Patients dying

[nesje30]

a few years ago, nursing a dying patient, I experienced the weirdest thing: The patient, barely conscious the last week, suddenly opened her eyes, climbed straight in the bed until she was on her knees and looked at a corner of the room. Then she said; they are here for me, coming to get me.

She calmed down and was gone only a few hours later.

I wondered, have some of you experienced similar things?

[Hospice Nurse LPN, BSN, RN]

How about the guy that was the meanest SOB in town -- cheated on his wife, beat his kids, stole money from his business AND his church...just a horrible fella. He had a major MI, was taken by EMS to the ER, and coded. They got him back but he was tubed and they were bagging him. Suddenly, he sat straight up, yanked to ET tube out and said, "Don't let me die, I'm going to hell, my feet are burning, my feet are burning" -- and promptly fell back dead. They never could get him back, and that was a bunch of freaked out ER nurses and docs after that one...

Scary! I had a pt once who I heard was very mean and sounds something like your fellow. He didn't beg not to die, instead he was cursing God and everyone. I sat in the corner quietly praying. He started complaining about being on fire. His wife begged him to repent, but he kept on cursing. Scared the h@ll out of me.

[Nascar nurse, ASN, RN]

Scary! I had a pt once who I heard was very mean and sounds something like your fellow. He didn't beg not to die, instead he was cursing God and everyone. I sat in the corner quietly praying. He started complaining about being on fire. His wife begged him to repent, but he kept on cursing. Scared the h@ll out of me.

Wow...that would freak me out to the point I would've had to leave, go home and have a beer.

Many years ago the dieing resident in my LTC was my grandfather-in-law. My husbands side of the family is not made of tough stock and I ended up clocking out to sit with him and the one granddaughter that could bear to be there (husband's cousin - and I get along very well with). We each sat on a side of the bed and talked to him and amongst ourselves quietly for several hours. As time passed and he had not changed we agreed we needed to go home for an hour or so and get our kids situated and then come back. We were each holding one of his hands as we were making these plans and he had been completely unresponsive for hours. As soon as we stood up and tried to let go of his hands he gave a very firm squeeze back and would not let go - the strength was amazing.

Without much thought we both chuckled at him and said out loud "Ok, we get it. We'll stay with you a bit longer" and both sat back down. He died within 10-15 minutes of us sitting back down. It seemed to be a clear message that he understood the end was very end and he did not want to go alone.

[LTCangel, ADN, BSN, LPN]

My grandmother recently passed and she had been ill over a period of 2 yrs with different things, but this last time she went to the hospital it was found that her gut had shut down and she was going into DIC. She told the docs she was done and she wanted to be made comfortable and go home to be with Jesus. She was a very Godly woman and she said she was ready. For the next 4 days, all of her children, grandchildren, sister, brother, and friends came to see her and allow her to tell them how much she loved them. The night she died at 3 am she called everyone who was there and told them it was time to say goodbye. As everyone gathered at her bed, she kept looking over her oldest daughter's shoulder and smiling and waving. My Aunt said, "Mommy who are you looking at?" She said, "Jesus, can't you see him, he's standing right behind you?" Shortly after, she slipped into a deep sleep and began the death rattle and died a short time later very peacefully. I can't think of a better way to go :)

[LFalcon]

I am a new nurse - working in an ALF, caring/passing meds for 34 residents half of them in a locked memory unit. I would say 80% of my residents suffer from parkinsons.

On my third day alone a resident who had been coherent, refused to eat for 3 days, refused all meds for 3 days... the night I needed to call 911 to send him out (our policy) he was telling me he saw "God", "saw the light", grabbed my hand and said "do you see him -- he's right there"...

I sent him out due to low vitals, cyanosis, low o2sat, but nevertheless I will not forget him telling me about what he saw... he passed that night at the hospital.

[Paul1971]

My own experience of my mum whilst on her death bed was one of the most shocking and upsetting moments of my life. My mum had

been a district nurse for many years and she was wonderful at it. she took early retirement due to being ill. She was a Christian and read her bible everyday and prayed for so many people whom she had loved and cared for. She was a far better Christian than me and was tireless in her giving to charity sometimes I thought she carried the wait of the world on her shoulders But she truly believed as she often said "God would answer all her prayers just not always in the way she wanted."

She was diagnosed with a rare slow growing cancer which left her terminally ill for many years and by the end the cancer was in her bones and her strength had gone. Family had been called in but they came and went because it seemed my mum was hanging on,

though it was only a matter of time. I was just sitting beside her bed holding her hands whilst I watched her body grow weaker. As the hours past I was really just waiting for my mum to stop breathing, for it to be all over. She had held on for many days and it was painful to see her like it!

In the last hour her breathing had changed the rattle sound had become faint and much weaker. I was holding her hands whilst praying that God might take my mother peacefully into His arms and that He might forgive me for my rubbish efforts as a Christian and forgive any unresolved issues With god that my mum may have. then I ran out of thing s to say and thought how much I will miss her we had always been close.(though the cancer had truly tested our relationship.in the last few years and I have many regrets!)

A short time after I had stopped praying for my mum though I was still holding her hands she suddenly gave a great scream out loud that lasted for a few seconds then she lay silent again. Then it happened once more about a minute later it was a sickly scream like before and her face looked like she was in severe pain I could see her teeth grinding as she closed her mouth and then she died.

Has anyone else experienced this what am I to make of it all. It is now 2 years a go and I have never told anybody about this apart from my wife. My two brothers and sister know nothing about it (what good would that do?) but I can't seem to get past it.

[Nola009]

Paul1971, I haven't seen or heard of that yet but I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for your loss. Talking about it in an environment that feels safe might help you work through some of the grief / unanswered questions.((HUGS))