Hospice nurse Hadley Vlahos explained how she responds to patients experiencing visions of deceased relativesA hospice nurse has been praised for how she reacts to patients who believe they are seeing deceased relatives.
Thinking about death is a terrifying prospect for most people, which means the perspectives of people who regularly work with or around death can be particularly valuable in easing anxieties about our final moments on Earth.
One content creator who regularly talks about death is Hadley Vlahos, who goes by @nurse.hadley on social media and has built a sizeable following by sharing candid content about death and end-of-life care.
In a recent video, Hadley touched on the phenomena that people who are close to death often experience visions of loved ones who have passed away.
Conversations around death can typically leave people feeling uncomfortable (Getty Stock Images)
In a POV clip uploaded to YouTube, Hadley revealed how she’d deal with a patient who was experiencing visions by reassuring and comforting them, rather then telling them it was all in their head.
“I don’t [see them] but I believe you,” she responded when asked if she could see the vision as well.
Viewers were touched by Hadley’s empathetic approach and praising her for not shutting down an experience which would feel very real to a patient.
“I work in healthcare and when they see others that have passed on, it warms my soul because I know they aren’t alone,” one person wrote, while another added: “This is what compassionate hospice work looks like. The world needs more people like you. Thank you for easing the transition.”
Meanwhile, others were also quick to share their experiences of dying relatives seeing visions of deceased family members.
“My grandad woke up from a nap in his chair to see my gran standing in front of him smiling,” they wrote. “A week later he passed away. They were married for 65 years.”Play
“You never die alone! There will always be someday helping you cross over,” a fourth added.
Hadley’s experience in working in palliative care has also inspired her to write a New York Times best seller book on her experiences titled The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life’s Final Moments which details how working around death has changed her outlook on life.
She has spoken openly about the regrets which patients nearing the end of their lives often mention, with common topics being focusing too much on material wants in life or not telling loved ones how much you care for them.
“A lot of people feel like they don’t know their kids at all,” she explained, via the MailOnline.
“[They realise] what they thought were necessities weren’t actually necessities. Maybe they could have worked 40 hours instead of 60.”Featured Image Credit: Youtube/nursehadley
Brenna Cooper
Advert
Advert
Advert
Published 19:29 23 Apr 2024 GMT+1
Hospice nurse shares the six ‘unimaginable phenomena’ people experience on their ‘death bed’
Julie McFadden says she was left ‘shell shocked’ after witnessing one eerie phenomenon
Seeing someone come to the end of their life can be incredibly unnerving, especially when they start displaying odd or inexplicable behaviours.
These are all normal though, as a hospice nurse has explained that there are actually six things that are ‘unimaginable’, but happens when somebody is on their death bed.
End of life doctor on dying
Credit: BBC Ideas
0 seconds of 34 secondsVolume 90%
Julie McFadden is a registered nurse in Los Angeles whose specialty lies in hospice care, with the health professional building up a large social media following of over one million across her several channels.
The 41-year-old makes videos explaining occurrences that happen at the end of people’s lives, attempting to take the negativity from the process of death and dying away completely.
Having previously explained several phenomena that occurs before someone’s death, she has taken to YouTube once again to share six more phenomena surrounding someone’s death, having witnessed it several times in hospice care.
Julie said that she saw none of this as an ICU nurse, with her current job exposing her to what really happens before death.
The nurse is also releasing a book in June 2024, about experiences before death (Youtube/Hospice Nurse Julie)
She stated that these things don’t happen to everyone, ‘but it does happen enough that I like to educate about it’.
Despite feeling uncomfortable about them at first, she was educated on it, and had learnt to explain what was happening to the families, ‘because it happens so often’.
So these are the six things to look out for, according to Nurse Julie.
A burst of energy
Explaining that it happened ‘very often’, she is unsure why those nearing death show a spike in energy, though she urged people to ‘enjoy’ the time with your loved one during their final days.
“Just enjoy it and expect that maybe they will die soon after because that’s the kicker with terminal lucidity, it looks like someone’s going to die very soon then suddenly they have a burst of energy,” she explained.
She said that patients would be hungry all of a sudden, or would be able to walk again, suddenly becoming more alert and oriented, though just a day or two later, they will pass away.
Strange things can happen when someone is dying (Getty Stock Image/Marco VDM)
Experiencing ‘visioning’
The next phenomenon has been described by Julie as ‘visioning’ while they are on the brink of death, which is similar to hallucinations.
This can happen for weeks before the person’s death, with the nurse admitting that she would have been sceptical if she hadn’t seen it herself multiple times.
Julie explained that again, you have to ‘just go with it’ if someone is ‘visioning’, though this can happen up to ‘a month away from death’.
Choosing when they die
This might stretch credulity, but Julie says she has seen people when they’re ‘choosing when they’re going to die’.
She explained: “I have seen some extreme cases of this, people just saying, ‘tonight’s when I’m going to die I know it, I can feel it,’ and they do.
“There’s also a time when people will wait for everybody to get into town or get into the room arrive at the house whatever it is and then they will die.”
A really chilling phenomenon, but it’s worth noting if you’re seeing a loved one in their final days.
Some of the phenomena may spook you out, but they are all perfectly normal (Instagram/hospicenursejulie)
The ‘death reach’
Julie explained that this happens when someone is lying in bed, and they reach up in the air, almost like they’re reaching for someone, or seeing someone, and she has seen some hold their hands up for a long period of time.
“[It’s] like they’re seeing something that we’re not seeing and they’re reaching for someone that we can’t see,” the nurse revealed.
The death stare
This often goes with the ‘death reach’, according to the hospice expert.
“It usually looks like someone is staring off into the corner of the room or the side of the room basically looking at something intently, but if you’re snapping your finger in front of their face or trying to say their name to kind of snap them out of it, they won’t,” Julie said.
In what might be more of the eerie phenomena, it’s reassuring to know this is relatively common.Play
Having a ‘shared death experience’
Nurse Julie described this as the ‘most impactful’, explaining: “A shared death experience is when someone who is not dying feels or sees or understands what’s happening to the person who is dying.
“It’s kind of like the dying person gives you the sensation of what they’re going through.”
The health expert did detail that sometimes it may not be a good thing, depending on the person, but from her experiences and stories, she says that it is usually a positive thing.
“It was like the person was giving me these feelings of freedom and joy and kind of telling me that they were OK and basically they couldn’t believe how amazing it was,” she explained.
Julie concluded: “At the time, I was shell shocked, I didn’t know what was happening, but I’ve come to find out that that’s called a shared death experience.”Featured Image Credit: Instagram/hospicenursejulie / Youtube/Hospice Nurse Julie
Topics: Health, Social Media, YouTube
Joshua Nair
Advert
Advert
Advert
Updated 09:42 29 Oct 2024 GMTPublished 16:12 28 Oct 2024 GMT
MIT scientist praised for ‘great answer’ after being asked what he thinks happens when we die
Turns out even scientists get existential when thinking about life and death
A research scientist for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has been praised for sharing his honest response to being asked about what happens to humans after they die.
What happens to us when we die is the one question which has united theologians and scientists for thousands of years.
There’s nothing which can make the problems and inconveniences of our day-to-day lives feel more insignificant than the fact that every single one of us will one day be in the ground, dust or dug up and displayed as fossilised remains in some hyper-futuristic museum.
There’s a reason that most of us don’t like to think about our mortality, and that is because it’s absolutely terrifying to be faced with a great unknown which could very likely turn out to be nothing.
Lex Fridman gave an honest answer when questioned about life after death by Joe Rogan (YouTube/JRE Clips)
However, just because the concept of death is absolutely terrifying doesn’t stop people’s minds occasionally drifting over to the idea of ‘what’s next’ on a particularly boring Tuesday afternoon.
And we’re not alone either, as some of the brightest minds in the world of science and technology also find themselves wondering the same thing.
One of those people is MIT researcher and podcaster Lex Fridman, who found himself praised for his frank response to speculation about what happens after we die during a recently resurfaced interview with podcaster Joe Rogan.
During the interview, Rogan questioned Firdman on whether or not he thinks there is ‘something else’ which happens to us when our bodies stop existing – and anyone looking for reassurance won’t be pleased by Fridman’s words.
“I think I’m not smart enough to even think about that,” he replied.
Now Fridman’s response may be frustratingly avoidant to anyone looking for reassurance about what happens at the precise moment we pop our clogs, however his response drives home that no one (despite what they may claim) truly knows if there’s anything after death.
Psychic talks about afterlife
Credit: TikTok/@mediumdavidhanzel
0 seconds of 2 minutes, 55 secondsVolume 90%
“We know so little,” he continued, adding that in order for beauty to exist in our world ‘you have to have suffering’.
Despite his calm acceptance in regards to one of the biggest unknowns about human life, Fridman went on to explain that he believes the cycle of life and death is so important.
“I think mortality is essential for everything,” he explained. “We need the end to be there.”
Social media users have praised the research scientist for his ‘great answer’ to the question.
One wrote: “This is a great conversation. He said what we have always thought.”
Another added: “Love this guy, he’s so down to earth and open-minded.”
While a third commented: “One of the best ways to know if someone is very intelligent is when they’re willing to say they don’t know.”
Fridman’s appearance on Rogan’s podcast isn’t the only time in which he has reflected on whether or not there is life after death, with the scientist regularly touching on the subject on his own podcast, alongside the likes of stand-up comedian Duncan Trussell and Russian mathematician Edward Frenkel.Featured Image Credit: YouTube/JRE Clips
Topics: Health, Science, Community
Brenna Cooper
Advert
Advert
AD
Advert
Published 15:04 21 Oct 2024 GMT+1
Man who suffered two near-death experiences ‘will never forget what he saw’ in final moments
Pete Mackenzie Hodge faced death on two occasions
A man who suffered two near-death experiences has shared what he saw in his final moments.
Pete Mackenzie Hodge was 22-years-old when he was diagnosed with bone cancer shortly after finishing his university studies in 2008.
“At the time, that was a major shock for myself and my family,” he says, explaining how he spent most of the year receiving chemotherapy in hospital.
Pete Mackenzie Hodge dodged death twice. (Pete Mackenzie Hodge)
The dad underwent surgery to replace his bones for titanium, but his body started to reject the foreign materials. He ended up fighting for his life in a critical condition in the intensive care unit and he made the difficult decision to have his leg amputated.
“All I knew was I didn’t want to die,” he told MEN. “By losing the leg, I would have a second chance at life. I look back and think, ‘thank God I did make that decision.’”
When his life was on the brink in the intensive care unit, he remembers glancing at the hospital curtain by his bed and noticed a Casio watch face. He believes the minutes and seconds ticking by were a countdown to the end of his life.
This was his first near-death experience, and the second came about after he was seriously ill during the pandemic.
After becoming severely unwell due to a bacterial infection in his lungs, he was diagnosed with pneumonia and sepsis.
Hodge, a former drummer, was once again close to death, and he recalls leaving his body and seeing himself lifeless in his hospital bed.
“I left my body in the bed and what I saw there was my soul ascending,” he said. “I could see my physical body on the bed still which was a really profound experience.
Pete Mackenzie Hodge and Steve Coogan. (Pete Mackenzie Hodge)
“I saw a plethora of colour and stained-glass windows. My sedation was increased and it did something to bring me around.”
Hodge, however, says the experience wasn’t scary. It was a really magical moment, but obviously I’m so relieved and grateful to be here.”
He was placed in a coma and doctors told him he was extremely lucky to be alive.
“All the doctors have said I’m a very lucky man. I shouldn’t be here but I am. It feels like I’m the luckiest guy in the world but also one of the unluckiest.
“I’m a firm believer that with every bad thing that is brought to us, there’s an amazing blessing attached to it or a second chance at life. The victory of surviving all that is quite a euphoric thing to go through.”
Hodge wrote about his experiences in a book, Delirium Diaries, after being inspired to do so when he had a chance meeting with his hero, comedian Steve Coogan.
The book is set to be released on 28 October.Featured Image Credit: Pete Mackenzie Hodge
Topics: Lifestyle, Cancer, Community, Health
Gregory Robinson
Advert
Advert
Advert
Updated 12:35 29 Apr 2024 GMT+1Published 12:00 29 Apr 2024 GMT+1
Final decision euthanasia patients at Swiss clinic have to make before choosing to end their life
Dame Esther Rantzen recently called for a change in law to make physician-assisted suicide legal in the UK
Warning: This article contains discussion of assisted suicide which some readers may find distressing.
The process of assisted suicide by euthanasia is slowly becoming a more common option for the terminally ill if they can afford it.
The clinics that spearhead the procedure focus on the idea of choosing to die, to avoid months or years of pain caused by an incurable illness.
Dame Esther Rantzen talks about assisted dying
Credit: ITV
0 seconds of 40 secondsVolume 90%
The idea is that if someone is suffering from an illness that will lead to death, or carrying an unendurable disability, has the choice to put an end to their life and suffering.
Currently in the England, Wales and Northern Ireland, euthanasia is still illegal. While there’s no specific offence for it in Scotland, it is considered illegal and can be prosecuted as murder or manslaughter.
Recently, Dame Esther Rantzen, 83, has become one of the biggest advocates for a change to the law, as she signed up to Switzerland-based euthanasia clinic Dignitas after she diagnosed with stage four lung cancer last year.
According to the clinics, the processes available are painless and fast-acting for patients, passing them peacefully and easily into death.
These clinics recommend that patients consult their loved ones and relatives before going through the process, which also involves offering substantial proof that you are of sound mind and do have a condition that is incurable.
Run by independent Swiss doctors, these non-profit organisations carry out the process in the land-locked European country, with the big three being: Pegasos, Dignitas and Lifecircle.
Patients must make this final decision before going through the process. (Getty Stock Image)
The drug used
They each have different methods of carrying the process out, ultimately giving patients their final choice before passing away.
All three non-profit organisations offer the same drug that will be used for the assisted suicide.
In small doses, it is a sleeping medication, but an overdose leads to sleep, a coma and then the end of respiration, where the heart stops.
However, there are two methods to choose from, depending on what the patient would prefer.
The cannula method
Lifecircle and Pegasos use this method, where a nurse will insert a cannula into a vein in the arm of the patient, attaching it to a drip with saline solution.
The drug is attached to the drip, but is only turned on when the patient chooses to administer it, and by turning a valve, they will allow the drug to enter their system.
Within 20 seconds, the patient falls asleep, and in just two minutes, no pulse will be detectable, with death being confirmed shortly after.
The non-profit organisations highlight that this isn’t an ‘injection’ as no-one is putting anything into the patient, as they themselves are choosing to put the drug into their body.
One method takes a lot longer than the other. (SEBASTIAN DERUNGS/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Stock Photo)
The drink method
With this method, patients are given a 50ml glass containing a stomach-soothing medicine that stops the body from rejecting the drug when they drink it later, preventing them from vomiting.
30 minutes later, the patient drinks the drug and is put to sleep within three to five minutes, the heart then stops for good just 20 to 30 minutes after that.
It is reported that the drug tastes horrible in drink form, and patients are given a bar of chocolate to mask the taste.
The differences between the two methods is the time taken for it to take effect, both are painless and dignified, one has a needle, and while one takes five minutes, the other takes over an hour.
Ultimately and most importantly, it is the patient’s choice.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123.