End of life nurse reveals the three most surprising things she’s learned about dying
A palliative care worker has revealed the three things that shocked her the most about death when she started her career.
Hospice nurse, Julie McFadden - who goes by @hospicenursejulie on TikTok and YouTube - is a registered nurse based in Los Angeles, and has spent years providing end of life care.
People are understandably fascinated with the process of dying, and so Julie uses her platform to educate and help her followers to understand death.
In a video to her YouTube channel, she recently detailed the three most surprising things that she learned about what happens to someone’s body before they die.
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They can hear you
Julie says that people who are in the process of dying can still hear things around them, even if they are unconscious.
It is widely accepted that hearing is the last sense to go before death.
Researchers from the University of British Columbia conducted research and found evidence that some people may still be able to hear while in an ‘unresponsive state’.
The hospice nurse was shocked to learn this, telling her social media followers: “When someone is unconscious and not responding to us we do believe they can hear us.”
Julie said that people should still talk to their loved one like they are still able to respond, rather than speaking about them like they are already dead.
“Say the things you need and want to say. And don't talk about your loved one like they aren't there." she said. “As a hospice nurse, I always try to speak to the patient like they could answer me back.”
After working as an ICU nurse as well, the healthcare expert witnessed many patients who'd come out of comas say they could still ‘sense’ what was going on around them.
“They would tell us that they could hear certain things, they could sense people in the room,” Julie said.
Deathbed phenomena
This term describes a series of experiences that someone goes through shortly before they pass away.
Some patients might tell their caregivers that they are about to go on a trip, or they may describe seeing a dead relative member - which Julie has previously described as 'visioning'.
She recalls treating patients who get a ‘surge of energy’ before dying. This odd process is sometimes called a pre-mortem surge, or terminal lucidity, and it can often bring about improved mental clarity as well.
“[These things] were mind-blowing to me as a new hospice nurse it still is mind-blowing to me when I see it now, eight years later,' Julie reflected.
Dehydration is good for a peaceful death
In what may come as a huge shock, as it did for Julie, but the nurse says that dehydration ‘helps people have a more peaceful death’.
She explained: “Why? Because a dying body cannot handle the hydration that like a living well-body can. If we try to hydrate a dying body at the end of life they'll become overloaded with fluid.
"The body can't handle the fluid, it won't stay in the person's veins or arteries, it'll seep out and cause swelling and then eventually cause respiratory distress.
"The more I saw that as a new hospice nurse the more I was amazed about how our bodies really help us die.
"Our bodies will start helping us be more dehydrated because the body knows that the more dehydrated you are the better you're going to feel.
“You're going to go into ketosis [if you're dehydrated] and your body will release endorphins that actually will give you a euphoric feeling and help start dulling pain and make you actually feel good.”
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677.
Gregory Robinson