Hospice nurse reveals what people experience and see before they die

A hospice nurse has detailed what people experience and see before they die, from her time caring for patients in their final days.

Julie McFadden (@hospicenursejulie) is a health worker from Los Angeles. She posted a TikTok video where she explained how a phenomenon called "visioning" tends to happen to patients.

Visioning is where those who are close to death believe they can see loved ones who have passed away, thinking they are alive.

“Here is my most comforting fact about death and dying," McFadden began her video from October 2022.

"The craziest things we see on hospice is that most people will start seeing dead relatives, dead loved ones, dead friends, dead pets before they die.”

According to the hospice nurse, visioning can occur up to a month before a patient's death but unfortunately, there are no clear answers as to why patients can experience this.

“We have no idea why this happens,” Julie elaborated. “We are not claiming that they really are seeing these people. We have no idea.

“But all I can tell you as a healthcare professional, who has worked in this line of work for a very long time, it happens all the time.”

Visioning is pretty common - so common in fact that hospice workers "educate the family and the patient" beforehand that this may occur so that both are prepared and aren't "incredibly alarmed when it starts happening".

"And usually it’s a good indicator that the person is getting close to death, usually a month or a few weeks before they die. This brings me comfort, I hope it brings you comfort," McFadden concluded.

Since sharing this information, McFadden's video has received over 572,000 views, 48,000 likes and over a thousand comments from people sharing their experiences of seeing a loved one experience visioning before they passed away.

One person said: "My dad and his dog paid attention to a certain corner of the room a week or so before my dad passed."

"Yep I had a patient tell me his dog was on the end of the bed told me full description and name, told his wife made her smile," another person wrote.

Someone else added: "My grandma saw dogs in her room a month before she passes. She was so happy. Always loved dogs."

"Yep! My mother-in-law was telling her sister that their mother was packing a suitcase for her trip and picked out a dress for her to wear," a fourth person commented.

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