What REALLY happens on your ‘death bed’: Hospice nurse lifts the lid on six ‘unimaginable phenomena’ that occur when a person is just days away from dying

A hospice nurse has revealed the six ‘unimaginable’ things that happen when someone is on their deathbed.

Julie McFadden41, is a registered nurse based in Los Angeles who specializes in hospice care – and has a follow social media of millions by sharing insights to help destigmatize the process of ‘death and dying’.

The health expert and author – who previously lifted the lid on the ‘scary things’ that happen when you breathe your last breath – took to YouTube to once again speak out about the phenomena surrounding death, as she confessed that before she had witnessed of these wild things herself, she found it ‘uncomfortable’ to share them.

Julie explained that patients often experienced “terminal lucidity,” “hallucinations,” “death stares,” and more.

At the beginning of the clip, she explained that she never saw any of these six things when she worked as an ICU nurse, and only started seeing them when she transitioned to hospice care.

She admitted: ‘There are a lot of deathbed phenomena and I’ve seen them all, let’s break them down. I want to be clear that this doesn’t happen to everyone, but it does happen enough that I’d like to spread the word.

‘As an ICU nurse I will say that I have not experienced these things. When I went to hospice and became a hospice nurse, I was trained on it and told to educate families about it, which I didn’t like at first because I hadn’t seen it myself, and it’s really hard to believe that these things are actually happening.

“But as the years went by and I started seeing things more and more, it slowly became clear that I absolutely had to let people know about it because it happens so often.”

Julie started by explaining that the first wild thing that happened at the end of life was terminal lucidity.

She described this as a “burst of energy” given to a patient who was near death, adding that this happened “very often.”

The nurse admitted that it was unclear why those who were about to die were given that energy, adding that you should just “enjoy” the short time with your loved one.

She continued, “Just enjoy it and expect that they might die shortly afterwards because that’s the fun thing about terminal lucidity, it seems like someone is going to die very quickly but then they suddenly get a burst of energy.

“Maybe they’re having a really nice day, they’re suddenly hungry, they’re suddenly able to walk, they’re suddenly very alert and oriented, and soon after, usually a day or two, they’ll die, so that could be the cause.” The hardest part is when you’re not ready. “If you don’t know what’s going to happen, you can think they’re going to get better and then they die, which can be very devastating.”

The second thing you can see happening to your loved one who is on the brink of death is “vision.”

Julie described these as ‘hallucinations’ and added that this phenomenon was ‘the most talked about’.

She noted that patients often saw people who had died “weeks before their death.”

“I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes over and over again,” the nurse admitted.

Julie advised you to ‘just get on with it’ if you saw your loved one having a hallucination – before revealing that if someone had a ‘vision’ he or she was ‘a month away from death’.

‘Number three: this is really insane: people choose when they are going to die. I’ve seen some extreme cases of this, where people just say, “Tonight I’m going to die, I know it, I can feel it,” and they do. There is also a time when people wait for everyone to go into town or get into the room and get to the house, whatever it is, and then they will die,” the nurse explained.

The fourth thing is known as the “death range,” according to Julie.

She explained, “It’s when the person is lying in bed and he reaches up in the air as if he sees someone or is looking for someone to hug him or shake his hand. They often hold their hands up for a long time.

‘[It’s] as if they see something we can’t see, and they’re reaching for someone we can’t see.

Julie then mentioned “number five is the killing stare,” explaining that the killing stare and the killing scope often “go together.”

“It usually looks like someone is staring at the corner of the room or the side of the room and is basically looking intently at something, but if you snap your finger in front of their face or try to say their name, it’s kind of of snap If they want to take them out, they won’t,” she said.

The last wild thing the nurse saw is known as a “shared death experience” and is “the most impactful,” according to Julie.

She explained, “A shared death experience is when someone who is not dying feels, sees, or understands what is happening to the person who is dying.

‘It’s a bit like the dying person gives you the feeling of what he or she is going through. There may have been times when that isn’t a good thing, but from my experience and all the stories I’ve heard, it’s usually a good feeling.

“From what I experienced, it was a really good feeling. It was as if the person was giving me feelings of freedom and joy and telling me that everything was fine and that they actually couldn’t believe how great the weather was.

‘I was shocked at the time, I didn’t know what was happening, but I found out that it is called a shared death experience.’

This isn’t the first time Julie has spoken out about death and what she saw as someone was dying.

Last year she delved into ‘visions about the end of life’ and how eerily ‘logical’ the exchanges surrounding them can be.

‘They are usually functional and logical and ask me: ‘Why am I seeing my deceased mother, are you seeing her?’ she said.

Later this year, Julie will also release a book entitled Nothing To Fear, billed as a ‘comforting and informative guide that demystifies our end-of-life journey.’