Spoken Before Death, Can You Predict the Chilling Pattern? (msn.com)
Hospice Nurse Shares “The Rally” Phenomenon That Happens Just Before Death — “Medical Professionals Can’t Explain It”.
Hospice nurse Julie McFadden discusses death and the different end-of-life phenomenon’s that may occur. Follow @hospicenursejulie on TikTok.
For #1– watched “The Rally” video https://www.tiktok.com/@hospicenursejulie/video/7025066553032936750
Log in | TikTok #hospicenursejulie #nurse #nursesoftiktok #learnoftiktok
What happens right before you die? It’s something I never really thought about, but once again, TikTok has enlightened me and taught me some very important life lessons… or should I say death lessons @hospicenursejulie, – Bing video
McFadden, has been sharing her experiences working in hospice care — and discussing topics like death in order to help others understand the process and alleviate the anxieties they may have about it.
In fact, Julie spoke about two phenomenons that could potentially happen before death — and her descriptions really resonated with users. Keep scrolling to learn all about Hospice Nurse Julie’s work and what she’s experienced firsthand while caring for patients nearing the end of their lives.
Hospice Nurse Julie McFadden explains “the rally” phenomenon.
“Here’s one phenomenon that happens during the death and dying process that medical professionals, like myself, cannot explain,” Julie says in the TikTok below, which has received over five million views. “There’s something that happens that we call ‘the rally.'”
“This is when someone is really sick and almost actively dying, meaning dying within
a few days, and then suddenly they look like they are ‘better,'” she explains, adding that
the person may start walking, talking, and eating again. “They act like their old selves, they have a little bit more of a personality,” she continues to note. But then, that person usually ends up dying within the next few days or sometimes even that night.
Julie says this “happens quite a bit” and estimates that it probably happens to a third of her hospice patients. Because of how frequently “the rally” occurs, she says she tries to educate patients’ families “so it doesn’t devastate them when [their loved one] suddenly passes after doing so well for a few days.”
Users who have experienced “the rally” took to the comment section to verify her claim.
“It happened to my mom who had Alzheimer’s. She remembered everything, ate her food, laughed, told me she loved me, and then left,” one user wrote. Another hospice nurse chimed in with why she thinks “the rally” happens. “I believe it is nature’s way of giving them time to say goodbye, enjoy, or complete unfinished business,” she said.
Meanwhile, Grey’s Anatomy fans immediately recognized “the rally,” but knew it by a different name. Mark Sloan appeared to have been doing better right before he tragically passed away. The doctors at Grey Sloan Hospital referred to this period as “the surge.”
Patients may also see dead loved ones before their death.
In a different TikTok video, Julie details another unexplained phenomenon that can happen before death. She notes that it happens so often that it is included in the education packet she gives to patients and their loved ones.
While she doesn’t have an exact name for this occurrence,
she explains that it usually starts a month or so before the patient dies.
“They start seeing dead relatives, dead friends, old pets that have passed on, spirits, angels that are visiting them, and only they can see them,” she says. She explains that patients might see these figures in a dream, or when they’re awake, and often ask her if she sees them too.
Fortunately, most patients enjoy this.
“They’re usually not afraid, it’s usually very comforting to them and they usually say they’re sending a message like ‘we’re coming to get you soon’ or ‘don’t worry, we’ll help you,'” she confirmed.
In the comments, users shared stories about how they watched loved ones experience this. One user explained that her mom was in the hospital and believed that her dog, Jackie, was laying in bed with her. “He died 50 years ago,” she wrote.
Another user who was in a nursing residency program said her resident had a
full-blown argument with her late husband. The resident passed away a week later.
Pretty deep stuff, right?
Want to learn more about what it’s like to work hospice care and caring for patients close to death?
“Final Last Words” – Palliative Care Nurse Reveals the Most Common Words Spoken Before Death, Can You Predict the Chilling Pattern?
Trying to Talk About the Taboo
Julie McFadden. Who goes by the Instagram handle (@hospicenursejulie) or Hospice nurse Julie on Facebook has several years of experience caring for patients in their last stages of life.
She has embarked on a mission to demystify the often-taboo subject of death through her presence on social media.
Julie is a dedicated hospice nurse from Los Angeles, California, with 1.3 million followers, sheds light on the moments before death and dispels hospice myths.
Offering End of Life Care
Her role as a hospice nurse primarily involves offering compassionate care to terminally
ill patients, addressing their physical needs and tending to their emotional and spiritual well-being.
Easing Fear Surrounding Death
With a considerable following of 1.3 million on TikTok, Julie utilizes her platform to
share candid information about death, diminishing the fear and stigma surrounding it.
She Has Valuable Knowledge
Julie recently shared valuable insights regarding the behaviors and expressions of individuals approaching their imminent passing. Additionally, she noted that many individuals “call out to their mum or dad – who have usually already died.”
Patients’ Last Words Capture Her Attention
Among these changes, she elucidated shifts in breathing patterns, skin color alterations, terminal secretions, and instances of fever. However, it’s the last words of dying patients that have captured her attention. According to Julie, a recurring sentiment is the utterance of “I love you,” often shortly before their passing.
Everyone is Different
Yet, Julie acknowledges that the experience of death is highly individual, and generalizations might not capture the entirety of the process. Nevertheless, she highlighted that patients whose deaths result from natural causes tend to exhibit comparable symptoms during what she terms the “actively dying phase.”
Changes Occurring During the Final Days
This phase encompasses changes in consciousness, breathing patterns, and skin mottling, accompanied by terminal secretions. Julie reassures that these physical shifts are a natural part of the process and are neither painful nor uncomfortable. She emphasizes the body’s innate ability to navigate this phase, suggesting that minimal intervention often yields better results.
Debunking Hospice Care two Major Myths
Addressing common misconceptions, Julie debunks certain myths associated with hospice care. Contrary to popular belief, not all individuals expire shortly after being admitted to a hospice facility. She also dispels the notion that morphine administration accelerates the dying process.
Helping People Understand What to Expect
Beyond her role in dispelling myths, Julie finds deep gratification in her profession. Her ultimate satisfaction stems from her role in guiding the dying and their families through what can be a daunting and unsettling period. She expresses, “The best part about my job is educating patients and families about death and dying as well as supporting them emotionally and physically. Also, helping them to understand what to expect is another part of my job as a hospice nurse.”
SOURCE: TIKTOK/ @HOSPICENURSEJULIE
Column: Treasuring the Final Teardrop of a loved one
An opinion piece on people’s final days.
Often patients who are about to die will shed a single tear, and in some instances
a second tear. This phenomenon known as lacrima mortis or the tear of death is a
source of mystery that transcends this mortal realm.
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Dying people often refer to “going home” as they journey to the “other side”.
But mystery surrounds this event. Dr. Lwema Matthew relates the story of a blind nine-year-old with a terminal illness who said he was in contact with three angels and was able to accurately describe what people were wearing even though his eyes had been surgically removed.
Recently members of my brother’s family saw one tear, and later a second, as he was born to eternal life. Palliative care workers and family members attending the dying have often witnessed the shedding of a single tear, or often two, as a loved one leaves this world.
Online comments describe this phenomenon:
“…something I saw touched my heart in a way that will change the way I look at life forever. As he was passing and we were talking to him, a tear welled up in his eye.
‘He’s crying!’ my mom and I said to each other…”
“My Dad died on Easter Sunday of 2014. [When] My sister arrived [and]… started speaking, a single tear ran down his face… I went and sat beside him… telling him
I loved him… He let another tear fall. It broke my heart.”
My suggestion is not to feel sadness over these final tears.
If we are privileged enough to be present at this moment of passage, it will become
a fond memory in time. “Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thoughts.”
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Some nursing staff attending the dying provide a tear cloth the family may use
to treasure the final tear of a loved one. Some have incorporated these into flower
bouquets at a wedding or some such thing, an attempt to share the beauty of what
we cannot see in these events.
Doctor I. Lichter studied this phenomenon in 100 patients nearing death.
Fourteen shed a final tear at the time of death, and 13 within the last 10 hours of life.
That final tear might reflect the sadness of leaving, but it might reflect seeing the face
of God or the joy of greeting loved ones on the other side.
An experience I have witnessed more than once is that of a dying
person fixing their eyes on something beyond us in the room.
A radiant smile replaces the pain and worry for the moment.
“It is a relaxing of the tear duct that releases that final tear”, some say. If you are like me, you can accept this experience shared by one who lost her mother: “in the final minute of her life she shed a tear… and then about half a minute later another tear flowed exactly the same way… I dabbed [it] up.
“… I think my mom was saying, Thank you kids for being here and taking good care of me, it’s been wonderful and oh my how I would like to continue… but alas it’s not to be so I bid you adieu, both fondly and sadly…
“Mom, we will miss you very much. You were really something. And you wrote a great last chapter for yourself and for your loved ones. Thank you.”
Final Teardrop Rupert Pope, Giles Palmer, & Eller – Search (bing.com)
Rupert Pope, Giles Palmer, & Eller – Final Teardrop Lyrics | Genius Lyrics