Hospice Nurse Shares A Story Of How A Dying Man Saw His Dogs And People Appear In The Room
Doctors and nurses deserve all the credit for the work they do. After all, they’re the ones who save our lives and nurse us back to health. However, that’s not always the case and hospice workers are aware that their patient’s stay won’t end in a full recovery. While most people see such work as demanding and harrowing, this nurse created a blog to not only express her thoughts and feelings but also familiarize people with her work and experiences.
Recently, Gabrielle Elise Jimenez, the woman behind the blog “The Hospice Heart”, shared a heartwarming exchange she had with one of her patients and the story went viral. The conversation between the two detailed the patient’s experiences and loss.
Bored Panda reached out to Jimenez for more information and she replied with some additional details about herself and her writing. “I am a hospice nurse, currently going back to school to become an End of Life Doula, to be able to provide even more care to people at the end of their life and those who will be left behind,” Gabrielle told us about herself. “I love what I do… it isn’t easy, some days are deeply difficult,” she explained.
More info: thehospiceheart.net
Recently, a hospice nurse took to Facebook to share her interaction with one patient
“I started The Hospice Heart FB page because I wanted to create a safe space for people to be able to to talk about death,” the nurse explained why she created the page. “I am a hospice nurse and I find that I don’t have a lot of people who are willing to talk about it as much as I am, some are very uncomfortable, some are afraid, some are grieving a loss and don’t know what to do or how to navigate it… so much to work through with death,” she said, “I wanted to have a page that would offer comfort, support, education, maybe some insight.”
Image credits: pudgeefeet (not the actual photo)
“It has blown me away the reaction this particular posting has received,” Gabrielle shared. She also explained how she came across the image she used: “I wish I knew who created the photo, I found it on FB a few days before I posted it and thought it resonated so closely to what my patient had shared with me.”
“This page went from 1000 followers to 44,000 in just a few days. Most in part to this story I shared,” she credited the post as the reason her community started growing. “The thing I love most about the FB page is watching as complete strangers communicate with one another, sharing stories, comforting others when they hear their stories.”
Image credits: Prefeitura Balneário Camboriú
“My blog this coming weekend is actually about this, because I became acutely aware of the grief people experience from losing a pet,” Jimenez revealed. “The pain and ache is real, and very deep for those experiencing it.” The hospice nurse also discussed achieving her goal: “My goal was to get the conversation started, to build a village, a beautiful, kind community… and it is happening and I absolutely love it”.
Here’s how people reacted to the touching story
122Kviews
Share on FacebookAfter my mom had surgery she lost her vision and started hallucinating. Mostly she saw animals and children, she would sit there and wave and say "Oh look at that little cutie pie." ..but there was nothing there. Once she saw an apparition that scared her so I walked over to the blank space she was pointing at and kicked that invisible apparitions a*s...I'm sure I looked insane but hey I love my mom and when I say there's nothing I wouldn't do for her that includes beating the c**p out of dust particles.
I hope your defence drove away the apparition. That was sweet of you. I babysat a little girl who thought there was a monster in the closet and wanted the door shut. I told her to leave the door open a little so that air could get in and the monster would relax and leave her alone. She started running in and out of the closet -- and looked back to see that no monster was coming after her. I had the same fear as a child, so it wasn't hard for me to play along.
Load More Replies...I'd much rather see all my dogs at the end than god. My dogs shared their joy with me in life. God? Not so much.
I would like to see both since both my faith and my dogs are a large part of my life. But it would not be heaven if my animals were not there.
Load More Replies...My dead dogs visit me in my dreams. I wake up crying as I remind myself in those dreams that they are dead. The same happens with my grandparents. My grandfather always smiles so happily when he sees me.
I have found myself doing that sometimes, the reminding that they are no longer alive. It is sucky and s****y waking up to reality.
Load More Replies...I don't know how Hospice nurses find the strength to get out of bed every day....but I'm so very very thankful that they do. They see so much death, and yet it doesn't harden them to it, they remain are gentle and warm and they help ease the pain at such a difficult time. It's so hard to tell someone they're dying and to help them make sense of that...thank you, from the bottom of my heart for all you do
I always equated Hospice nurses as angels of death, because it is normally for end of life care. Having seen their compassion and strength and heard their well-chosen and heart felt words when we needed their care, I will always remember them and appreciate what they did. It's a vocation.
Load More Replies...Before my beloved grandfather (a Holocaust survivor) passed, he would tell us that he could see people he'd lost out of the corner of his eye -- his sister and brother who had been killed during the Warsaw Ghetto uprising while smuggling medication and supplies into the Ghetto... his parents who died in the camps... friends he'd lost over the years. When he said my grandmother was calling for him (she'd passed 5 months before... they'd been together something like 65 years), that's when we knew he'd go. He passed 2 days later. I still miss him and wish I could have had him around in my adulthood. He was an amazing, kind, brilliant, lovely man.
I volunteered for hospice for years. All of us that have worked in that field know that things change as people move closer to death. There are experiences and visits and conversations and they seem to be calming and peaceful and beautiful. Death is not to be feared. It's a step into something wondrous.
Thank you for what you did. You bought comfort to those who needed it- it's a gift to have the right words, to be at someone's side and listen to their onward journey.
Load More Replies...My grandfather had a stroke and the day he died after a sudden heart attack, he was smiling. He was still smiling clearly in his coffin. Was a reasuarrance that he went home happy. But the interesting part is, he spend his last week's clearing all his loan and even paid tithe at the church he use to go to. He kept telling us the house we were building for him, was not for him but for us. And surely, he died before the house was completed. Every time I went near his graveyard, i felt his presence.
My father passed last May after a long battle with dementia. My sister said in the days leading up to his death, he kept talking to his mother. She had passed 15 years earlier from the same malady. On the day he passed...he kept calling "Mom? Mom?" Then he smiled. Fell asleep.. He slipped away later that day.
Once again, dogs making the impact on someones life, his dogs are what made him tear up, now that's made me want to cry, i hope i am reunited with my dogs at the end, i don't believe in heaven or god and all that but i do hope i see all my beautiful dogs again.
I did some studying with a couple of different shamans many years ago now. The most important things I took away was there is more to life and death than life and death, and love is the power behind the universe.
My dad saw people all the time as he slipped away from dementia over several months. A whole range including children, lost relatives etc., but also some horribly injured people or enemy soldiers from his time in the military. They were sometimes distracting, often deeply troubling. The way it all panned out just made me think he was living out subconscious thoughts, like a waking dream, no element of spirituality in it at all.
When my younger brother suffered a seizure from the doctor who over Rx a med, he was in a coma for 7 days. The quack Dr Bell, told me to make arrangements for the funeral. I nearly smacked the sob, as he had over Rx the epilepsy meds. I had him transferred toa better hospital and they did a full blood exchange after 3 days he came out of the coma and talked about seeing our Uncle Matty and our dog Sammy. I asked him where did he see Matty, he said in heaven. I asked him what he was wearing a brown suit, white shirt blue tie. Mind you our Uncle Matty died in the 1st 72 hours when Al was in his coma. We did not discuss anything with Al while he was in a coma. Talk about your hair rising. He did recover completely but sadly I lost him in 2016 from complications from stomach surgery. I know he has visited me and the dogs several times since his passing. During the middle of the night and sometimes during the early AM hours, the dogs will bark and no one is there...PAX+
Death isn't the end. Those who hold to the candle theory, that at death pooof, the light simply goes out, have another think coming. It is appointed for man once to die, then the judgment.
Sometimes I really wonder if stuff like that is true, when my mom was dying she said she could hear our cat meowing at the door where he would always meow if he wanted attention when he was still alive..... Now my mum passed away she visits me in my dreams. It feels real and I hope it is but maybe death is just too much for us to process and our brains makes up stories to be able to process it all or to deal it with other than the harsh reality of not being or loved onces being gone... :( I'm a bit torn....
These stories are so beautiful. I hope when my time comes, that all my animals I have loved and lost during my lifetime will come to visit me. I look forward especially to seeing my wonderful Dad again.
My dad also saw lots of people in the ward during his time in critical care. He didn't know who they were and said he was wondering they could be angels. I thought they either had him on some very good drugs, or, they were indeed spirits from the afterlife. I think it's wonderful that our last days are care of by "spirits" so we can cross over peacefully to "the Big Spaceship in the Sky".
This reminds me of the story the guy told in Dr. Sleep, working hospice has probably got to be one of the hardest jobs out there.
This brings me so much comfort and peace to know we all have similar experiences with loved ones who have passed. I remember the week my day passed, he wanted us to organize family photos and for us kids to walk to school together and home. He was very sentimental so he said a few words about his dad and mom during the week but we didn’t think much of it until afterwards. This definitely makes me feel at ease knowing although he passed away alone, he had people who loved him waiting for him.
When my Grandfather's time came, my Mum was there holding his hand, and he kept saying he wanted to to home...so she told him that it was okay for him to go and he passed away soon after. I had a dream that morning that I was there with him, sitting on his bed and holding his hand, and he told me he wanted to stay so that I could get there in time before he went, but I said "it's ok Da (what my sister and I called him cos she couldn't say granddad when she was little), you don't have to wait for me. It's ok if you go now, I'll see you when I get there." And when I woke up I got the call from my Mum to tell me he'd died.
After my mom had surgery she lost her vision and started hallucinating. Mostly she saw animals and children, she would sit there and wave and say "Oh look at that little cutie pie." ..but there was nothing there. Once she saw an apparition that scared her so I walked over to the blank space she was pointing at and kicked that invisible apparitions a*s...I'm sure I looked insane but hey I love my mom and when I say there's nothing I wouldn't do for her that includes beating the c**p out of dust particles.
I hope your defence drove away the apparition. That was sweet of you. I babysat a little girl who thought there was a monster in the closet and wanted the door shut. I told her to leave the door open a little so that air could get in and the monster would relax and leave her alone. She started running in and out of the closet -- and looked back to see that no monster was coming after her. I had the same fear as a child, so it wasn't hard for me to play along.
Load More Replies...I'd much rather see all my dogs at the end than god. My dogs shared their joy with me in life. God? Not so much.
I would like to see both since both my faith and my dogs are a large part of my life. But it would not be heaven if my animals were not there.
Load More Replies...My dead dogs visit me in my dreams. I wake up crying as I remind myself in those dreams that they are dead. The same happens with my grandparents. My grandfather always smiles so happily when he sees me.
I have found myself doing that sometimes, the reminding that they are no longer alive. It is sucky and s****y waking up to reality.
Load More Replies...I don't know how Hospice nurses find the strength to get out of bed every day....but I'm so very very thankful that they do. They see so much death, and yet it doesn't harden them to it, they remain are gentle and warm and they help ease the pain at such a difficult time. It's so hard to tell someone they're dying and to help them make sense of that...thank you, from the bottom of my heart for all you do
I always equated Hospice nurses as angels of death, because it is normally for end of life care. Having seen their compassion and strength and heard their well-chosen and heart felt words when we needed their care, I will always remember them and appreciate what they did. It's a vocation.
Load More Replies...Before my beloved grandfather (a Holocaust survivor) passed, he would tell us that he could see people he'd lost out of the corner of his eye -- his sister and brother who had been killed during the Warsaw Ghetto uprising while smuggling medication and supplies into the Ghetto... his parents who died in the camps... friends he'd lost over the years. When he said my grandmother was calling for him (she'd passed 5 months before... they'd been together something like 65 years), that's when we knew he'd go. He passed 2 days later. I still miss him and wish I could have had him around in my adulthood. He was an amazing, kind, brilliant, lovely man.
I volunteered for hospice for years. All of us that have worked in that field know that things change as people move closer to death. There are experiences and visits and conversations and they seem to be calming and peaceful and beautiful. Death is not to be feared. It's a step into something wondrous.
Thank you for what you did. You bought comfort to those who needed it- it's a gift to have the right words, to be at someone's side and listen to their onward journey.
Load More Replies...My grandfather had a stroke and the day he died after a sudden heart attack, he was smiling. He was still smiling clearly in his coffin. Was a reasuarrance that he went home happy. But the interesting part is, he spend his last week's clearing all his loan and even paid tithe at the church he use to go to. He kept telling us the house we were building for him, was not for him but for us. And surely, he died before the house was completed. Every time I went near his graveyard, i felt his presence.
My father passed last May after a long battle with dementia. My sister said in the days leading up to his death, he kept talking to his mother. She had passed 15 years earlier from the same malady. On the day he passed...he kept calling "Mom? Mom?" Then he smiled. Fell asleep.. He slipped away later that day.
Once again, dogs making the impact on someones life, his dogs are what made him tear up, now that's made me want to cry, i hope i am reunited with my dogs at the end, i don't believe in heaven or god and all that but i do hope i see all my beautiful dogs again.
I did some studying with a couple of different shamans many years ago now. The most important things I took away was there is more to life and death than life and death, and love is the power behind the universe.
My dad saw people all the time as he slipped away from dementia over several months. A whole range including children, lost relatives etc., but also some horribly injured people or enemy soldiers from his time in the military. They were sometimes distracting, often deeply troubling. The way it all panned out just made me think he was living out subconscious thoughts, like a waking dream, no element of spirituality in it at all.
When my younger brother suffered a seizure from the doctor who over Rx a med, he was in a coma for 7 days. The quack Dr Bell, told me to make arrangements for the funeral. I nearly smacked the sob, as he had over Rx the epilepsy meds. I had him transferred toa better hospital and they did a full blood exchange after 3 days he came out of the coma and talked about seeing our Uncle Matty and our dog Sammy. I asked him where did he see Matty, he said in heaven. I asked him what he was wearing a brown suit, white shirt blue tie. Mind you our Uncle Matty died in the 1st 72 hours when Al was in his coma. We did not discuss anything with Al while he was in a coma. Talk about your hair rising. He did recover completely but sadly I lost him in 2016 from complications from stomach surgery. I know he has visited me and the dogs several times since his passing. During the middle of the night and sometimes during the early AM hours, the dogs will bark and no one is there...PAX+
Death isn't the end. Those who hold to the candle theory, that at death pooof, the light simply goes out, have another think coming. It is appointed for man once to die, then the judgment.
Sometimes I really wonder if stuff like that is true, when my mom was dying she said she could hear our cat meowing at the door where he would always meow if he wanted attention when he was still alive..... Now my mum passed away she visits me in my dreams. It feels real and I hope it is but maybe death is just too much for us to process and our brains makes up stories to be able to process it all or to deal it with other than the harsh reality of not being or loved onces being gone... :( I'm a bit torn....
These stories are so beautiful. I hope when my time comes, that all my animals I have loved and lost during my lifetime will come to visit me. I look forward especially to seeing my wonderful Dad again.
My dad also saw lots of people in the ward during his time in critical care. He didn't know who they were and said he was wondering they could be angels. I thought they either had him on some very good drugs, or, they were indeed spirits from the afterlife. I think it's wonderful that our last days are care of by "spirits" so we can cross over peacefully to "the Big Spaceship in the Sky".
This reminds me of the story the guy told in Dr. Sleep, working hospice has probably got to be one of the hardest jobs out there.
This brings me so much comfort and peace to know we all have similar experiences with loved ones who have passed. I remember the week my day passed, he wanted us to organize family photos and for us kids to walk to school together and home. He was very sentimental so he said a few words about his dad and mom during the week but we didn’t think much of it until afterwards. This definitely makes me feel at ease knowing although he passed away alone, he had people who loved him waiting for him.
When my Grandfather's time came, my Mum was there holding his hand, and he kept saying he wanted to to home...so she told him that it was okay for him to go and he passed away soon after. I had a dream that morning that I was there with him, sitting on his bed and holding his hand, and he told me he wanted to stay so that I could get there in time before he went, but I said "it's ok Da (what my sister and I called him cos she couldn't say granddad when she was little), you don't have to wait for me. It's ok if you go now, I'll see you when I get there." And when I woke up I got the call from my Mum to tell me he'd died.
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