End of life nurse shares one 'beautiful' sign someone is about to die
A hospice nurse has lifted the lid on the signs that someone is nearing the end of their life, in the hope that it could alleviate 'fear and stigma around death'.
Los Angeles-based medic Julie McFadden regularly shares her expertise on social media - where she goes under the username @hospicenursejulie.
Earlier this year, she took to YouTube to speak out about one particular indication that her patients often exert when they're ready to pass over.
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Surprisingly, however, Julie insisted that the sign of near-death isn't anything to be concerned about - despite having a rather ominous nickname - and actually described it as a 'beautiful' process.
It was then that she opened up about the 'death stare'.
Julie firstly began by revealing she sees this same sign regularly, but says she is always careful to informs the patients' families that it is nothing to be distraught about.
"If you're not familiar with the end-of-life phenomena, there's a few things that happen at the end of life to most people," she explained.
"One of the things is called a death stare, which is when someone gets really fixated on a certain part of the room, and no matter what you do.
"You can snap your finger right in front of their face - an they will not move their gaze."
The end-of-life nurse went on to claim that, in some cases, the patient will begin talking to someone in the room invisible to all others whom they believe is really there, but added that they really break off from their stare.
"Sometimes they'll have a big smile on their face, like they're seeing something that's obviously making them very happy," she said.
It was then that Julie lifted the lid on an incident she encountered with an elderly man, which she says emphasises that the 'death stare' is nothing to fear.
Recalling the patient and his wife - who'd been married for 70 years - she told viewers: "I instantly loved these two. They were so, so, so sweet. They still seemed to be pretty madly in love."
Describing the man as 'pleasantly confused', the medic said he was able to recognise his wife and was happy to see Julie but couldn't keep up with conversations so well.
She continued: "He would be looking at me and smiling, then suddenly turn his head and be fixated on another part of the room."
Julie said the man then broke into out a 'huge smile, like he was seeing something over there', adding that she was unable to attract his attention for some time.
"I wanted his wife to see this because a lot of times these end-of-life phenomena can kind of give you a timeline of when this person may be dying," she added.
"I usually starts happening a few weeks to a month before someone dies."
Eventually, Julie recalled, the man's wife was reportedly able to figure out what her terminally ill husband had been looking at.
Apparently, she told the nurse: "He said 'Jesus'."
"Many people say they see many different things and it usually depends on what religion they are," Julie continued.
"The great thing is, whatever he was seeing, he was very happy, and he was smiling."
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.
Rhianna Benson