Charlotte Foster
Caring

Hospice nurse shares the specific things people see before they die

A hospice nurse has revealed the very specific things people often see before they die. 

Julie McFadden, a 39-year-old end of care nurse from Los Angeles, shared a now-viral TikTok about what people see in the moments before they pass away. 

Julie cares for terminally-ill patients near their end-of-life, keeping them comfortable in the months leading up to their death.

In the final weeks of someone's life, people are often visited by lost loved ones and pets that give them the encouragement to cross over. 

The 39-year-old said most of her patients report apparitions of relatives who offer them comforting words such as, "We're coming to get you soon," or, "Don't worry, we'll help you".

After working in hospice care for over five years, McFadden has learnt a lot about death and dying, and how people handle the last days of their life. 

She revealed that dying patients see family, friends and pets who have passed away so often it is noted in educational packets given to the patient and their relatives, "so they understand what's going on".

McFadden also added that medical professionals don't know why these apparitions happen, and don't know how to explain it in a logical sense.

These apparitions usually appear a month before the patient dies, she claims, and can either present in dreams or the person being able to physically see them.

The nurse said patients will often ask, "Do you see what I'm seeing?"

Rather than being scared of what they're seeing, Ms McFadden claims patients often find the visits "comforting".

Julie went on to say that she doesn't believe these "visits" are hallucinations, as she says the patients are normally "pretty alert and oriented, they're usually lucid".

"It's not like they're saying a bunch of crazy things that don't make any sense," Ms McFadden added. 

"They're usually functional and logical and questioning me, 'Why am I seeing my dead mom, do you see her?'"

Ms McFadden ended her video by saying that for many people in their final days, these visits from loved ones can help a person feel a sense of calm and contentment around dying, rather than a sense of fear of the unknown. 

Image credits: Shutterstock / Instagram

Tags:
caring, hospice, nurse, death