In your experience.......when a seemingly "stable" patient tells you they are

[JennRN65]

Going to die........how often are they right?

A "stable" patient last night, said she was going to die, there was nothing that was out of the ordinary with her.......

but she did die - 4 hours later....

So, in your experience, how many patients have been right with their feeling of "impending doom?"

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

I've had it happen a few times. The first couple of times, it freaked me out that they were right. Now I just ask, what makes you say that? and listen to them.

They often will tell me their life story or their last wishes. I didn't want to listen the first couple of times because I felt that somehow I was validating a death wish and causing a self-fulfilling prophecy, but now I don't believe that. I just think that some people know. If someone says that to me now, I take it very seriously.

[rnmomtobe2010]

Lord...this is a memory that I tried to bury...Has a cousin who passed a few yrs. ago...He said the same thing...He looked at my Aunt(his mom) my cousin(his sister) and me and said "I love ya'll...I am not gonna see the outside of this hospital again". He died less than 24 hrs. later...

[Burnt Out, ASN, RN]

Just had this happen to me. Take it seriously.

If a patient tells you they want to change their code status, right now....get someone in there to do it immediately or you might wind up doing some CPR you didn't bargain for.

How do they know? No idea....but they do.

I have had that happen too. Not fun.

[LandDRN]

Well, in OB I hear this every night by almost every patient ( and labored myself twice and had the same opinion! ) so in this case no. But I have had several years as a cardiac and PACU nurse and the answer is YES!! If those pts told me that....get ready. Dont know how but alot of them just know. I've seen it more than once!

[MassED, BSN, RN]

Well, in OB I hear this every night by almost every patient ( and labored myself twice and had the same opinion! ) so in this case no. But I have had several years as a cardiac and PACU nurse and the answer is YES!! If those pts told me that....get ready. Dont know how but alot of them just know. I've seen it more than once!

yes, I understand that one. While I was in labor with my first son, in a small hospital that didn't have Epidurals, but intrathecals, I labored for 36 hours on Pitocin with very little in the way of relief of pain and obviously no sleep. I told my husband that if he left me alone, seriously, I will find a way to open the unable to open windows and jump. Of course that seemed a better option to me than the sensation of being split and ripped in two.

[Jo Dirt]

A few weeks before my father-in-law died he told me he could feel the strong taste of death, and it was the same experience he had in WWII.

[nursesforchange]

Any time I hear this from a patient, they are usually right. And despite our best resuscitation efforts if they desire, they usually die.

[suespets]

MassEd;Funny, I remember w/ my last child labor, looking at the window at one point,& thinking jumping out would end the pain;I actually pulled my blanket off to get out of bed to jump,then ,becoming rational, I plopped my head back on the bed & whimpered! I believe there should be a name for this labor psychosis! sue

[MassED, BSN, RN]

A few weeks before my father-in-law died he told me he could feel the strong taste of death, and it was the same experience he had in WWII.

strong taste of death.... that even sounds creepy - I think a person may sense it, but not know why...

I took care of this man who told me this horrific story of his son, which happened to be also the most touching story:

This boy, age 15 at the time (this was 16 years ago), stayed home sick from school, didn't feel good but had to study for a big test. His parents and the other kids went off to work and school as usual. While he was home, he felt strange, got in his pickup truck and went to the neighbors (about a mile away). As he was driving into their driveway, he lost feeling in both legs - the neighbors ran out, got him to the ER. He had a dissecting aortic aneurysm. His parents and family had 3 hours with him as he slowly bled out - there was nothing they could do surgically, apparently. So as this man tells me of his son, dying, that they had some great conversation, just like "you and me" he tells me. Then, he turns his eyes up and said "I'm ready, dad, I'm dying" while looking at the ceiling, as if someone was talking to him. Some critics out there say it's the brain dying and losing oxygen so they start to hallucinate. This man told me his son was so calm, so brave, wasn't scared... which made this father less scared too (I believe). They coded him anyway, for a long time, he said... but he felt at peace with what transpired and that he had those 3 hours with him to say goodbye. What really got me was how this 15 year old boy was never scared - so his parents didn't have to help him overcome any fear, when they were likely scared out of their minds and gripped with fear over losing their child imminently. I was so impressed with this man - so impressed. His story will live with me forever. What an inspiration.

Come to find out he had a disease of that tissue... it was genetic. There was nothing that ever could have been done to prevent the dissection - it was going to happen sooner or later. I can't remember the name, but the other siblings were tested too.

[MassED, BSN, RN]

MassEd;Funny, I remember w/ my last child labor, looking at the window at one point,& thinking jumping out would end the pain;I actually pulled my blanket off to get out of bed to jump,then ,becoming rational, I plopped my head back on the bed & whimpered! I believe there should be a name for this labor psychosis! sue

pain does crazy things to rational people!

[blueheaven]

The patient somehow knows! I watch them a little bit closer but usually when they go, we can't get them back.