What Doctors Wish Their Patients Knew About Death

Having a loved one in the hospital, knowing that they are approaching their final days here, is really difficult to process, but being there for that person and helping them enjoy they time here is really important. Today's episode is a tough look at the inside of hospitals and hospice care when someone is approaching their final weeks to live, and what doctors say could help their patients.

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[EssentialEvil]

I’ll die but at least my comments here forever

[therealdondada]

Doctors gave my father 6 months to live after being diagnosed with testicular cancer. That was 17 years ago.😉

[shanefreund]

Eight months ago my entire life was the same way it always had been. I was about to graduate high school and I was gonna play college football. Six months ago I went to go see a movie with my father (whom I saw every weekend and summer for the last 18 year.) I could see he lost a lot of weight and began to worry. A month later we flew him out to Michigan to be with family so he could get back on his feet medically and financially. Two weeks later he told me he had terminal cancer and had 1-2 years left. I spent the summer with him and put college on hold so I could spend time with him and take care of him. He died this last Monday exactly 5 months after he had been flown out to Michigan. It’s been the most heart breaking thing I have ever had to deal with. My chest feels like it’s being weighed down by a car and I lose my breath when I remind myself that he is gone. His funeral is in 8 hours. Never take the ones you love for granted. I love you dad, you were my best friend.

[bulldogs]

My grandmother has beaten cancer twice. I wanted to tell everyone that there is ALWAYS hope!!

[Jan-zifn]

A doctor told my grandad he'll live for 4 days
Its 11 years later and hes still alive

[steph]

My grandmother raised me. She passed at 90yrs. I promised her and myself I’d be there until her very last breath and I really was. I was caressing her face while listening to her heart through a stethoscope. I was able to hear her very last heartbeat. Im honored I was able to be there with her when she left. RIP my sweet grandma❤️

[theimmortalsuperbeing]

Doctor ( We want to care for you ).

Patient ( I'm Poor ).

Doctor (....NEXT ).

[driftracerepeat]

guy: the doctor gave me six months, so i killed the doctor and the judge gave me 20 years.

[tomp]

My father was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma 9 years ago. I remember the oncologist said he had a 10% chance of living the next three years. Well he is still alive and kicking. Life is definitely full of surprises!

[emobean]

I've seen this happen with three people, three different ways.
First, was my mother's mom.
Cancer. We struggled for months with the doctors, the chemo changing her, and the family battles. She was angry, irritated all the time. My mom stayed by her side the entire time. I was 6 years old, and had just started the first grade. My mother held her hand as she took her last breath. I'm typing this 11 years to the day later.
Second, was my father.
I was 13. It was March 24th, 2016. it was my last year of middle school. My dad was the kind of guy that refuses to go to the doctors. After 13 days in the hospital, they realized he was brain dead, a rare fungal infection called Aspergillosis had taken him. He was an HVAC worker, had his own business, a wife and a daughter. He got infected with the aspergillus fungus when he was working on someone's house during allergy season. My mother and I remember him saying he saw black mold growing. This was during allergy season. Long story short, it went to his lungs and eventually his brain. He wasn't the best parent, but he was my dad. I was the last person he talked to before he went into a coma. His last words were "I love you." The first day he went into the hospital, he told my mother and I to spend time together, and we now realize that he knew. I held his hand as they turned off the machines.

The third was one year and 360 days later, my mother's father. Cancer again. In 2017, we moved in with him because we couldn't keep our old house without my dad. He refused chemo, remembering what it did to his wife. I remember when they called Hospice. He was high off the morphine all the time, glassy eyes, speaking nonsense. He was aggravated that morning because his chest hurt. A few weeks before, the cancer took the right side of his lung and was hurting his heart. I was horribly ill that day, I had a fever of 103, but I didn't care. My mother held him as his heart stopped, we were so scared. My mom had called 911, but he had an order saying not to help him. We hoped he would make it through March. He died at the same time my father was ruled dead, 4:48pm.

Death is unavoidable, but it comes in many ways. I lost three people within a decade, but that wasn't the end. My mother was an orphan and a widow. I lost the connection with my father's side of the family, as they treat me and my mother as outcasts. I realize that you never get over death, but you do come to terms with it and find peace.

[mousetatouille]

Whenever I think about death, I just remind myself that the past, present and the future are happening all at once and that from the perspective of the universe, I am already dead and non existent. That somehow makes me feel better

[shammendraeshwar]

As a medical student this one my fears, as to how I have to break the news.

[aBitSaltyRN]

When I die, I'm going to be a tree. Toss my carcas in a hole, plant a tree on top and let me become part of the universe again by providing fuel for new life. Come give me a hug and talk whenever you'd like. I'll still be here, just in a different form.

The fact that we exist is astounding. We may only get less than 100yrs of the billions before us and trillions after, so do your best to make it count and leave our world better than when you got here.

[JJones]

“My doctor gave me six months to I told him I couldn’t afford to pay his bill, he gave me another six months”. (Henny Youngman)

[iloveeminem]

"a patient died during an act of intimacy"
Imagine being the significant other of that patient

[mysticparanormal]

Man what a crazy subject. My mom January 24th 2017 RIP cancer

[jakara]

Just patiently waiting for a funny comment with 1000 likes

[ChuckFreakingNorris]

*That I can't die because the grim reaper is too scared of me*

[alishainc]

This video reminded me of my grandma who passed away 17 years ago from, cancer makes me teary eyed. I remember how sad she was that we were sad for her so that point made in the video is so true

[marsbars]

Please keep in mind that palliative care doesn’t always mean end of life care. I have Sickle Cell Anemia and I’m on palliative care at 32 years old. I’m not dying (at the moment lol, but we’re all actively dying day by day 😅) but my illness *IS* life threatening, I’ve almost died several times from SCA.

Palliative care can start at the time of diagnosis on wards, whereas hospice care starts when treatment is stopped and is no longer working for the patient and it’s clear they’re going to die. But I guess like the video says, how can one be absolutely sure someone is going to die? Someone can pull through and then oh, oh my gosh golly, it’s a miracle!

I know I can’t speak for others, but I can speak for what I’ve been through. Just know that it’s not always for someone at the end of their life and can also be for people with illnesses like mine that require treatments to stay comfortable with pain they experience, the stress from what is happening to them, and to get a team involved in your care. And with everything that’s going on with the medical community and with it getting harder and harder to get your pain meds unless you have cancer (happening in my area now), it takes a toll on us. But I wanted to mention that. Thanks!