Watching loved ones die is never easy. Palliative care nurse Julie McFadden says there are six signs that death is near.
Signs that reveal death is near Photo: Shutterstock
The 41-year-old nurse lives in Los Angeles and spends her time providing palliative care to patients. She also shares on social media the common deathbed phenomena she sees among the people she cares for, according to Metro News.
It claims that not everyone may experience all of these signs, but there may be a good chance that you will witness some of them. “It is very hard to believe that these things really happen,” says Julie in her YouTube video, “but these are things we usually see“, she claims.
The first of these is terminal lucidity. “This happens when someone who looks very ill will suddenly get a burst of energy and appear to be getting better,” Julie explains in her video.
The nurse says there are people who think there is a burst of cortisol that makes them feel better. “Terminal lucidity looks like someone is going to die very soon, then suddenly they have a burst of energy, they get up, they’re having a really great day and suddenly they’re hungry and suddenly they’re able to walk – very alert and oriented – then usually , in a day or two they will die”she claims.
“Asitting can be the hard part, you can think they are getting better, then they die, which can be devastating“, she also says.
“I’ve had people say ‘I’m going to die tonight, I know it, I can feel it’ and then I do”
The second phenomenon is vision. The nurse believes it is the most discussed of all the deathbed phenomena. “It’s not about hallucinations and psychosis or seeing things because of mental illness, it’s different”she says.
The nurse believes that this: “It usually happens a few weeks before the death, they can be conscious and have a normal conversation with their family and say they see their dead father in the corner smiling and telling them he is coming to get them soon and not to worry“.
The best thing to do as a family member who witnesses a loved one experiencing the vision is to “to go with her“, according to the nurse. She says people usually experience the vision about a month after death.
The third phenomenon is “choose when you will die“. “I’ve seen some extreme cases of this,” says Julie. “I’ve had people say ‘tonight I’m going to die, I know it, I can feel it’ and then I do,” she adds.
Support says there are also times when people will wait for everyone to come to say goodbye and then die. “Some people will wait until after a milestone like a birthday or a wedding…they stay alive because they want to get to that date and then their body will finally give up”, says Julie.
And this is affected by the person’s personality. “Someone who is very private and independent, but also someone who is very protective, will wait until everyone leaves and then die.”
The touch, the look, and the shared experience of death
Sometimes the vision goes hand in hand with the fourth sign which is called “the touch of death.” “This is when a person lies in bed and raises their hand in the air, almost as if they see someone or reach out for a hug or a handshakeJulie explains. This can also be for an extended period of time.
Another common phenomenon in this situation is the “death stare”. “Usually looks like someone looking in the corner or part of the room, definitely looking at something intently“, explains the nurse. “If you snap your finger in their face or try to say their name to snap them out of it, they won’t do it until they’re ready.“, she says.
The latter phenomenon is called the “shared experience of death.” It is the sign that has affected Julie the most and occurs when “someone who is not dying feels, sees, or understands what is happening to the dying person“. She explains: “It’s like the dying person is giving you a sense of what they’re going through“.
