A hospice nurse on TikTok has revealed that many of her patients say the same three words before passing away. Posting to the social media site, @hospicenursejulie revealed that her patients often believe they are seeing visions of spirits belonging to their deceased loved ones before they die, prompting them to say ‘I love you’ or to call out to those relatives.
“There is something most people say before they die and it’s usually, ‘I love you,’ or they call out to their mum or dad who have usually already died,” she revealed. She explains that patients who are otherwise completely lucid will tell her they can see spirits or angels of loved ones who’ve passed away up to a month before dying themselves. These visions will often urge the patient to “come home”.
In another video, Julie sought to demystify what dying looks like. She explains, “Breathing patterns change towards the end of life during the actively dying phase, which is usually a few hours to a few days before death.
“Most families think this indicates something is wrong but nine times out of 10 it doesn’t. Changes in skin colour, which is also called mottling, where the extremities turn a little purple also is something people think indicates something is wrong — but it doesn’t.
“Terminal secretions, AKA the death rattle, this is just a collection of a small bit of saliva in the back of the throat that just sounds really bad. Fever happens a lot, too, because we lose the ability to control the core temperature so our temperature will fluctuate at the end of life.
“Again, it’s all very normal and part of the death and dying process if you are dying naturally at home.”
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This article first appeared on Over60.