Patients dying

ledzepfan · Sep 6, 2011

I didn't witness this, but shortly before my grandfather died my mother said he

raised both arms in the air as if reaching for someone. She was so shocked

because he'd had a stroke and hadn't been able to use his arms for years.

tyvin, BSN, RN · Sep 6, 2011

Anyone who works hospice knows that people who are passing on will have a burst of energy before they go. It's different with everyone as to when. I've seen it done a few days before and then a few hours before the person passes on. It's a normal phenomena. It can come in a modest form of one doing the wave with their arms to actually physically running.

The most astounding one that comes to mind is when this older lady that hadn't been out of her bed in over 6 months suddenly sat straight up and without warning got out of the bed and ran down the hallway into the front yard of her house. The family members were freaking out, it was quite the scene. I stood outside with her until she turned to go back in and I walked her back to bed ... she passed 6 hours later.

Hospice is one of the most rewarding Fields of nursing anyone can have the privilege of working in.

Hospice Nurse LPN, BSN, RN · Sep 6, 2011

Hospice is one of the most rewarding Fields of nursing anyone can have the privilege of working in.

I so agree! I can't imagine doing anything else.:redbeathe

J.e.n.n · Sep 6, 2011

I received the call from the hospital at about 2300 from my Mother. My Father had had a massive heart attack and I better get to the hospital as he wasn't expected to last the night

. I went immediately but refused to go into the room. I was much younger and was just not ready to face this situation at all!! I come from a large family and each sibling took their turn and even two and my Mother gently told me that I must go in. My Father loved Marty Robbins and CMT had first started airing videos. Much to my surprise "Big Iron" by Marty Robbins was actually on and I leaned close to kiss my Father's cheek and said, "Oh Daddy you love this song!" I was upset because his body was moving as if he where trying to run in the bed and asked the Doctor what was going on. He told me that his body was fighting to stay alive. I hugged and kissed him and told him he should go and he died within a few minutes. To this day I feel bad because I made him wait on me.

tyvin, BSN, RN · Sep 7, 2011

It's important for people to realize that the burst of energy phenomena happens mostly with people who are terminally ill and dying at home or in a facility. Some say it's brain waves, some say it's the bodies spirit preparing the person, etc... Whatever it is (and everyone has their own opinions) it's nothing to be afraid of.

I read the one post where the man raised his arms after not being able to raise them ... I call that the wave and is a common one that I've observed often. With the person raising both arms as high as possible and then repeating the wave like you see people do at football games (hence my nickname).

Since I have only worked with terminally ill people I don't know if this happens with people who have been in unexpected accidents and are dying due to the accident with only a few days left to live. I don't know if the body has enough time to process and react.

nola1202 · Sep 7, 2011

could it be due to oxygen hunger? Raising my arms when I have trouble breathing makes it easier to get air into my lungs. It sort of relaxes the airway.

tyvin, BSN, RN · Sep 7, 2011

could it be due to oxygen hunger? Raising my arms when I have trouble breathing makes it easier to get air into my lungs. It sort of relaxes the airway.

You have to be there to actually see that it's almost ritualistic in motion; as if praying or praising someone ... but it could be part of it.

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Sep 7, 2011

I once took care of a hospice patient in my LTC who suddenly sat up in bed and reached toward the window with both arms outstretched (she hadn't been able to sit up on her own in weeks), and with an incredible look of joy on her face, she exclaimed "Oh, look, how beautiful it is!"........lay back, and died.

To this day, I'm convinced that she was getting a glimpse of Heaven and all that waited for her there. :saint:

CoffeeRTC, BSN, RN · Sep 7, 2011

In the ICU, if you're taking care of a gravely ill patient that suddenly turns the corner you might think: "oh good!" :) At the same time, the seasoned nurses are saying: "oh oh! :uhoh21: This could be it."
My Ma (89 yo) was very confused in her last few years, so when she started saying "I want to go home." one day, I kept reassuring her that she is home.
"No, I want to go HOME!".
Now I know what she meant, and she is Home. :)

This in a nut shell is most of my experiences. If someone wants to talk to Mom, Dad, kids etc....after that talk...be prepared.

debRN0417 · Sep 8, 2011

My mother was terminally ill. She had been through chemo and was so weak she couldn't walk. The doctor had told us that she probably had 6 months to live, but that until she got a little stronger she couldn't have any more chemo. He was thinking about a week more to recoup from the first round. Anyway when we got home fom the doctor visit, she said she needed to make a few phone calls. I think she called everybody in her phone book. I overheard her talking to a very dear friend of hers and I heard her tell her friend to come and see her (her friend was much older and somewhat frail). I heard her tell her friend "No, if you come then, it will be too late" so I was thinking her friend was planning on a Christmas visit (well after the 6 months mom had been given). Moms friend came that week on Wednesday. On Thursday Mom became unresponsive. On Friday, she woke up, looked up and said, "Oh there's my little Timmy (my brother who had passed 19 years prior)" and she called the name of her sister and my father (both had passed years before) and then she said

"You girls (referring to me and my sisters)take care of each other" and was gone. I have had many patients in the hospital and residents who have said that they have seen angels or family members coming to get them and many have raised their arms as if taking someones hand.

tewdles, RN · Sep 8, 2011

The process of dying and the moments of transition are as much a mystery as they are known.

I believe that at the end our patients have transcended this world and are aware of the spiritual world that (I believe) coexists with ours. They see, hear, and experience people and things in that realm that we are otherwise unaware of. They will often talk to, embrace, and look toward persons that we cannot see. Sometimes they recognize friends and family and sometimes they are certain that they are in the presence of angels. Occasionally their terminal restlessness gets caught up in this, sometimes not. Most deaths I have witnessed are not accompanied by a "last words" moment...most are peaceful, and include the dying person opening their eyes just before death and looking either directly at family or a loved one.

The one death that haunts me is the child, who in the middle of the night awoke and whimpered "mom". I quieted the child and did not wake the sleeping mom. The little girl died within the hour and I have regretted not waking that mom for almost 30 years.

nerdtonurse?, BSN, RN · Sep 10, 2011

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...