What It's Like to Die, According to an ICU Nurse

Aleteia ^ | May 25, 2015

[NYer]

Catholic ping!

[9thLife]

Only healthcare professionals who work closely with terminally ill patients know first-hand the extent and variety of these strange experiences.

The cliche that "healthcare professionals think they're omniscient" seems to be rooted in reality.

[beef]

ping for later

[clamper1797]

Having lived thru the passing of my beloved. I think that it might be easier on those who pass than those who are left.

[uncitizen]

Oh good! Then she can tell us if God really exists.

[exit82]

It’s what comes after dying that you have to be prepared for.

[Former Proud Canadian]

Mark

[Yaelle]

Good post. Makes me want to read the book. I have deaths ahead of me soon and I’d like to see some of this happen for my beloved parents who both have Alzheimer’s.

[RebelTXRose]

It will be 18 years ago on Tuesday that my mom left us - and left me and the hospice nurse on duty and the lady who helped with mom for years with an incredible GIFT!

Mom was a stroke patient for about 2 years - she was at home as that was my parents’ decision. All but 2 of the 7 of us kids were around during the weekend; it was Tuesday and I stopped by after taking my kids to school to see if I should really go to work that day. I wasn’t in the room 3 minutes - greeting the two ladies there - when Mom, who had not made a sound in days, all of a sudden made a sound of utter joy and let out her last breath.

We have no doubt she is in heaven with our Lord.

[RoosterRedux]

My mother was on hospice for many months before finally dying peacefully at 94. As her primary caregiver, I came to know the hospice workers and nurses very well.

They have many stories to tell about this subject.

As you might expect, all the hospice workers were all quite devout.

[dp0622]

having suffered a brain injury along with noticeable effects on personality, I think the brain is more than just a conduit. However I do believe in a soul.

[Jamestown1630]

A study like this was done many years ago:

http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Erlendur_Haraldsson/publication/232537867_Deathbed_observations_by_physicians_and_nurses_A_cross-cultural_survey/links/5489973b0cf268d28f0b0319.pdf

[AppyPappy]

My sister basically informed my mom that it was time to go. And she went.

[SuzyQue]

I read a story last week about the possibility of “uploading” one’s brain into a computer in the future, with the idea that it would keep the person “alive”. I thought that sounded really wrong, but couldn’t articulate why.

Here it is: “our brains are separate from our consciousness. In other words, the brain may be channeling what some people call the soul, rather than responsible for creating it.”

[RoosterRedux]

Along those same lines, a good friend told me a story of the death of her brother.

The family were gathered around his bed waiting for him to pass. He would lose consciousness for a few minutes and his breathing would become very shallow.

But then, just when he had almost stopped breathing, he would become conscious again and exclaim "it's wonderful...beyond anything you can imagine."

He did this 3 or 4 times before he passed.

[Biggirl]

There has been NDE’s that have taken place that do help.

[saminfl]

Having lived thru the passing of my beloved. I think that it might be easier on those who pass than those who are left.

Same here and I don't want to wait a long time to see her again.

[Fido969]

I lost my youngest child about 5 years ago, and while I have a “good life” it seems to be just a waiting period until I can see him again.

[dainbramaged]

My Dad passed in 2007 from cancer at age 81. I had moved in with him a few weeks before but wasn't much help with a broken shoulder and my arm in a sling, but we managed. He was a huge man and didn't shrivel up like most since he had no chemotherapy as per his wishes.
He kept trying to apologize for being a bother - that's the kind of man he was. One night he said, "I'm gonna go" and he did right then - his last word was my mother's name who had died 13 years before.