In Dying, they are Saved

From the wall they look . . .

From the cliff they leap . . .

Instantly memories flood my mind. What memories? Thoughts of all the patients I cared for who had successfully or momentarily survived the physical death of suicide.

I ask a repeating question, “How come some live and some die?”

Here at the waters edge I stand. It’s been reported 16 people have survived the plunge of Niagara Falls (Wikipedia, n.d.). Tonawanda Seneca Nation Chief Corbet Sundown in 1981, tells the story of a young woman, infected by an evil spirit, who fell into despair and paddled her canoe over the falls. Instead of dying, she survived the fall. Spiritual elders, called Thunder Beings, led her behind the falls and held a healing ceremony (Niagara Falls Canada, n.d.).

There too, I find myself behind the falls in a cave. I was amazed there was no musty smell, just fresh air billowing in. The temperature was perfect, not chilling. Was there any chattering though the cave filled with many? No. All I heard was thunderous water with audible thoughts of David’s harp playing from sorrow deep I call. The reverberation of the waters’ power penetrated my heart, where any ectopy instantly cured.

Oral tradition tells once the woman was healed, she was endowed with kinetic energy and went on to raise a beautiful family (Niagara, n.d.). Much like this woman, I safely leave the hidden place and this fall with a new emunah (faith, belief)

I reflect back on my patients I once call suicide’s survivors. Now, I see them as people having experienced one of life’s toughest storms – not to say they will never face another trouble. Of those who shared their why, I find it interesting that just as many had no recollection of the event at all – How strange is that?

My mind now focuses on Florence Nightingale’s (1860/1969) first canon of nursing, “To keep the air one breathes as pure as the external air, without chilling them” (p. 12). The cave certainly provided me these essentials. And that brought up a question, “Why is ventilation and warming the first canon?”

Your emunah . . .

Reflecting on the evidence

1. Explain how and why you would rank air, warmth, and water.

Dedication

For all who fall in despair, find your cave, open your heart, and seek who whispers.

References

Beck, M. (2023, August 12). Niagara’s edge [Photograph].

Beck, M. (2023, August 12). My Âdûllâm. [Video].

Heid, M. (2022). What is an ectopic beat? WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/ectopic-beat

Niagara Falls Canada. (n.d.). Maid of the mist the Thunder Beings. [Poster]. In Journey behind the falls. https://www.niagarafallstourism.com/play/falls-experiences/journey-behind-the-falls/

KeithandKristyn Getty. (2019, April 29). Lord from sorrows deep I call (Psalm 42). [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=KYGhnbXtqbU

Magnify. (2023, March 14). This Hebrew word has no English translation. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ao08cSkOqYk

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Musty. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved August 18, 2023, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/musty

Nightingale, F. (1969). Notes on Nursing What it is, and What it is Not. Dover Publishing. (Original work published 1860).

Snow, A. (2021, June 4). The meaning of amen and the Hebrew word for faith. FIRM Fellowship of Israel Related Ministries. Retrieved August 17, 2023 from https://firmisrael.org/learn/meaning-of-amen-and-hebrew-word-faith/#:~:text=Let%27s%20define%20“faith.”%20The,of%20full%20reliance%20upon%20Him.

Wikipedia. (n.d.). List of people who have gone over Niagara Falls. Wikipedia. Retrieved August 16, 2023, from https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_who_have_gone_over_Niagara_Falls#:~:text=The%20first%20recorded%20person%20to,have%20reportedly%20survived%20the%20feat.

Related Work

Beck, M. (2022, July 25). Angels in the Light. Time Traveling Nurse. https://timetravelingnurse.blog/2022/08/05/angels-in-the-light/

Beck, M. (2023, April 23). Filled with the Light. Time Traveling Nurse. https://timetravelingnurse.blog/2023/04/04/filled-with-the-light/

Special Thanks

Delores Bunting, my friend, editor and reviewer for In Dying, they are Saved.

Zerha Köylü, my friend and fellow artist, reviewer for In Dying, they are Saved.