According to a YouGov poll, 41% of people in the UK are afraid of death. This is understandable. We all know we are going to die, but we don’t know how, when or what awaits us in our final weeks, days or hours. It’s something that will happen to all of us, but still has an air of mystery because we know so little.

However, a hospice nurse, Julie McFadden, or as she is known on YouTube, Hospice Nurse Julie, has reported on the “phenomena” that can occur when someone is on their deathbed.

While she admits that this doesn’t always happen, it happens often enough that she feels compelled to report it. She says if she didn’t see it happening “all the time,” she wouldn’t believe it was happening.

The experiences that happen at the end of life

Terminal clarity

This is also called a “rally” or “surge.” McFadden said, “This happens when someone who looks very sick suddenly gets a burst of energy and looks like they’re getting better.”

McFadden said that while nurses don’t know why this happens, some theorize that it’s due to a rise in cortisol or other hormones that cheer up the dying person.

She added that this is the case for about a third of her patients, but that it is often only in retrospect that one assumes that this is terminal clarity.

McFadden says if you suspect your loved one is going through this and isn’t getting better, try to enjoy it, but keep in mind that they’ll probably die soon after — probably the next day or so.

Visions

This is a phenomenon that, according to McFadden, is “the most discussed” when it comes to death. She said that hospice patients have visions. She explains that unlike those they experience during mental health episodes, these visions are comforting and clear.

She said when this happens, “the person is usually alert and oriented.”

While one might be tempted to attribute this to a lack of medication, oxygen supply, or even confusion, McFadden says none of these are true in these patients.

She explained that visions often occur several weeks before death and that patients, while carrying out normal activities such as talking with family, will casually claim that they can see a deceased relative in the room.

This relative often smiles and assures the patient that he will be there to pick him up soon and that he does not need to worry.

The nurse advises that you should simply accept it if your loved one has visions.

Choice of date of death

McFadden said she has seen extreme cases where patients have told her, “I’m going to die tonight, I know it, I can feel it,” and that happened often.

She said there are also cases where patients wait until the family arrives in the city, in the room, in their house, and then die. Conversely, some wait until everyone has left the room to die.

Some even wait until after important milestones like birthdays or weddings.

McFadden said: “They are essentially kept alive until that date is reached and then their body finally gives up.”

She said she had seen this “over and over again.”

Death reaches

McFadden said this is often accompanied by visions and involves the patient lying in bed and “reaching” into the air, as if seeing or reaching for someone.

The nurse added that these patients often keep their hands up for long periods of time, but there is no need to worry as their relatives “just let them reach for them.”

The Death Star

McFadden said: “The death stare and the death grip belong together a lot.”

She explained that this gaze often involves someone staring off into a corner or to the side of the room, looking intensely at something. If you try to snap them out of this state, they won’t be roused from it until they are ready.

McFadden also assured that you can ask your loved ones what they’ve been watching and they’ll probably tell you.

The shared experience of death

McFadden said this phenomenon was the most shocking thing that had ever happened to her.

This is when someone who is not dying feels or sees or just instinctively understands what is happening to the dying person. McFadden said, “It’s as if the dying person is giving you an idea of ​​what they are going through.”

She said it was a good feeling and like the patient was giving you a feeling of freedom and joy and telling you that he was fine and that he basically couldn’t believe how great it was.

How incredibly moving.

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