A hospice nurse has revealed the six “unimaginable” things that happen when a person is on their deathbed.
Julie McFadden, 41, is a registered nurse based in Los Angeles who specializes in palliative care — and has built a network of millions on social media sharing ideas to help destigmatize the process of “dying and dying.” “.
The health expert and author – who previously shed light on the “scary things” that happen at the moment of the last breath – took to YouTube to speak out once again about the phenomena surrounding death, confessing that before witnessing these crazy things herself, she was “uncomfortable” sharing them.
Julie explained that patients often experience “terminal lucidity,” “hallucinations,” “death stares,” and more.
Hospice nurse reveals six ‘unimaginable’ things that happen when someone is on their deathbed
Julie McFadden, 41, is a Los Angeles-based registered nurse specializing in palliative care.
At the start of the clip, she explained that she never saw any of these six things while working as an intensive care nurse and only started seeing them when she moved into care palliatives.
She admitted: “There are many deathbed phenomena and I’ve seen them all, let’s break them down. I want to be clear, this doesn’t happen to everyone, but it happens enough that I like to educate him about it.
“As an ICU nurse, I will say I haven’t experienced these things, and then coming into hospice and becoming a hospice nurse, I was educated about it and I was told about it. ‘told to educate families about it, which I initially felt bad about because I had done it “I haven’t witnessed it myself, and it is. really hard to believe these things actually happen.
“But slowly and surely, as the years went by and I started seeing more and more of this, it became clear that I definitely needed to educate people about this, because it happens so often.”
Julie started by explaining that the first crazy thing that happens at the end of life is terminal lucidity.
She described it as a “burst of energy” felt by a patient close to death, adding that it happened “very often”.
The nurse admitted it was not clear why those who were about to die had this energy – adding that one should just “enjoy” the little time they had with their loved one.
She continued: “Enjoy it and expect them to die soon after because it’s the kicker with terminal lucidity, it looks like someone is going to die very soon and then all of a sudden, they have a burst of energy.
She spoke out again on the phenomena surrounding death, admitting that before witnessing these wild things herself, she was “uncomfortable” sharing them.
Julie started by explaining that the first crazy thing that happened at the end of life was terminal lucidity.
“They might be having a really good day, they’re suddenly hungry, they’re suddenly able to walk, they’re suddenly very alert and oriented, and then shortly after, usually within a day or two, they’ll die, which can be the case.” It’s a difficult part if you’re not ready, if you don’t know what’s going to happen, you may think they’re getting better and then they die, which can be very devastating.
The second thing you might see happening to your loved one who is about to die is “vision.”
Julie described this as having “hallucinations” – adding that it was “the most talked about phenomenon”.
She noted that patients often saw deceased people “weeks before they died.”
“I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it myself over and over again,” the nurse admitted.
Julie advised to “just go for it” if you saw your loved one having hallucinations – before revealing that if someone “had a vision” then they were “a month away from death”.
“Third, it’s really crazy: people choose when they’re going to die. I’ve seen extreme cases of this, people simply saying, “Tonight is when I’m going to die, I know it, I can feel it,” and they do it. There’s also a point where people wait for everyone to arrive in town or enter the room, arrive at the house, whatever it is, and then they die,” the nurse explained.
The fourth thing is known as “deadly reach,” according to Julie.
She explained: “It’s when the person is lying in bed and they reach up into the air like they’re seeing someone or they reach out to someone to hug them or shake his hand.” Quite often they raise their hands for a long time.
The second thing you might see happening to your loved one who is about to die is “vision.”
“(It’s) like they see something we don’t see and they’re looking for someone we can’t see.”
Julie then listed “number five is death stare,” explaining that death stare and death reach “often go hand in hand.”
“It usually looks like someone is looking into a corner of the room or to the side of the room and looking intently at something, but if you snap your finger in front of their face or try to say their name, you’ll snap in some way. so they won’t make it, they won’t,” she said.
The last wild thing the nurse saw is known as the “shared death experience” and is “the most impactful”, according to Julie.
She explained: “A shared death experience is when a person who is not dying feels, sees or understands what is happening to the dying person.
“It’s a bit like the dying person is giving you a sense of what they’re going through. There may have been times when it’s not a good thing, but in my experience and all the stories I’ve heard, it’s usually a good feeling.
“From what I experienced, it was a really good feeling. It was like the person was giving me these feelings of freedom and joy and sort of telling me that they were okay and basically couldn’t believe how amazing it was.
“At the time I was shocked, I didn’t know what was happening, but I discovered what they call a shared death experience.”
This isn’t the first time Julie has spoken about death and what she witnessed when someone was dying.
Last year, she delved into “end-of-life visions” and how conversations around them can be strangely “logical.”
“They’re usually functional and logical and ask me questions: ‘Why am I seeing my dead mother, do you see her?'” she said.
Later this year, Julie is also expected to release a book called Nothing To Fear, billed as a “heartwarming and informative guide that demystifies our end-of-life journey.”
dailymail us
