Hospice nurse explains the “very comforting” thing that happens just before death
A hospice nurse has shared the “very comforting” thing that happens to a lot of people in the last moments of their life.
Julie McFadden, a 39-year-old healthcare professional from the US, supports people who are coming to the end of their lives, going into specialised homes to make sure they remain as comfortable as possible in their final days.
Throughout her career, she said more than half of those she has looked after experienced “visioning”, which is when people who are often fully lucid see deceased friends, family and pets in the moments leading up to death.
“It happens most of the time at the end of their life, but they aren’t delusional,” the former intensive care nurse said on TikTok.
“It’s often very comforting for the person. It’s never scary - if they’re scared, it’s likely they’re experiencing delirium or paranoia, not visioning.”
“People don’t talk about it much but it’s really common and more than half of people I have looked after have experienced it.”
“It’s so normal to fear death and I’ve had several patients who have expressed their fear - but then a family member came to them and they were no longer scared.”
Julie went on to share a further explanation as to why people experience “visioning”, and the other-worldly power behind it.
“We have no idea why this (visioning) happens and we are not claiming that they really are seeing these people,” she explained in one video.
“We have no idea. But all I can tell you, as a healthcare professional who’s worked in this line of work for a very long time, (is that) it happens all the time.”
“It happens so much that we actually have to educate the family and the patient about this topic before it happens so they’re not incredibly alarmed,” she added.
“Usually it’s a good indicator that the person’s getting close to death - usually about a month or a few weeks before they die.”
“It brings me comfort. I hope it brings you some comfort,” she concluded in her video, which quickly amassed more than 400,000 views.
Image credits: TikTok