Most of us fret about getting 5 stars while Nikola got the whole Milky Way

[Nikola15]

This was the most unusual request I have ever had and I’m so glad I said yes. A man in his 40’s contacted me saying his wife’s cancer had taken a turn for the worse and she was now being put on hospice. She was in a hospital about 30 miles from me. Their insurance would no longer cover them in the hospital if she was on hospice but if she had a home the nurses, equipment, etc. would all be covered. He tried other rental options but they all wanted first, last and a lease. Then his son in law mentioned Airbnb and that’s how he found me. This was his first booking so I called Airbnb because it all sounded a little crazy. They assured me he was who he said he was. He booked for a whole month even though he thought it might only be week. 

The medical equipment arrived on a Friday but the family didn’t get here until Monday evening. I gave them a lot of space and they were very self sufficient. During this time we had the power turned off by PGE for 4 days and they managed to get a generator on their own to keep things going. Gradually family members left until it was just the man and his wife with hospice nurses coming every day. On about their 8th day here I could tell the husband had grown weary and was not sure how much longer he could hold out.

He was losing the love of his life. I had gone down to visit the wife a couple times and she was nothing short of an angel. She was so happy to be out of the hospital environment and in a home surrounded by nature with deer visiting daily.

That night I was on my way to check in on them and stopped to stare up at the Milky Way. It was brighter than usual and seemed to go on into infinity. Just then he came outside and confirmed she had died. He was sobbing, shaking from the cold and the shock.

We hugged tightly under the Milky Way, the Highway to Heaven, for a long time.

I will never forget this family of angels and am grateful for this unique opportunity. I opened my home to them. They opened their hearts to me.

[Title updated]

[Sarah977]

@Nikola15  Wow, what an amazing story. An unforgettable experience and one that enriched all the lives involved. Wonderful of you to open your home to these people. This is exactly the sort of thing that Airbnb should be about, not just raking in the bucks while the partying guests disturb the neighbors.

I've never had anything so dramatic happen with guests, but quite a few of my guests seemed to book my place as a needed respite from some heavy things happening in their lives. Child custody battles, bad break-ups, job loss, trying to figure out how to change the direction of their lives. One guest's mother had just died the month before. Some talked to me at length about their issues, saying they got the sense that I was safe to talk to and they needed to get it off their chest. It's always felt good to be able to provide a safe haven for these folks and they have all been appreciative and lovely.

[Nikola15]

How wonderful, you have opened not only your home but your heart. This is so needed on the planet right now, human connection and caring. ❤️

[Susan17]

@Nikola15 

Truly beautiful post, and beautiful response from @Sarah977. 

What a wonderful thing you did for this family @Nikola15. It takes a special kind of person to recognise such an onerous, challenging experience as an honour and a privilege - as you clearly did - and how blessed they were to have found you. I'm sure the gentleman and his dear wife saw you as their guardian angel too, easing their burden through the darkest hours of their lives. May she rest in peace. 

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

So many hosts fret about getting the Five Stars, but @Nikola15  deservedly got the whole Milky Way. 

[Susan1028]

Beautiful @Anonymous 

I didn’t realize you were a poetic superhost!

[Nikola15]

Thank you for your cosmic insight! I didn’t realize I was giving it the “accepted solution” status but now that I think about it...... Maybe this will help me avoid any future fretting about those guest reviews. 

[Ann72]

@Nikola15 This moved me to tears, Nikola.  I'll remember it for a long, long time.  Big hug to you.

[Nikola15]

Receive a warm hug from me as well!

[Helen427]

@Nikola15

What a beautiful soul you are.

Your listing is beautiful.

Long may your guest's memories live on.

It would be lovely if you could keep up the friendship you have gained and perhaps plant a special tree or some flowers in memory of the lady.

Hugs to you from across the miles where those who live in rural New Zealand also have spectacular views of the same Milky Way. 

[Nikola15]

I was thinking about something like that. What I did do was to strew rose petals outside her door and some on his truck bed and windshield too. He left shortly after she passed and a few ended up a half block up the hill.  I will think of you and the New Zealand community the next time I’m looking up at the Milky Way! 

[Rita662]

What a beautiful story @Nikola15.

Sometimes we all get so busy and worry about everything, and them this kind of things happens.

Thanks for sharing with us.

[Helen3]

Thank you for sharing this with us @Nikola15  and for opening your heart to this family at their time of need - you are definitely the embodiment of what hosting is all about.

I am glad that you were able to help this couple and their families share their last days together in peace at your beautiful space.

Shame on their insurance company for not covering their hospice care. Here are hospices are run by charities and care is free (subsidised by our amazing NHS (National Health Service).

[Lawrene0]

@Nikola15 , thank you so much for this story! Do you know, I had some friends ask me last spring whether I thought they should book an airbnb for their adult daughter for her post-surgery recovery in the big city. I said no. I thought it would be too much stress for them trying to find a host who didn't mind blood, etc., on the sheets. They found a place for her, a sort of rooming house, through the hospital. 

But look at you. 

How beautiful.

[Diane440]

What a beautifully poignant story! I had the privilege of caring for my Dad in hospice and being alone with him the night he passed. Those final days leading up to his departing and especially that night were very surreal. I do believe in an afterlife and know he is in a better place. There was most definitely something else, another force there surrounding us the moment he left and I will never forget that kind of feeling, both menacing and comforting, as if both heaven and hell were battling for this one soul.  

Once upon a time, there were no hospitals or funeral homes because this was all managed by the families or communities who cared for their sick, aged and dying within their own homes. It seems with rental by owner places, even in this high tech world, we are returning to those simpler times and reclaiming our compassion.