Hospice nurse who's seen 100s of people die reveals the sign that someone will pass within weeks
A hospice nurse has revealed the sign that shows a few weeks before someone dies that most people 'don't believe actually happens'.
Hospice nurse Julie McFadden has seen 100s of people die and often breaks down what happens to a person in the lead up to their deaths; but the videos she shares online aren't to fear-monger, but to reduce people's fears of death.
Julie has 738,000 subscribers on YouTube, as well as 1.8 million followers on TikTok, so it's safe to say that people are certainly interested in what she's saying.
In one of her YouTube videos posted three years ago, Julie explained that in the weeks leading up to somebody dying, they might start 'seeing' deceased loved ones and old pets.
Advert
"Here’s one sign that someone is close to death that most people don’t believe happens," her video began.
"Usually a few weeks to a month before someone dies, if they’re on hospice, they will start seeing dead loved ones, dead relatives, dead pets.
"This happens so often that we actually put it in our educational packets that we give to patients and their families when they come on hospice so they aren’t surprised or scared when it happens."
Julie said that this is something known as 'visioning' and medical experts are unsure why people who are dying experience it. Apparently she's seen it in 'more than half' of her patients.
"Most people think it's because of low oxygen in the brain and it's causing them to hallucinate – this is definitely not true because, when it does happen, most people are awake and oriented," Julie went on to explain.
While it might be a bit concerning for those watching somebody experience 'visioning', Julie insisted that it's actually 'comforting to the patient'.
Another thing Julie has lifted the lid on is how somebody's skin might signal that they're getting closer to death.
According to Julie, who was a hospice nurse for the best part of a decade, people end up getting something called a Kennedy ulcer. Per Cleveland Clinic, this is a skin wound that sometimes shows up at the end of a person’s life. Sometimes they're mistaken for a bruise.
When someone gets this, it means that they'll pass away very soon.
Julie said: "The Kennedy ulcer is very specific because it's not there, then boom, it's there, and then boom, they die. That's how quick the Kennedy ulcer thing is."
Symptoms of a Kennedy ulcer that make it different to a usual bruise include:
- It being red, purple, yellow or black
- It appearing on someone's sacrum or tailbone, but may show up on the butt, spine, arms, shoulders, legs and heels
- Butterfly or pear shaped
- May look like squiggly, parallel lines (usually on your spine, back, shoulder or limbs)
Niamh Shackleton