I’m a hospice nurse – here are the three most surprising things I have learned about death

A hospice nurse has revealed the three things that shocked her most about death when she first started her career, from people being able to hear even when unconscious to dehydration actually making the process less painful.

Julie McFadden, 41 — a registered nurse based in Los Angeles, California, who specializes in end-of-life care — has amassed hundreds of thousands of followers as she shares insights into people’s final moments in hopes of destigmatizing death.

She recently uploaded a video to her YouTube channel detailing the three most surprising things that she has learned what happens to the body before someone dies.

“These are the most surprising things I’ve learned about the end of life,” she began in the clip, which has been viewed more than 23,000 times.

Julie explained that the first thing that surprised her about death was that it is believed that people who are about to die can still hear, even when unconscious.

“If someone is unconscious and not responding to us, we think he or she can hear us,” she explained.

‘Studies have been done where people died and had an ECGS on their brain showing that the hearing sensor was the last to fail.’

She suggested that you always “talk to your loved one as if they were there,” rather than talking about them as if they had already passed away.

“Say the things you need and want to say,” she added. “And don’t talk about your loved one as if they aren’t there.

‘As a nurse in a hospice, I always try to talk to the patient as if he can give me an answer.

“And I talk to the loved ones around the bed as if the person is still there, because research has shown that they can still hear or can hear.”

Julie, who previously worked as an ICU nurse, added that she witnessed many people coming out of comas telling her they “could feel” what was going on while they slept.

“They told us they could hear certain things, they could feel people in the room,” she said.

“They kind of knew what was going on. We think the same applies to the dying person.

“So really at the end of life it’s just about being present, it’s about creating an atmosphere and an environment that is comforting for them.”

The second thing that surprised her when she started working as a hospice nurse was “deathbed symptoms.”

The term is used to describe a series of experiences that occur to someone just before he or she dies.

Sometimes patients describe seeing deceased relatives, or tell their caregivers that they are going on a trip.

Julie said she has witnessed some people get a “surge of energy” just before they died, while she has seen others “waiting” to cross for their loved ones to “enter the room.”

‘[These things] What was mind-boggling to me as a new hospice nurse is still mind-blowing to me when I see it now, eight years later,” Julie presented.

Although she described the symptoms as “shocking” and “unbelievable,” she also said it was “comforting.”

“That’s why I always inquire about it,” she continued. “I feel like it’s important for me as a hospice nurse to inform the general public that these are things that are actually happening. We don’t know why, but they do.’

Finally, the third and final thing that surprised her about death was that dehydration “helps people have a more peaceful death.”

‘Dehydration at the end of life will help you die more peacefully. Why? Because a dying body cannot handle hydration like a living body can,” she shared.

‘When we try to hydrate a dying body at the end of life, it becomes overloaded with fluid.

‘The body cannot process the fluid, it does not stay in the person’s veins or arteries, it seeps out causing swelling and eventually breathing problems.

“The more I saw that as a new hospice nurse, the more amazed I was at how our bodies really help us die.

“Our bodies are going to help us become more dehydrated because the body knows that the more dehydrated you are, the better you’re going to feel.

“You’re going to go into ketosis [if you’re dehydrated] and your body will release endorphins that will give you a euphoric feeling and help ease the pain and make you feel good.”

Julie explained that by being honest about her experiences, people would be less ‘afraid’ of death.

“There are a lot of uncertainties about the end of life, which I think is why people feel scared,” she concluded.

“But the more I’ve been around people at the end of their lives, the less scared I’ve become, because I’ve seen with my own eyes how our bodies help us prepare for it and the different things that comfort us . that happens at the end of life.

‘Regularly witnessing death has made me less afraid of it. That is why I bring you this information. Hopefully this will also reduce your anxiety.’

Julie, using her expertise to write a book, called Nothing to fearpreviously posted a video describing something known as the “death stare”: a blank look that appears on a person’s face and usually indicates that he or she is about to die.

“It’s when someone gets really fixated on a certain part of the room, and no matter what you do — you can snap your finger right in front of his or her face — and he or she won’t move their gaze,” she said.

‘Sometimes they just stare. Sometimes they talk to someone you don’t see. Sometimes they have a big smile on their face, as if they see something that clearly makes them very happy. So that’s called the ‘death stare’.”

She added that the “death stare” is often accompanied by an “end-of-life vision,” in which the dying person claims to see someone he “loves and knows” and who has “already” moved on.

“They will sometimes have conversations right in front of us with these people that we don’t see,” she added of the eerie event.

Julie also posted a video about how the body is “built to die,” explaining that everyone has built-in mechanisms that “switch off” when you’re close to death, so that death feels more “natural” and “peaceful.” ‘

She explained that this is why someone near death often “eats and drinks less while sleeping more.”

‘Why does that happen? Because calcium levels increase in the body and because calcium levels increase, the person becomes sleepier,” Julie said.

‘Our brains have built in mechanisms that make us hungry and thirsty. Biologically, these mechanisms are turned off when the body knows it is nearing the end of life, so the person usually does not feel hungry or thirsty, which helps the body to slowly shut down.”