asked about Sean's older brother, Sean said he was worried because Ryan keeps staring at the computer and he is very depressed. He looks at pictures of Sean and listens to music they both liked. Sean and Ryan were very close; they did everything together. Ryan really doesn't know how to go on without Sean, but Sean said to tell him, ‘We can still hang out together, Bro!' I can't explain how much it means to know that Sean is still reaching out to us and that he will always remain with us.

I have had many dreams about Sean, and in all of them he is around the age of six. In the reading, Sean pointed out there is a picture of me kneeling down to give him a hug, and he said it is the age I see him being in my dreams. I remember that picture, and it is my Sean at age six. Although he explained that he doesn't look six years old in heaven—he's older—being a kid was his best time, because he was able to be my ‘little man'. He wanted me to take out a picture of him at that age, and remember he'll always be my little boy.

Allison said that April is very important to Sean, meaning that either someone close to him passed or has a birthday in April. My birthday is in April, and so is my sister Rebecka's. Allison explained that this was Sean's way of saying he'll be at the celebrations. And, maybe not coincidentally, this reading with Allison was taking place on 6 April.

Sean and his father, Ron, were very close, but after Sean passed away, Ron had a very hard time. Sean wanted to tell his dad that he was ‘the best', and he joked about how his father let him get away with everything! He referred to a photo of Ron, Ryan and Sean when he was a toddler and Ron had his arms around both of them. Sean said he felt very loved and stated that Ron showed a lot of affection to his boys which he would never show to anyone else. In life Sean always said his dad was very smart; he knew a little about everything. And in the reading he reiterated that sentiment.

Sean loved music, and in the reading he was playing ‘Love Me Tender' by Elvis Presley. I remember my mother telling me that my dad and she would listen to that song. I think this was Sean's way of acknowledging that my dad was there with him.

Also, when I bought Sean his first guitar, he taught himself how to play ‘Stairway to Heaven', which happened to be my favourite song, and in the reading Allison told me that Sean was playing ‘Stairway to Heaven'.

When Sean passed away in May, it was incredibly hard for all of us to deal with. He was only 21 years of age. On his birthday, 2 September, he would have turned 22, and we blew up balloons and put notes inside them. He said in the reading that he got them. He also said that he didn't like flowers, but we could send him red balloons instead. He loves the colour red.

One of the most touching messages he gave me was that he was sorry he ruined Mother's Day, and he kept pointing out that ‘they got the time wrong'. This was so meaningful to me because the hospital said Sean had died at 12.17 p.m. However, I received a text at 3.20 a.m. that said, ‘I love you, Mum.' I truly believe that is when Sean died.

The readings have changed my life. I feel strength and comfort and I am not afraid to die, although I was informed by Allison that I will live a long life. I will live my life to the fullest, knowing that my son is with still with me.

Sean was and still is my strength. We were very close, and I still feel the energy that we both have together. It was Sean who pushed me to read Allison's book and go to her event. He did this so that I would find some level of peace. I know Sean wants me to be happy. I know I will have my hard days, and there will be other days when I will feel like nothing ever happened. Like he said during the reading, ‘Mum, remember what you always told me? One day at a time.'

A GIFT FROM BEYOND

I did a reading for one of my very good friends and it left a lasting impression on me, because it was so personal. I didn't actually read Rich until three years after we met and became friends. I waited because the timing had to be right, and it hadn't felt quite strong enough before. I mean, if I read him, I wanted it to be really great, even though I had no doubt that Rich's mum would come through. As soon as I got that urgent feeling which I get when the other side prods me to read someone close to me, I knew the time had finally come.

To be honest, I don't like to read people close to me because it redefines the relationship, so I usually keep my friendships separate from my work. Often, mixing business with friends causes social events to also become work. Rich is an exception, though, he's not like that; he never oversteps my boundaries. As a matter of fact, I was kind of excited that the time had come. After all, I was going to meet the mother of one of my good friends, a woman who had met few new living people since she had died almost twenty years ago.

When Rich came bounding through my front door with his sandy blond hair and wide smile, I immediately ushered him into my office. Rich is a man who never runs out of things to say, or music trivia to challenge you with, and he uses humour to lighten uncomfortable situations. I had definitely never met anyone like him until I met his son, Joe, who's a Marx Brother in a little boy's body. Gotta love him!

I motioned for him to sit down, and I made him aware that his deceased mother had quite a lot to say.

‘Rich, hurry up, your mum's talking to me. Come in so I can bring you up to speed.'

Notepad in hand, I began scribbling vigorously (it's how I focus my energy), and a story started to unfold, telling me what kind of woman Rich's mum is. Let's just say, like mother, like son. And, believe me, that's a huge compliment!

His mum came through gushing about how proud she is of Rich, and how much she loves him and his family. She talked about very much liking Kristi, Rich's wife, and how she appreciated her sassy nature. His mum said she always knew Rich would be a great dad one day, and she was right! There were many messages given that meant a lot to Rich, and I was pleased to be able to do it. I was also glad to finally meet my friend's mum whom he loved so much and talked about with such affection.

Anyway, a couple of days later I was on air on KISS-FM doing readings for people who phoned in ( Johnjay and Rich are the morning show hosts on KISS-FM in Arizona). Rich brought up his reading on air to share with the audience.

‘Hey, Allison, remember in the reading you told me that my mum wants my daughter Audrey to have her wedding ring?'

‘Yeah, I remember.'

‘Well, when I left your house after the reading, I stopped by my mailbox to pick up the mail on my way home. In the mail was an envelope from my dad. I opened the envelope and my mum's wedding ring fell out of it!'

I mouthed, ‘Wow!' I mean, what do you say to that?

Then I said, ‘That's so great, the timing and all, and like I always say, there are no coincidences.'

Johnjay was totally stunned, which I find amusing. I never get tired of watching his jaw drop. He's always so surprised. He's like District Attorney Devalos on
Medium
; he never expects it, so it's kinda funny!

Rich was just f loored, but really happy, too, and that's what mattered the most to me. Rich's mum did so well coming through. She had passed away when Rich was in his late teens. It had been a very long time, yet she managed to orchestrate things beautifully. I never question the other side about timing. There's always a reason why some things take longer than we'd like them to. Having faith will save your sanity; you don't waste so much time overanalysing life.

RICH'S EXPERIENCE

It took me almost twenty years after the death of my mother, Audrey, to finally have the moment where we had a visit through Allison. There are so many people who need closure, and so many aching to have that moment to finish relationships with those who have passed. I had a rough ten years trying to forget about how bad it hurt to lose a parent, and needed another ten to get to a place where I could understand it.