Ordinary Angels in the Courtyard The night my youngest son passed away, my attention was drawn to a particular group of bystanders. By Shauna Baker

Dean, three weeks before He passed away. I truly believe I saw angels the night my son died in December 1998. Dean was just 18 and a wonderful, friendly young man with the world at his feet. Late one evening, he collapsed in a violent seizure while [going] into his apartment to socialize with his friends and his older brother, David. [Dean] wasn't epileptic. Nearly nine years later, I still do not know why he died. David called me at around 12:10 am and asked, "Mum, what do I do? I don't know what to do." I told him to call the ambulance. I was 15 minutes away. I started pleading to myself, "Please don't let my son die. I'm coming, Dean, don't die!" I got my purse and keys, locked my house, and jumped in my car. Driving up the highway I prayed that I would not get stopped for speeding, and I made it to the apartment in about seven minutes. I ran inside, expecting to see my son sitting up looking ill and saying, "Oh mum, I don't feel so good." Instead, I saw him lying in the central courtyard, flat on his back. I ran over and asked, "Is he still breathing?" Two young people with him were attempting CPR, and one of them said, "Barely." I told Dean I was there, and everything was going to be alright. The emergency medical technicians arrived just minutes after me, and they took over. The ambulance crew began working on my son, and I quickly looked around to see if I knew any of the people standing in the courtyard. My older son was crumpled in the doorway of his apartment, unable to face what was happening. He had seen Dean fall and placed him in the coma recovery position before calling me. There were about 20 people in the area. A group of about 12 were standing hand-in-hand in a semicircle, perfectly quiet. They were ordinary people, some old and young, some male and female, in all kinds of clothes. I thought they were residents of the apartment complex, but their reverence struck me as being very beautiful. My attention returned to Dean. One of the EMTs directed me, and I worked briefly on Dean's chest as oxygen was provided to him. After a while, Dean was loaded into the ambulance and we went to the hospital, but he was pronounced deceased after half an hour. The next day, I asked David who all the people were in the courtyard. He began to tell me, and I said, "No, the ones who were standing in the semicircle with their hands linked." David went white, looking at me with total shock on his face. Then he said, "Mum, there was nobody there." I burst into tears because I realized the people I saw must have been angels, and I was so grateful my son did not die alone that night.