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85 Times Patients Said Something Before Passing That Stuck With Hospital Workers To This Day
It’s estimated that the average person speaks around 12,000 words per day. But most of the conversations we have are probably insignificant. You might ask your partner what they want for dinner, ask a grocery store employee for help finding the hummus, or discuss the weather with your colleagues.
But one thing we often forget (or don’t want to think about) is that we never know when we’re going to utter our final sentence. Nurses and doctors on Reddit have been recalling the most haunting last words they’ve ever heard from patients, so we’ve gathered a list of their heartbreaking stories below. From making final requests to expressing regret about their lives, these comments might give you the chills. But we hope this list reminds you to say whatever’s on your mind, as there might not be another chance to share again later.
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#1
Watched my step dad pass away after a week in the hospital. His last words "I love you son. I want to go home" Called me son like I was his own flesh and blood. A moment that will always stay with me.
RELATED:
#2
Not a hospital worker but my story is somewhat relevant. I honestly just need a chance to share it with someone.
For some background information I am a CPR / First Aid Instructor and drive around the state of Arizona to teach. About a month and a half ago I was scheduled to teach a CPR Pro class for a care home. I arrive at the location which seemed nice enough from the outside. The second I walked in I almost threw up from the smell. The best comparison would be like the smell of s**t mixed with rotting meat. Anyways, I start the class and start to learn and notice some questionable things. First there were 11 residents but only 2 people working at a time, and they could barely even speak English. Throughout the class numerous times id hear someone wailing in pain and asking for help, receiving pretty much only replies of " shut up " . It was really obvious to my eighteen year old self that there was neglect and a***e going on. The part that really haunts me and I dont think ill ever forget is when I was leaving. On the way out I peeked into some of the rooms and this really old fragile woman who was extremely thin and confined to her bed made eye contact with me and said " help us ".
Needless to say i got the f**k out of there before I almost lost it on these people. I mean I couldn't imagine my grandmother being treated like that. First thing I called my boss and let her know what happened and now I am taking legal action against that place so hopefully the residents can actually live out their lives with the respect they deserve. I will NEVER forget the way that woman looked at me and asked for help. I still get chills :/
Lila Allen 8 hours ago
OH I hope the state does something. It's horrifying the conditions some elderly people are kept in
#3
"I never even had someone love me." 7 years ago and I still think of that guy.
#4
We don't know if they were really his last words but the last thing my mom heard my dad say was in reference to the shooting pain in his arm due to the heart attack he was suffering, "well what if I hold it different? Like resting it on the backside of a lovely lady? Will that help?" He promptly grabbed Mom's bum before they wheeled him away to surgery. She shouted down the hall, "I'm going to kick your butt when you get out of there!" He didn't come back.
#5
When my granny d**d last summer I brought her to the hospital with my aunt. They sent in this very handsome, burly nurse guy to pick her up (she was 87 and very frail at tjis point) and take her to her room. My aunt, always one to make a situation lighter, says "oh Granny look at this handsome man taking you to bed!" I swear to god my Granny says "Yeah, it only took 87 years and for me to be d***g for this to happen." She was a beautiful soul. That was the last thing I heard her say, and I am so happy I shared a last laugh with her.
#6
I'm an X-ray tech at a busy little rural hospital. What bothers me the most is the way people d**. It just happens. You expect to see their spirit leaving, or feel their presence vanishing at the exact moment they give up the ghost, but you don't . You think that the earth should bear a scar in the exact place where someone d**s, but it doesn't. You feel terrible, for a life extinguished, but you go on. I suppose that's why we have grave markers, to show the earth that we mattered for a little while.
*raspberry sound 23 hours ago
I've been grieving a loss lately and what this person said helped make me feel okay for a little while. I've been in existential crisis, feeling like nothing really matters and that we're all just a breath in a hurricane, but to think that there are other people who notice our existence, who feel a loss that is as big as the life that was, it's beautiful and tragic and it matters.
#7
I worked for a pediatric level 1 trauma center as a trauma nurse. I can't/won't ever forget the screams of parents as they watched us trying to save their babes. One mom was screaming her child's name demanding her not to leave her. Somehow that mom still had the wherewithal to thank us and acknowledge that she knew we tried everything when the doctor announced the child's d***h. I know the question is about patients' last words... But the parents' words were powerful and lasting.
#8
Not so much what was said, but how everything happened was horrible... Had a 20 something girl with leukemia come in short of breath, needed to be intubated, I told her we were gonna take good care of her, and she stared back with the most horrified look in her eyes. then she went into Cardiac arrest, started CPR, and when we were doing compressions, she would wake up, grabbing at us, when we'd stop to do a pulse check, nothing. We did CPR so long she started to have blood foaming up through the tube, but she kept waking up when we would do it. Eventually, we just had to stop, and let her d**.
She looked so scared...
#9
Firefighter/Paramedic here.
I've seen way more than my fair share of active deaths. The 36 year old we coded last week said "I'm going down guys. I'm going down." He went into V-fib and didn't come back out of it.
I had a man once in the ER who coded and we shocked him and got a rhythm back, he woke up and asked if he d**d. Then he started crying and said he saw god. Then he coded again. About that fast too.
The craziest thing I've ever seen was a skinny woman who went into cardiac arrest and since it was witnessed, we were able to start compressions immediately. As we compressed her heart, she would wake up and kick us and (try to) scream. The second we stopped compressions she would go back out. This continued over and over for a good 30+ minutes until the cardiologist ordered us to stop. We had a nurse dedicated to speaking in her ear to try to reassure her and get her to stop kicking.
Another crazy one, I had a man witness his own heart stop. He was having an arrhythmia (I'll spare the details) and I had the defib turned towards him in the ambulance. He was watching the monitor as I was treating him and his heart stopped cold. He looked at me with a panic, put his hand on my knee and went down. The poor guy literally watched his own heart stop when he d**d.
#10
I am a dietary aide in Palliative care at a large hospital. It's not the last words that haunt you, it's the advice. I have one patient, who can no longer eat anything except puréed food, can't go to the bathroom by himself, is missing most of his teeth, and quite literally looks like death. Every time I see him, he asks me "what did you do today?" And I tell him the usual "watched tv, then came to work". And he gets mad. He gets mad that I'm not out there sky diving, and going on wild adventures. The one thing he said to me that stuck the most was "you're young. Go have adventures. When you're in my position, are you going to be glad you have an RRSP (401k for you yanks), or are you going to be glad you lived your life?". He's an amazing man, and is still with us.
Edit: Another one that stuck with me was Mildred (not her real name). Mildred was one of my patients in Transitional care, suffered from severe dementia and Alzheimer's. She was only my patient for a couple weeks, then she got moved to palliative. Mildred cannot remember her own name, she cannot remember where she is, and she doesn't remember her children when they come to visit. When I got transferred to palliative, I was so excited to get to see her again. I walked in to the room and she yells "SHELLEY. (Not my name, but she always called me Shelley.) SHELLEY THEY TOOK ME AWAY. I USED TO SEE YOU AND THEN I DIDNT. WHERE AM I? WHERE DID THEY TAKE ME?". Mildred had no idea she was in palliative care. She didn't know she was d***g. She waited every day for her husband to pick her up and take her to the show. That terrifies me to no end. When I d**, I want to know where I am. I want to know who I am. Mildred is still alive, and I will be hanging out with her on Christmas Day. Working in palliative, you learn not to get attached. But not with her. For some reason, I feel responsible for Mildred. When she passes, I want her to know that she is with someone who she knows, and recognizes.
#11
Man, I'll never forget this guy. He was a diabetic, 52 years old, came in with gangrene of the testicles. When we informed him that surgery was required to remove his private parts, he looked me straight in the eye and said, "I hope I d** on the table."
And he did. That dude willed himself into d***g.
#12
When I was 19 I was working in a lab at a hospital as a phleb and I was really really good at drawing blood.
Was called to ER to draw blood from a 12 year old at around 7am. He had spider web looking veins all over his body except hands, feet and above the neck.
Drew blood. No big deal.
Called back again to draw a second sample. Everything was purple. He looked up at me and asked me if he could have some water. I looked at the attending and he shook his head ‘no’ and then mouthed ‘we are about to intubate. He grabs my hand and two seconds later he went into arrest.
His parents were outside the room looking in thru glass. Mom was balling. Dad was balling. Everyone did chest compressions for what seemed like 45 minutes.
He d**d.
Last thing he said to anyone was to ask for some water. From me.
I left. Kept my composure. Got to a private hallway and started balling... entire way back to our office.
Walked in to my bosses office and said ‘I quit’.
Turns out kid had bacterial meningitis.
Stephanie Did It 17 hours ago
Crying hard is "bawling." Not balling. This was a very sad post and I'm not trying to take away from that, but this just sticks out so badly.
#13
I'm not a hospital worker but my sister's last words were "I just want my life back." She was 15 when she d**d of a heart defect she had since birth.
#14
Not a hospital worker, but I watched my maternal grandmother d** in the hospital. She was 95; went into the hospital because she fell, got pneumonia, and d**d. Relatively common for people of that age we were told.
In her last hours, she was in and out of consciousness. My parents, myself, and my father's mother were scattered around the spacious hospital room listening to the deafening heart rate machine and thinking of a funny story about her to tell. She woke up; her eyes did not open, but her hands started waving. She muttered out my father's name in a voice that was drier than a mummy's. She managed to wave her hand, beckoning him to come to her. He leaned in.
She thought she was whispering. "I want to d**," she said. "I want to go see Leonard," referring to her husband, who d**d 20 years ago. "I am ready."
My mother heard her mother's wishes and began to cry quietly. She did not want her mother to hear her pain--just as my grandmother did not want my mother to be the one to hear her request. My father held my grandmother's hand, said "We love you," then looked at me. I left to get the doctor to fulfill her request.
**"I want to d**. I want to see Leonard. I am ready"** Those words motivate me, in a sense. I want to have the kind of love that endures 20 years of mortal separation. It haunts me because I will always remember my grandmother as the kind of woman who wanted to spare her daughter pain with her last breath. And it terrifies me because I wonder how much she prepared those words. Those on death row can write soliloquies; the elderly only get to mutter a few sentences before the darkness takes them.
And yet with her few words, she was clear with her wishes and comforted us with her confidence. She was lucky. And so were we.
Mrs Irish Mom 7 hours ago
Before the darkness takes them, they are going up to heaven so no darkness at all and I do believe we meet our loved ones in heaven and they might have to eventually leave to go live a new iife, I was recarnated
#15
A nun looked right through me, broke into a beatific smile, said, "Oh! It's you!" and promptly d**d.
#16
I used to work in a nursing home. Whether you believe in an afterlife or not this is still something that will make you shudder. I had a women scream that the demons in the floor were trying to take her out of bed. She d**d that night in fear. Another man who kept saying he was hot and that he was burning, he d**d hours later. I had a man who said he had talked with the angels and they were taking him in a few hours. They did. The one that sticks with me the most though was that of a man, who d***g, fully awake knowing he was d***g, had tears streaming down his face and begging us to do anything to help him. Those are the ones that stand out to me the most.
#17
Also not a hospital worker, but it's a story that is simultaneously funny and a bit sad.
All of my grandmother's illnesses (breast cancer followed by leukemia, then diverticulitis which required a colostomy, all with shingles and lung issues) had finally caught up with her, and she was d***g of various complications. She, and her children, decided that she would rather d** comfortably from vicodin o******e with her family than from the pain of the complications.
She lived about 150 miles from me, so my mom and uncle were with her, but I was still at home because I needed to be at school for some reason. I woke up at 6 a day or two before she d**d, and two minutes later she called me. She said "I'm sorry to wake you up. I'm going to d**, so I'm calling all my family and friends to say goodbye. I love you very much and you've been a wonderful grandson." It was the hardest thing I've ever replied to. I can't remember much of what I said, but it wasn't very much. All I remember is that I was never sure if she heard me say "I love you, you've been wonderful to me." That still haunts me. I try to remember how composed and peaceful she was.
Anyway, I had to go to a competition that she wouldn't have wanted me to miss, and she d**d just after I finished it. This is where the semi-funny part comes in. She was fading in an out due to the vicodin, and she woke up and saw my uncle sitting next to her and said "oh, it's you. I guess I'm not d**d yet." It sounds a little more morbid now that I write it out, so I guess you had to know her. She was a wonderful person.
Mrs Irish Mom 7 hours ago
Uncle is not going to heaven if she knew she was still here with him, funny lady or just truthful
#18
Obligatory "not a nurse but"...
My great uncle's last words were about "having to catch the train". My grandpa's last words were about "getting on the ship". My dad's last words were about "making his flight."
I've told everyone I've ever dated to wake me the f**k up if I ever start talking in my sleep about transportation.
#19
ICU nurse here.
There are lot of times if people are able to talk, they talk about the importance of having no regrets.
The biggest thing that stuck with me was a lady who had been on a vent for a week while family decided what they wanted to do about her situation. So her brother flew in gave the consent to withdraw life support and start comfort care. Thing is, the brother didn't even come in to say good bye. Just made the decision and left. It was about 230 am when her heart slowed down into the 20's I went into her room and just held her hand during her final minutes while she took her final breaths. Since then I have always made it a point to be in the room with someone when they are close. No one should d** alone. Its a memory that I will always have. Walking into the room seeing her laying there the only light was the monitor and the glow of the IV pumps realizing she utterly alone with no loved ones watching over her.
E Menendez 1 day ago
Some people can't deal with death. I had a friend who's mother was actively dying. She had gone to see her as she was notified her mom was in the hospital. Then promptly left when they told her the reason her mother was on dialysis was her heart was too weak to pump the blood through her kidneys and she had only a few weeks to days left. She told me it was because there was no point in watching her die as it wouldn't change anything. Not my decision to make, but I wouldn't make the same one.
#20
I'm not a hospital or even healthcare worker, but I had a pretty profound and sad thing happen today that fits in this thread to a degree. My mom lives an assisted living center. She is 74 and other than mobility issues she is in decent health, but many of the residents that live there are in very poor health.
Today was their annual Christmas lunch. I sat at a table with my mom and two of her friends. One of them was a guy in his 70's who was going through chemotherapy, but said that it likely wasn't going to help much and he likely only had a few months left at most. He said these will be his last treatments because he is sick of fighting the inevitable. As we talked he told me how throughout his life he was a real a*s to many people in his family. Now his two kids live in different states and he hasn't spoken to them in years. His brother lives nearby, but they haven't spoken in years and any friends he may have had have long since stopped seeing him. He said all of it was because of his own stubborn pride and desire to be right about some things and now he is alone, d***g and has no friends or family that seem to care.
As the lunch came to an end I was saying goodbye to him and shaking his hand and he said to me, "Live your life in a way that when you get to be my age the number of people who will come see you outnumbers those who will come up with any reason not to." It was a pretty sobering moment.
#21
I'm not a medical professional, but I was there when my great grandma Helen passed (I never called her Grandma Helen, it was always Grandma Honey because I couldn't pronounce Helen when I was little). She had been bed ridden in a nursing home for a few weeks, and hospice care put her in morphine. The last couple of days I saw her, all she could do was breathe this horrible snorting sort of shallow breathing. Her last day, she suddenly woke up when I was in the room and said she loved me to pieces (a favorite saying of hers) and that she was so proud of me. It has stuck with me the past couple of years since she's been gone. It still makes me tear up writing this.
#22
About a year ago. 10yo boy code comes to the ED. Got an argument with his mom, went to his room and snuck into the garage. Little did she know he hung himself. He d**d. 2 things I remember most. On his hand he had written in blue marker "sorry mom". And the priest who I knew was a "new grad" because he just started at my church, came to pray over him and was shaking so terribly. That s***s terrible. I don't know why seeing that priest stand at the foot if the bed trembling so bad stuck with me after so long.
#23
My mom was sent home from the hospital because she was nearing the end and wanted to be home. The last few days she was heavily medicated and didn't really communicate at all. On Sunday she took off her oxygen mask and said she was going to d** tomorrow. She put her mask back on and didn't talk anymore. I called out of work (that was an odd call to make) and called the family. Her twin drove 4 hours to be there on Monday. She d**d Monday evening with her whole family at her side. It has been 4 years and it still weirds me out.
Tina Girard 17 hours ago
my sister did this, except in reverse. she waited until everybody was gone because she didn't want us to watch her die.
#24
I was there after the Guwahati b**b blast, there was a guy who was 70% burned and both of his legs were severed, he was bleeding like a stuck pig and the only thing he said was "Mur swali jnoir ki hobo atia?" meaning "What would happen to my daughter?" He was a single father raising a 4 year old girl. I hope the girl is okay now, maybe I will meet her one day.
Mrs Irish Mom 7 hours ago
No offence but I would if asked her name address to help him die knowing someone was going to check on her
#25
"I just wish I had my dogs here with me one last time".
Mrs Irish Mom 7 hours ago
People should be allowed there dogs visit in homes or hospitals if the hospital staff know they are heading off soon, some people don't have kids they have dogs or cats they they need to say goodbye to
#26
A patient was repeateadly saying "where is my dog i want to see my dog"+"my dog is home alone" and the guy was d**d 2 hours later. Made me feel sad for some reason.
Mrs Irish Mom 7 hours ago
I hope someone rang whatever service in there country to check there was or wasn't a dog in the house
#27
Not a nurse but was a paramedic.
Accident scene and guy is bleeding out and pulls and engagement ring from his pocket and tells me to tell his girlfriend "I love her and make sure she gets this."
He d**d right there, on the street, driving to her house to propose.
#28
The last words of my grandpa: *Is this the funeral parlor?*
I'd like to think he was kidding, our family is kinda known for our ruthless humor.
#29
"If you always keep everyone at a distance, no one will be close enough to give a helping hand when you need it...please...don't end up like me"
Three days before he d**d. I didn't know him personally.
#30
A very frightened patient said "thank you for taking care of me" shortly before intubation. He never woke up again.
#31
I've always had a wild Jew Fro. On a particularly humid day [read: bad hair day], my d***g, barely breathing, patient told me to:
Fluff up your hair even more--its what keeps you fabulous!
He was an incredible man and had been our patient for over a month. Everyday, whether I was his nurse or not, I would visit him and we would have a laugh. In his own, charming way, I think he was telling me to own what I am and be proud of it.
#32
There was this lady that was in our unit for over a month. All of the nurses had bonded with her, and she was kind of our baby. Anyway, she was made palliative, and I would go into her room and sit with her. She laid her head on my shoulder and told me that she loved me. I couldn't say it back, so I just said, "I care about you, too." She became unresponsive shortly after that, and d**d the next day. Still haunts me that I didn't tell her that I loved her too, even though I did.
#33
My mom recently passed from a rare form of brain cancer. When she was in the hospital, I went to see her and by then, she was unable to speak except in gibberish-like phrases. The doctors said the tumor was pressing against the speech area of her brain. He warned me that anything she might say won't make sense and she may not even know that she's talking. He also said she was on a dose of morphine for the pain so she may be disoriented and not realize I'm there. I sat there for 15 minutes talking to her before she looked at me. Her words didn't make sense, but it was a short, three syllable phrase. Her eyes shown in a way that I knew what she meant. 'I love you'. It may not be a 'last word' by definition, but it fits. Even through the worst handicaps, love will always shine through.
#34
I'm a hospice volunteer. My very first client couldn't speak because of Parkinson's disease. No one expected him to be able to communicate beyond a simple yes or no, which he signaled with a raise of his eyebrows. But one day, I discovered that if we took the time to go through the alphabet, he could spell out answers for us. His mind was still very clear. From that point on, we spent our time talking about his childhood in the Philippines, his family, and his wife, whom he would follow with his eyes whenever she was around.
Two months later, they decided to stop his tube feeding. His body just wasn't absorbing it anymore. Still, when I arrived, he smiled at me and seemed rather normal, if not a little extra sleepy. I drew messages in his hand, and he smiled at me again. I asked if he knew what I was saying, he said yes. And then he stopped responding.
I'll never forget that smile. It was the last one he ever made.
#35
Not a nurse.
My sister was in ICU at a hospital about 3 hours away from me. I went to visit her and when I got there my brother in law told me that they were switching the machines off as all her organs were failing her and the doctors couldn't do anymore.
My sister who was awake saw me come in and as I sat with her mouthed "I'm glad you made it"
That was the last thing she said to me.
That was harder to type than I thought it would be.
Mrs Irish Mom 7 hours ago
Thats heart breaking but atleast she knew And recognised you were there
#36
Technically my dad never really had any last words but right before he passed we had the rare opportunity to be together as a family (I was in college and my brother was teaching English in South Korea). We were telling jokes about how me and my brother would never get married due to both of us being incredibly cheap. The last time we were together as a family we were all laughing. He d**d this time of the year so Christmas and New Years are always a little hard for us (especially my mom), but I'm glad that's how we spent our last night together. Love and miss you dad.
#37
Not a nurse but the last words my mother told me before she d**d was "I feel alot better."
She had been battling breast cancer and doing chemo therapy the last couple months.
Still makes me cry.
#38
I’m not in the medical field at the moment (future hopeful doctor here) but I’d thought I tell this story anyways, it’s beautiful and is currently making me tear up. On Thanksgiving Day in 2003, everyone in my family, minus a couple of cousins, were around my grandpas bed singing some of his favorite songs, he had been d***g from colon cancer and was comatose at this point, my uncles and some of my cousins are doctors and nurses, so we were able to bring him home for one day before he passed, they all took turns keeping an eye on him through out the day and evening. Anyways...during one of the songs, my grandpa opened his eyes and smiled the biggest smile, right as he took his last breath.
#39
"You'll probably have to make dinner for the kids tomorrow."
She was 42. Or around there. She was tired and he replied "Of course" and then she closed her eyes. They never saw it coming. She came in complaining of abdominal pain and vomiting blood. The entire time they waited, she and her husband talked about their plans for the week. "Don't forget Jenny has soccer on Thursday." Things like that. Meanwhile she had a massive GI bleed.
I was just a tech at the time, and I'd just started, so the details are fuzzy. I wish the details weren't so fuzzy, I know so much more now. I know how precarious the situation was, the high mortality rate GI bleeds carry. I know that the nasogastric tube that snaked from the wall suction into her nose, down her throat ended in a pool of blood in her stomach. And I know now that when her suction canister was full of bright red blood, something was terribly wrong. I can't even remember if we sourced the bleed. I know we hadn't scoped her. But I never learned her history. Was she an alcoholic? Hepatitis? Was there a recent surgery? Peptic Ulcer history? Cancer? What was the cause of her bleed?
I've played it back so many times in my head. Did I ask the doc or the nurse if I should change the canister, or did I just do it? That's what I mostly did as a tech then, clean things up, clean clean clean. It seemed so innocuous. Dirty, full canister, put in a new one. So did I ask? Did someone tell me to? Did I turn the suction back on? I can't remember. And how much time passed between when I changed it and she crashed? I wouldn't have turned it back on, right? What was her blood pressure? WHAT was her BLOOD PRESSURE? WHAT WAS HER BLOOD PRESSURE?
I remember her, and what she said last. I remember she seemed so young. Maybe if she'd been older it would've been better. Lived her life. Was ready. But it wasn't until weeks later, when someone said, regarding a different patient, "We need to watch the blood pressure after this NG Tube" and suddenly her ghost came back. Oh God, I changed the changed the canister. I can't remember if I asked. I can't remember.
But I changed it.
And I do remember the look on his face. The husband. His disbelief. "What do you mean?" he said. I was too far away, across the ER, to hear it. I just saw his face and his lips move. Still, I knew what he said. I watched his world end. His and hers. Their world fell apart so early right in front of my eyes.
It's been years now. Six years. I don't know her name. I don't know if I ever knew. I don't remember her underlying diagnosis. And I can't remember if it was my fault that she d**d.
I don't think I've told any one this before. I might have. I can almost picture myself asking a nurse, explaining, inquiring, and that nurse kindly saying, no, she was going to d** regardless. But I might be imagining it. To make me feel better. And even when I imagine it, there's a look of shock on that nurses' face that betrays the fleeting thought that yes, maybe, it was my fault. I don't remember. I can't remember. I don't.
But I do remember that her husband had to make dinner for the kids the next day.
#40
Earlier this year. Right before they put her on life support my sister begging me not to leave her side and to spend the night in the room with her to make sure that she was ok. She was so terrified. She didn't think that she would ever wake up again. And she was right. She d**d 15 days later.
#41
Had an elderly woman who was intubated and sedated. When you have a patient who is sedated, you turn down their sedation and try to “wake them up”, kind of, every morning to test their readiness to come off the ventilator. She never really woke up. Her adult son was distraught. He was her next of kin, and he had to decide if he was going to take her off the ventilator or keep trying. He agreed to take her off the vent the next day.
I was in her room later that day, and I was chatting with her like she could hear me. When suddenly - she responded. She made a purposeful nod. I was startled to say the least. I took her hand and tried to figure out how to explain to her what was happening. She was d***g of cancer, she was failing her weans, and we planned to take her off the vent tomorrow to d** with her son by her side. And I asked, “is that ok?” She nodded. “Do you want me to call your son and tell you that you love him?” She nodded. I wish I could remember what we talked about next. Did I pray with her? Did I comfort her? I don’t remember. But I do remember calling her son and telling him that his mom knew, she was ready, and that she loved him.
#42
I have had several elderly patients tell me their long dead relative will be comming by to get them at a specific time. Every single patient that has told me that has d**d at the exact time the patient said they would. I've also learned to take note when a patient said he or she is going home tomorrow especially when you know that patient isn't going home tomorrow. Saddest, my favorite patient I had been seeing for years she was in the end stages of liver failure. One morning she didnt recognise me. This is a patient who knows me well, she knew my child's name my dogs name we have a very long history. I cried when I saw her labs. She d**d very quickly and all I could do was hold her husbands hand and pray for her. It was so sad. She was only 40, had two young children. I see her husband every once in a while in town. He seems so sad every time I see him.
#43
When I was still a CNA, I was taking care of a patient who had had a stroke and was non verbal. In the 2 years I was at the nursing home, she ***never*** spoke. There was a blue chair in her room, and I was shocked when she spoke and said "That's Paul's chair". I asked her if Paul was her husband and she nodded in an up and down, "yes". After I left her room, I found another CNA who I knew was either related to her or a friend of the family. I told her how she spoke to me and referenced the blue chair. She confirmed that her deceased husband was named Paul, but I don't think she believed that she actually spoke to me. I worked a 7pm-7am shift, so I was switched to another floor for the 11pm-7am shift. She d**d very unexpectedly in her sleep around 4am. It dawned on me that she most likely spoke her last words about her husband Paul and the blue chair and I hope that he was there with her. I can still picture her smiling face that night as she spoke to me.
#44
I saw a lady in hospice sitting at the table. It had been a year or so since she left her a*****e husband of 40 years and a week or two since she found out she's been sliding downhill fast from stage 4 Pancreatic cancer. Before I say anything she says "how dare he live longer than me" and it's hard to explain but you can very clearly see when people choose to d**. She went from a normal, functioning person with a big belly to a writhing heap in less than 12 hours and was d**d in 2 more.
#45
"I hope you never have to be in this much pain, honey."
It's been 6 years and I still think of her.
#47
Gratefully, they ended up not being my grandfather's last words, but it was only "OK".
He had a stroke a few years back and was rushed to the hospital. He couldn't speak, couldn't move, and only had a look of utter befuddlement. It was iffy if he would make it. My granddad and I have always been very close, so when I had to leave I walked over and held his hand, hugged him and said I would be back as soon as possible. He looked and me and said, " OK". It is the only thing he was able to say for the next 3 months.
Having my idol make such a huge effort to comfort me in HIS time of need was huge. He is still my idol and thankfully has gotten better.
#48
Not a nurse but we had a guy who was in a major MVA, his left arm was severed above the elbow and he was circling the drain, his blood pressure was tanking, pulse was starting to fade and he asked me about his dog that had been in the vehicle with him. Asked me if his dog was okay. I didn’t really answer him, as the dog was d**d and I didn’t want to put him in any more distress than he was already in. We landed a helicopter and I s**t you not we were about 30 seconds from loading him into the helicopter when he coded. If you know anything about traumatic CPR’s there is virtually no chance that they will survive especially without deficits. Maybe like a 1-2% chance I can’t remember the exact number. Anyway we worked him, got him loaded back into the ambulance and made the 35 minute + transport to the trauma center through rush hour traffic. Got him into the trauma bay, the Dr said they were going to do one more round and if there was no improvement they were going to call it, which they did. So the last thing the guy said was “make sure my dogs okay”. Ultimately he d**d from internal hemorrhaging which there’s nothing we could really do in the prehospital setting for him, if we had TXA or something like that we could’ve used it but it’s a toss up wether it would’ve helped this guy at the point he was at.
#49
Not the very last words, but I found them quite unsettling.
A few years ago my best friend lost her fight with cancer. Her mother had also d**d of cancer, when my friend was 21. I helped care for my friend right to the end so she could be home instead of in hospital or hospice and I was there when she d**d.
About an hour or two before that, she started getting very agitated and asking for some very specific things, some buttons of a certain color, a particular item of clothing, a few other things. Her sister realised that she was asking for things her mother had been wearing or had in the room when she d**d and got very upset and told her that she didn't need them, it was ok without them. My friend looked at her and said 'Don't worry, Mum's telling me how to d**'. She was seeing her long-deceased mother and thought she needed the same setting before she could d**.
I assume that it was a hallucination, she'd been having them for a couple of days at that point after her pain meds were increased, but it was very unnerving to witness and seemed different to the other hallucinations she'd been having. Maybe she really did see her mother. That moment certainly brought me closer to believing there might be an afterlife than religion ever did.
#50
I've posted about this before.
I worked as a home hospice RN for a couple of years. We had a couple on service, and they were the sweetest. We assumed the husband would pass first, but his wife actually went first.
He deteriorated very, very quickly. He d**d days later. Right before he took his last breath the door to their house opened and he said, come on in, dear. They loved each other so much, I'm not sure I believe in an afterlife but I hope they're together.
#51
They weren't last words, but words spoken in a shocking lucid moment. I was helping a patient in my rehab unit to bed. She had profound dementia and mostly babbled incoherent nonsensical sentences. I just nodded and pretended to converse with her, which she enjoyed.
This night though she stopped and abruptly looked at me and said sternly "TEMPUS FUGIT! Remember that. It's important." I just grinned and laughed a bit and then got her to bed.
I looked up the meaning later. It's always interesting to me that the most common thing my patients use their lucid moments for is to tell me the things they want me most to know about life.
#52
My husband and I are both pediatric HCP’s. He worked in inpatient pediatric heme/onc (cancer) for a while and once had a little girl say to him and her family, “look—the angels are playing baseball and when they’re done I’m going with them!” Those were her last words; she d**d a couple hours later. We still wonder what she was seeing...
#53
I was a nursing assistant (young, fairly attractive female) making last rounds before leaving for the night. I went into this one sweet old guy’s room and he looked up at me sooo ecstatic- I was backlit by the light above the sink- he goes “Are you an angel?” I tell him I’m just coming to check on him and to have a good night and sweet dreams, tuck him in and kiss him on his forehead. The next day I came in to work and find out he d**d in the night.
#55
I am a medical transcription editor and in reports sometimes doctors put quotes from the patients. An elderly person came in for a cardiac catheterization and said, ''My chest hurts but my brain feels fuzzy.'' They dropped d**d on the spot from a massive aortic aneurysm.
#56
I work for a level one trauma center and it's not people's last words that terrify me as much as the lives that end abruptly without any chance for last words.
I am somewhat introverted, but I make sure to communicate my affection for the people in my life any chance I get. You don't necessarily have to live each day as your last, but being sharing affection won't leave you with regrets.
#57
I was a CNA at a small rehab. I witnessed a old woman non-stop yell over and over to exhaustion for 3 days ,"I want to d**!". On the 3rd day , she d**d. She was heavily medicated for pain ( I think her liver was bad if I remember correctly) but it didn't seem to stop her from yelling out. I was only 20. It has been one of the single saddest experiences I ever had gone through. I remember feeling very powerless.
#58
I have nothing to do with Hospitals or anything like that, But the first time I watched scrubs an the episode came on when the old lady wanted to d**, and she said to JD " Whens the last time you sat in the grass an done nothing? you need to start takeing sometime for yourself" From that on, I started to take time for myself an my life is way better.
#59
Actual nurse here:
The superstition is that patients will feel a sense of impending doom when they are going to d**. Sometimes, everything looks great on paper, then they say "I think I'm gonna d**" and then twelve hours later they are lifeless.
The first time this happened to me, it was at the end of a crazy 12 hour shift where my patient had gotten progresively worse, from mildly sick to d**d. When I walked on that evening, he looked me in the eye and told me he was d***g. He was just on a touch of blood pressure and dialysis support. We did all the scans, all the lab work, but nothing could explain why he was tanking so fast. And then right before he d**d 12 hours later, he grabbed my hand, looked me in the eye, and said "I told you so."
Has happened a few other times, but that was the creepiest.
#60
Working a night shift and was assigned a patient who was at death’s door. DNR. Poor prognosis. So basically an expected death.
Now this patient’s family was very doting. They all flew in from wherever they lived (non-local) and would sit with the patient for hours just doing what families do; catching up, telling stories of mom and other anecdotes.
The family, after sitting around for a few days decided to all go out for a late dinner together since mom seemed to be lingering longer than anticipated. After encouraging and reassuring them that I’d call them should mom take a turn for the worse, off they went for a much needed respite.
Not an hour later, the patient dipped dramatically. To the point that she showed signs that the end is nigh. Her last whispered words to me while griping my hand, “I don’t want to d** alone.” Got my colleagues to call the family while I stayed by her bedside trying not to bawl my head off and feeling extreme guilt for sending the family off. I held her hands, trying to reassure her to hang on while wishing fervently that the family makes it in on time.
What felt like hours and was probably only 20 mins, the family arrived and took over holding her hands. The family had maybe an hour with her before she finally succumbed.
To this day, I feel so guilty for almost depriving the family their last moments with a cherished family member. Yes, I know death is not predictable...but the patient not wanting to d** alone...I’m glad it all worked out.
#61
I am a nurse, I had an older gentleman quote Theodens King s death speech for Lord of the Rings... I still can't watch that part without emotion.
#62
Starting off with the standard "I'm not a hospital worker, but..."
After multiple nursing home stays, a leg amputation, and regular kidney dialysis, my grandmother would always cry to be taken home. She was at the point of refusing any kind of further treatment, called the medications poison, called the doctors murderers, and so on. Her situation gradually kept getting worse, and she kept saying that she'd rather be d**d than to go through all of this. My family made the decision that it was best for all of us to bring her back to her home, and we arranged to have hospice care set up to watch over her.
She slowly faded over the course of a week or so, and in a medicated haze, she'd beg for it to be over, crying out "Faster, God, faster!" The sound of her voice saying that still rings through my head.
My parents and I actually lived right across the street from her, but my aunt, her other daughter, lived several states away. Her husband had gone bear hunting to a cabin with his friends, and my aunt wanted to wait a few days until her husband returned from his trip to come to our state to generally say goodbye. If I recall correctly, they didn't make it in time, though they did make it for the funeral. At the funeral, everyone was standing in the cemetery, and people spotted something moving around behind a set of graves. As it continued moving, it became observable that it was a large black bear. It didn't really do anything, just gradually shuffled its way into a nearby wooded area, but it felt like a strange coincidence given the whole bear hunting ordeal.
#64
I am an ICU nurse. A man came in pretty unwell from the ward with a very rapid heart rate and shortness of breath. We were getting him hooked up to the monitor and I was telling him what we were doing and just generally reassuring him. He told me my husband was a very lucky man. He then went in to cardiac arrest and d**d. We worked on him for about half an hour before we called it. I'll never forget him.
#65
I have a friend who recently became a nurse, she came to see me after her first "real" shift, she told me some 30 something guy last words were "I wish someone knew I was here..." before d***g from his wounds after a car crash, she had to finish 7 more hours before the end of her shift, s**t is brutal.
#66
I recently started working at a nursing home but we had a few on hospice.
I met this one lady I was assigned to help with feeding. She spoke to her self softly. I asked her what she was saying and she got louder...
...she was repeating "just let me lay down and d**". I left for a few weeks and was scheduled to her wing again. She had a heart attack the day prior but she survived. I went to take her vitals and she grabbed my hand and said "I just want to d**".
I was a student so my time there was over but I'll always remember her.
#67
"I don't want to d**", looking straight at me as blood poured out of their mouth from oesophageal varices that had ruptured - a literal death sentence, as the patient knew well. I still remember the colour of their eyes.
#68
Not a nurse but I’m a therapist at a hospital. Had a patient basically in his end-stage of life tell me, “I can’t even spend my own money.” Not sure why this hit me so hard but it stuck with me.
#69
I was working in a pediatric cardiac intensive care unit and we had just admitted a toddler from the ED. She had just beaten cancer, but wasn’t feeling too great. They got an ECHO that showed severe cardiomyopathy (most likely from the chemo) which we caught too late. As we were tucking her in to the CICU, the docs let her mom know how sick she was and mom started losing it. Mom was frantically calling her husband to come to the hospital ASAP.
The toddler was still pretty with it to this point and asked her mom, “Mommy, why are you crying?”
Her heart started giving out within the next hour and she d**d while we were trying to get her onto bypass. Her mom’s wails still haunt me to this day.
#70
I don’t remember what his exact last words were nor am I a nurse but I remember the most meaningful thing my grandfather did for me before he passed. He was suffering from a severe cancer all over his body and he had refused treatment since it was already every where when they found it and it was his 3rd time getting cancer . So at his death bed he could barely open his eyes and couldn’t speak . But one thing he could do as I cried and told him how much I loved him was squeeze my hand . It was his way of telling me he heard me and loved me to . I will never forget him as long as I live . I love you grandpa xoxo hope your playing your guitar in heaven.
#71
Not a nurse but been around family d***g.
Hubby, third day coming in an out after a burst bowel with cancer in every organ. hadn't been speaking for a day . woke up and clearly said to me. Hey Barb, pump up the meds i am halfway there now.
I wasn't happy with my options, but what do you do.
#72
I work in oncology, lots death here, usually after the Cheyyne-Stokes stops, it all gurgles and air, half these patients dont get the chance at "last words" as they slip into a more acute state so quickly without even giving em a chance to say goodbye.
#73
Not a nurse but had a kid who was just standing on a sidewalk in a bad neighborhood. Drive by shooting which of course missed their target and hit this kid and and older gentlemen. Older guy was DOA kid got hit in the arm once and chest twice barely clinging to life. Only thing we ever heard him say before he went unconscious was how much pain he was in and that he didn’t want to d** which a few minutes later happened. I’ve never worked so hard on a PT before or since. Partner quit the next day and I’m still going 13 years later.
#74
I worked as a CNA in a nursing home for two years when I was in nursing school. We had patients on hospice frequently, most of them at the end just peacefully slipped away. We had one gentleman who was always just...if he wasn’t trying to grab at my behind he was yelling at me over something I couldn’t help, like the lights in the hallway or his roommate snoring. He used to change his tv every time I came in his room so we could watch shark week and trashy reality shows.
He got a very bad diagnosis and went downhill really really fast over the course of a week or so, and we called his family. They were on their way but they wouldn’t be there for a while so I stayed with him the first night that we all kind of knew he didn’t have much longer. He was panicking. He wouldn’t settle down, he kept saying, “help me,” and there was nothing I could do. I just held his hand and told him over and over he wasn’t alone. He was like that for two or three days before he slipped into a coma. It still breaks my heart. I think about him looking at me that way and frantically asking for help, then telling me he loved me, then asking for help again. I wish there was something I could have done.
I’ve seen death plenty of times, but I’ve never seen that before or since. I hope I never have to.
#75
My first that d**d on me was a 90+ year old man full of cancer and demented. He was so confused and kept taking off his oxygen. His last words to me were "Leave me alone or I'm going to punch your lights out!" Went into respiratory arrest awhile later, we coded him but didn't get him back.
Middle-aged female was in for hypokalemia, recent GI bleed with transfusions. I was hanging IV potassium; it tends to burn a little, so she was not thrilled about it, but she was able to sleep. She woke up when I was hanging bag 2/4, so I told her 3 more to go! She said yippee! or hooray! something like that. About 45 minutes later, she coded out of nowhere. Got to the room and it was a blood bath. We think she had esophageal varices that burst and she basically bled out.
I work Hospice now. My most favorite patient lived alone, so when the end was near. we put him in the hospital for proper symptom management. I had the day off, so the nurse who transferred him called and let me know. I stopped by the hospital that evening and said my goodbyes. He said "thank you" and went unresponsive shortly after I left and d**d just after midnight. He was a grumpy old t**d, and I still miss that man!
#76
Personally not a nurse but my auntie Denise is,one time she was telling us a story of how a middle aged man came in with a gunshot wound to the head,(crit. Cond. Didn't know how he was alive)anyways the way he got the wound was an intruder breaking into his house,according to my aunt what he said was "ill see you soon" really creepy.
#77
I’m not a nurse but I was visiting my grandpa in the hospital and we had the best day together(making jokes, playing games, etc.) well we had to go because my mom and I had a plane to catch early the next morning. We got home fine BUT later that night we got a call telling us that he had just flatlined. So the next day we flew back out and 3 years later it still comes back to me that my last words to him was “I promise to call you tomorrow” But his last words were “I’m looking forward to it”
Oh God now I’m a hot mess.
Sara Frazer 2 hours ago
Oof, similar to the last time I saw my grandma. My daughter and I went to visit her before we went to the zoo. Grandma had been fighting lung cancer for a couple years (don't smoke kids!) and she wasn't looking well. She had lost all her hair at this point. My little daughter was anxious to get to the zoo, so, getting ready to leave, I promised we'd come back tomorrow. In my head I can still see Gram standing in her robe, her bald head, standing but heavily supporting herself on the dining room table. She said "bring food". Those are the last words Gram said to me. She was an excellent cook and made food for generations of family members. As young kids during the Iraq war my sisters and I would help her bake and decorate THOUSANDS of cookies to ship to the troops. She baked hundreds of cookies every year for her city's Christmas tree lighting; a local newspaper had even dubbed her "the cookie lady". The next day she was gone. And she asked me to bring food...that's when it hit
#78
Not a hospital worker, just an average person. My husband's last words were " Let me go", because he was in such pain and hospice decided to change his sheets. He d**d about 4 days later. I wouldn't let them lift him again. My moms last words were "Please help me!" She had cancer and had gotten her pain patches and meds all messed up and was in great pain. It's been my limited experience that one's last words are not the way they wanted to be remembered. And that's not what I remember about them when I think of them, most of the time. They both were heartbreaking and desperate, because there was only so much I could do. To this day I keep wishing I could have done more.
#79
Not a health professional but.
My best friend fainted due to an undiagnosed heart condition, hit his head on something in the bathroom and bled out, thrashing so much they thought it was a m****r scene.
Still gives me nightmares thinking of him terrified and alone in his house.
#80
I'm a medical/surgical RN. There are two patients I'll never forget. One was an elderly woman discharged to hospice who said, "thank you for taking care of me." The other was/is haunting, the worst code I've seen. A not-so-elderly man who said, "you're coming back, right?" Less than an hour later he was gone, exsanguinated out of his mouth from a horrendous GI bleed.
#81
After Dad graduated medical school he was a resident in an inner city emergency department. One night rescue brought in a guy the department knew of, major health issues, major a*******n issues, and a real s*****g to boot. When rescue found him he’d been laying in his own filth for days. His chest x-ray was “lit up like a Christmas tree” with pneumonia, as my dad tells it. His heart was in even worse shape. Even while laid up in bed this guy still found time to harass the nurses, throw out every name in the book, real nice dude.
So my dad was at the nurses station when he notices an irregular rhythm on this guy’s heart monitor (when dad tells it he likes to make a repeating m-shape with his finger). He was going into ventricular tachycardia. Not a great sign. So he headed over.
My dad stood in the doorway and said, “Hey buddy, how do you feel?”
And the guy looked him in the face and yelled, **“With my hands, you jerk-off!”**
And then he d**d.
#82
Not a nurse but the last words my father spoke to me before he became unresponsive in the hospital were “you’re my daughter, you’re supposed to help me”. He passed in August of 2016 and it took me a while to get over his words.
#83
Books and teachers tell you all the time that if your patient thinks they’re d***g, they probably are. Now there are always the theatrical patients who tell you “I’m d***g!” when you tell them they’re being discharged or ask them to please stop s******g the bed. But I did have a patient with a pulmonary embolism who told me “I’m d***g” and meant it.
A pulmonary embolism is a blood clot in your lungs, and they’re super dangerous. Some times you won’t even know you had one till it kills you. But my patient had been transferred to my unit specifically bc he had one. He must have just been on observation for it, no crazy intervention. Or maybe we hadn’t started anything yet. But he got anxious. And told me he felt like something bad was happening. And then he started to fidget. And there was nothing I could do. He threw his clot, he coded, and he d**d. And I gave report and went home and made dinner and just got on with it like any other day. GD nursing can be so dark.
#84
Whoooo boy do I regret reading through a few of these- if you want to sleep tonight/don’t want to experience anxiety by considering the existential crisis of your own death, you may want to avoid reading some of these answers.
For everyone else - Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here.
#85
Network Administrator here.
A physician I was assisting uttered the phrase "Help, someone call security!" as I beat him to d***h with his macbook pro after he removed his VPN client for the third time.
Explore more of these tags
What do you think ?
Dave Van Beurden 16 hours ago
BP: herem an article on the last words of people. Also BP: censor EVERY SINGLE word referring to the end of a life
Multa Nocte 23 hours ago
Jesus BP, what about your mission statement? "At BoredPanda, we believe in the power of creativity to inspire, entertain, and bring people together. We are a lighthearted, community-driven platform where stories spark curiosity and joy. While our content celebrates fun and imagination, we take our ethical responsibilities seriously. We aim to provide a space where creativity thrives on trust, respect, and human integrity."
Samantha H 20 hours ago
@Multa Nocte, yes I agree. When there is an uplifting post on BP a lot of people including myself ask for more of the same. The posts here get darker and darker and are more worthy of being on Ranker - Graveyard shift.
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Dave Van Beurden 16 hours ago
BP: herem an article on the last words of people. Also BP: censor EVERY SINGLE word referring to the end of a life
Multa Nocte 23 hours ago
Jesus BP, what about your mission statement? "At BoredPanda, we believe in the power of creativity to inspire, entertain, and bring people together. We are a lighthearted, community-driven platform where stories spark curiosity and joy. While our content celebrates fun and imagination, we take our ethical responsibilities seriously. We aim to provide a space where creativity thrives on trust, respect, and human integrity."
Samantha H 20 hours ago
@Multa Nocte, yes I agree. When there is an uplifting post on BP a lot of people including myself ask for more of the same. The posts here get darker and darker and are more worthy of being on Ranker - Graveyard shift.
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