Hospice Nurse Shares The Unexplained Experience With A Patient That Changed Her View On Death And Dying
She claimed that a sense of calm washed over her after experiencing this.
LPETTET from Getty Images Signature via Canva Pro Death is the most mysterious part of the cycle of life for many individuals. What happens when we die? Is it peaceful? Is it scary?
The unknown of what becomes of our souls once our physical presence leaves this Earth can be a daunting thought, but a hospice nurse named Julie offered some insight that she was a firsthand witness to after an elderly patient she'd been looking after passed away.
She shared the unexplained experience she had with a patient that changed her view on death.
"I've had a few paranormal experiences or whatever you wanna call them as a hospice nurse, but here is my absolute favorite one," Julie began in her video.
She admitted that it's one of her favorites because of how much this incident changed her perception of death and dying, and it's helped her get over the fear that she previously had about what would happen once she was gone from this universe.
Julie recalled that years ago she had a patient who was middle-aged and not ready to die, but she still felt that their hospice care and the entire team did the best they could to help him on his journey and make sure he was calm and comfortable.
"We had many talks about death and what it's going to be like, and his thoughts and beliefs. We became friends," Julie said. "When he was actively dying, which is like a few days or hours before death, we had a continuous care nurse there with him 24 hours a day."
She went to see him as the case manager and could tell that he was likely going to die that same day. She noticed some of the signs, including his being unconscious and changes in his breathing. Due to being a hospice nurse and surrounded by death so closely, it didn't much for Julie to realize that this was most likely it for her patient.
"I told the continuous care nurse, 'Hey when he dies, make sure you text me and tell me.' And then I quietly said my goodbyes in his home and went to my car," she continued. "I wasn't sad. I was happy for him. I felt like we did a good job. He looked comfortable, he looked peaceful."
While in her car, Julie said her final goodbyes to the dying patient.
Alone in her car, Julie, in thoughts to herself, thanked the patient for being a good friend, said that it had been wonderful to meet him, and hoped that he would have a peaceful transition into whatever was waiting for him on the other side.
"Then suddenly, and I don't know how to explain this because this has not happened since and it never happened before, I could hear his voice in my head," Julie said. "I could feel [the] feelings that he was, I think, making me feel."
Julie admitted that this patient was speaking to her in her own head, and she could hear his voice repeatedly saying, 'Oh my gosh, Julie. Oh my gosh, Julie. I can't believe this.' She could feel how happy and good he felt during his last moments before transitioning. She described it as being exuberance and joy, and the most free that you could ever imagine someone being.
She insisted that this patient was allowing her to feel the joy he felt and the disbelief at how amazing this transition from life to death was for him.
He was no longer afraid but accepted his fate and allowed his worry to fade away.
"He was showing me a feeling, it was joy, freedom, and exuberance. I was weeping uncontrollably in my car, it was like he was so alive even though he was dying. Then suddenly, it just stopped."
Seconds later, Julie received a text from the continuous care nurse that the patient had passed away, but the text didn't even matter, because she had physically and emotionally felt her patient transition and speak to her as he was doing so.
It's unexpected and unexplainable incidents like this that remind us not only how fragile our lives our, but also how much we have yet to learn about when it comes to whatever is waiting for us once our physical presence leaves this realm.
Who knows what happens once we die, but it's comforting to hear Julie's story which leaves us with a sense that more can happen between the journey of life and death than meets the eye.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.