What is Hospice (and what happens at the end of life?) | Nurse Shares All | The Patient Story 

My mom was in Hospice till she passed from cancer. The hospital that she gave birth to me, had added a hospice floor many years after my birth. They let her stay there the last two weeks of her life. I told the retail store that I had worked for, for over 20 years, that I had to be with her. I’m so thankful to Kohls for allowing me to do that. So I sat with mom till the end. It was so hard. My dad would drive from home every day to be with her. The part about that, was he was in the early stages of dementia. It’s awful.

My father went into hospice at home with weekly visits from medical personnel. He had cancer. His doctors had operated and they bought him another 5 years of a good life. But now it was time for hospice. They predicted 6 months. At 6 months he was not dead. He had many friends come by to visit him. He was a very intelligent and gregarious guy and I think the visiting friends kept him going. And then there were the many phone calls. The doctor said to try and keep his weight up. Give him whatever he wants to eat. I'd go to my folks home and hang out with him. One day, after a rough day at work, I bought a large bottle of Sapporo beer and watched basketball with him. I suddenly thought to ask him if he wanted some beer (calories). Yes he did. I got a juice glass and gave him some. (He was not on a heavy pain regimen. That came at the end.) At the time I discovered that Sapporo beer was making these small beers in cans about half the size of a regular beer. I started buying them for him. I don't think Mom was thrilled, but Dad always enjoyed a beer after coming home from work. So he really enjoyed this treat. Probably gave him a little buzz, but we weren't cautioned on it. Anyway, my father lived another 7 months. The hospice group said that even though he had passed the 6 months mark, they weren't going to kick him out because they all liked him so much and the end was coming. My Dad had a way of making everyone around him feel good. (He always was a popular guy.) My father loved life so much. He fought until his very last breath. He had managed to live longer thanks to his friends visiting, phone calls, and family. The day he died I thought I would too.

I follow Hospice Nurse online (TikTok) and I find the posts extremely interesting. I had a near death experience in Afghanistan, and I was ready to die, I accepted it was happening ... but it didn't happen. Since then, I have been at peace with death, and listening to the Hospice Nurse has relieved some of my thoughts on death. Being a Hospice Nurse is a calling, and we appreciate you greatly.

We had a patient at our hospice house that was so fragile. Her pain and agitation was difficult to control. She kept hanging on and hanging on. Her birthday was approaching in about a week when her daughters wondered if she was just hanging on to make it to that day. They enlisted our help to have a birthday celebration with big balloons, a big birthday sign signed by everyone, singing. Later that evening she passed. We all think she was at peace believing she reached her goal.

I knew one young man that after a severe accident had seen his Grandmother and she sent him back…that it wasn’t his time. He lived to tell the story.

My experience with hospice is I do the caregiving 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and hospice pops in a couple times a week to help with baths.

We had hospice care for my 88 year old father who lived with my wife and me. He had a very weak heart. When we told him that we placed him in hospice care, he seemed to accept and understand that. I personally wasn't clear on what hospice care is until one of the caregivers explained it in simple terms. He said their job is to neither accelerate or delay the patient's death. I suddenly was clear on what their job was. They kept my father comfortable and let nature take its course. He died peacefully in his sleep at 3 AM. That's exactly how it happened.

I work for a nonprofit hospice in the Central Valley in California. We have the only Hospice Home in our county. It’s small - only 10 beds - but patients get individualized care and we can have GIP patients or transitional care patients there. We open the doors to our hospice home in 2015 and it’s beautiful!

I totally understand about seeing people. My mother had miscarriages for 17 years before I was born. I was widowed in my 20s. The day before my mother died she was in a coma like state and had fought alzheimers for years. Suddenly woke up and was more lucid than she had been in years, started talking about the little girls and boys and how cute they were, said she was staring into the heavens and she said she wished I could see what she is seeing. She then mentioned the man next to me and said he has long hair and looks like Jesus and Therman (deceased husband) is standing next to him. After she passed I had thought the girls and boys were hallucinations until my cousin said to think about it all those miscarriages are the boys and girls.

My grandmother saw her mother before she passed. I was a CNA in a nursing home and almost all of my patients talked about seeing their relatives.

Hospice nurse Julie is the best. I hope one day when I'm dying I have her at my bedside. She's great

This is just too sad. I hope I just fall asleep in my sleep when I'm old. I just wonder how the nurses work at a hospice, and aren't sad every day, when people are dying. Especially when the patient has been there for a while. Thank you for all you do Nurse Julie. You are so brave. ❤

I have seen my Father's hospice, and perhaps my Brother who has been disgnosed w/heart failure. I hope not for a great many years. I have served as hospice 'nurse' for many pets, we called it Palliative Care. To work closely with the Vet, and to keep the animal as pain free and comfortable as possible, during their Last Days. A sad thing, but rewarding.

Julie I wish I had known you three years ago. My husband went on Hospice 3-23-2020. When the Hospice nurse left, after not saying hardly anything, said she would see my husband in two weeks. He died 3-25-2020 which was two days instead of two weeks. Oh how I wish you had been his Hospice nurse. Of course this is when COVID was coming rampant. I saw my husband on Monday 3-23-2020 and I was going back on Thursday due to the fact they, the nursing home, would not allow due to COVID. Well he died at 4:30 am on Wednesday 3-25-2020. They did not even call me from the nursing home so I could see him before he died and I could have told him I loved him and tell him goodbye. I thoroughly enjoy your messages. God bless you. You are the best. I still cannot believe the love of my life is gone. I still cry.

Oh my gosh, my mom was on Fentanyl, morphine, and and anti nausea! I was the last one to give mom her medication! The thought entered my mine that I had given her too much! I gave momma what she had been getting. She had the death rattle within the last 6 to 8 hours, was unconscious and had talked to my deceased grandmother within 36 hours of her death.

A couple months before my mom, a chf and copd patient passed, she told me that she saw people in the livingroom and they were talking about her. She said this very matter of factly, was not frightened by the occurrences. I was fascinated. My Dad would see and talk about and talk to his deceased mother and sisters. He was a dementia patient.

Thank u nurse Julie Your information regarding death and dying My father was in home hospice and everything u described that happened to patients did happened to my father So I was strong when everything happened My father passed 10 22 22 I thank u Keep up the good work

You’re both doing a fine job explaining hospice, palliative care and the dying process. Thanks.

Thankyou for spreading the truth about dying - My wife died under the care of hospice - They did it right - no fluid etc--God bless You

Thank you Ms Julie for being the best resource person for the end of life care. Blessings!

I remember when my paternal grandfather was in hospice care in the last 4 years of his life. My grandmother passed in July 2001, and he passed in December 2005. During the time in between, I witnessed him going downhill fast. Seeing him at my grandmother's funeral was the last time he was self-sufficient, lucid and totally aware of what was going on around him. Within a couple years, he was bedridden, lost control of his bowels and had to wear adult diapers, and he constantly called out to relatives who passed away decades ago. He had to have live-in care around the clock. He eventually passed at the ripe old age of 92, but I can't help but feel those last 4 years were anything but quality years. I hope he's in a better place where the suffering he endured here on Earth is way behind him.

I love hospice! My Dad was on hospice before he died and all the hospice staff were great. I find Julie the hospice nurse very interesting and informative. Thanks for all you do.

In high school we read On Death and Dying by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross. Can I just say, “WOW”. What a great book!

I was a CNA at a nursing home, one of everyone's fav patients was dying on hospice. She would go up & down the last month. The night she passed, I went in her room and could tell she was going that night. I told the nurse and she turned around and said "She's on hospice, what do you think I can do about it?". OMG, I flew mad and told her, well, i thought you might want to check her so you can chart or maybe call family & hospice. I still get mad when I think about it. Then she came in the room and grabbing her hand, etc touching. Touching triggers them to breath instead of going on. Come to find out, the nurse was stealing pain pills meant for her other patients, which is what she was doing when I went to get her.

Thank you so much Julie for all the education you do. I watch your channel all the time. I saw the death experience up close last year with my dad. He was in the hospital for a blocked bowel and then had a sudden decline. He died in 3 days so there was no time for hospice. If we had a choice it would be hospice. That's what I want if I have a prolong ed and terminal illness

Thank you Julie, my uncle whom I love as a father has always been there for me pass away early Friday morning, the hospice nurse were excellent and caring, I pay attention to what you say in your videos - until the end what you said happened, he went peacefully, I was very much aware of what was happening and I was extremely happy to be with him 🙏 Thank you to you, his hospice nurses and all hospice nurses ❤

Julie, I am a in home Hospice patient, I have pulmonary disease and arthritis among other medical problems. I am bedridden and can only get to my bathroom with assistance. I am on oxygen 24/7 and nebulizer. Hospice nurses are so good to me and I love each and every one of them. I have a question; is there a limit as to how long a person can remain on Hospice? I worry about that because I know I could never survive without Hospice, and I thank you for all you do for those of us who depend on Hospice, God Bless you.

I want to give a big thank you to the care they give to help me and my son get through his cancer they give me the skills to be able to give care until he passed they give me training and always made me feel I could do it God bless these nurses that give us this time with are kids and give them time to live. Pain free to able to date drive and have fun until bed reed.

My husband died of glioblastoma. I had to demand hospice after he was hooked up to glucose, completely non responsive and neurological oncologist said he was not going to regain consciousness after three days of actively dying. The dang hospitalist doctor kept hounding me to put him on a ventilator, he admitted my husband would never come off. His organs were failing. Five hours prior to his death hospital’s doctor agreed to let him go to the hospice house. He was only at the hospice house 56 minutes. I find the doctors have trouble giving up. Doctors are programmed to save, but that is not always possible. My hubby wanted to die at home but he was not allowed to come here because of his condition. At least the hospice house way lovely and the caregivers were amazing. We were allowed to stay with his body as long as we wanted.

I LOVE JULIE... Julie is like the nurse you dream of having with you, especially if you're dying. I have heart disease, and when I was in ICU after my surgery, I can't stress enough how important a good nurse is, you gotta love your job, or you really shouldn't be a nurse. It's been over 3 years since my long stay in hospital, (I had complications), but I could almost cry right now, just thinking of my 2 favorite nurses, Erin, and Grace, (at Cedar Sinai in LA). Thank you girls, you don't know how special, and cared for you made me feel, they would switch shifts with other nurses to be my nurse for the night, I loved them for that. The only other nurses name I remember, is the one that made me cry. She was gorgeous, beautiful hair.... But I never saw her smile, she got me up, sat me in a chair, and ignored me all day, I was so sad.

I love what you are doing. Thank you

I love to watch her on RU-vid. She is so informative and professional. Love her.

"If I had all the money in the world, I would still want to do hospice nursing" I feel that way about my job as a maintenance mechanic in a nursing home. The patients are gold. Love is the reason to live.

Again Julie, thank you! YOU ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE!! 💜😊😇

It is good that you are doing this and I believe it is doing much needed. Because there are not only I divduals that need help in dealing and accepting death but doctors that need to help their patients pass more easily even as in 2023.

Thank you for all this information, when the time comes this will be in the list of videos I want my kids to watch.

My brother is in an inpatient Hospice facility in Arizona. I was just there visiting him but unfortunately he couldn't communicate but I think he knew I was there because he opened his eyes while I was taking to him.

I just love her! I wish she had been my mom's hospice nurse. My mom was actively dying at night and was agitated and I called the hospice nurse who just called the doctor for more meds. She didn't come out. I was there with my mom, but I could have used some support..

My sister was a hospice nurse. In the latter years of her nursing career ( she work in the children cancer ward in the first part of her career). She eventually need hospice care herself She knew her disease ( ovarian cancer ) although she was diagnosed late with late stages and knew even if it was treated cancer will come back. Hospice help my mom , brother but my dad was in hospital with palliative care( I not sure if that just a hospital speak). .

Hmmmm…when my dad was on hospice I took his vitals every day and kept a log. I could then immediately tell if anything was going on and it was a help also to my hospice nurse to verify. Thank you for all the information. A wonderful service to others.

Bless you Julie. You have answered so many of my questions and helped ease meold heart. Ax

Renal Failure. The hospice nurses are angels.

Thank you Nurse Julie, My grandmother has stage 4 breast cancer plus multiple orhan failures and she had suffered too much that is why we decided to undergo pallative care. its hard to accept that she will leave us anytime but Im trying to accept it. 😢

Thank you for your videos. 😊

I know this is an old video, I have to share this though. My son had Leukemia he had relapsed many times. We went to an amusement park (I will not name which park) he had a piece of pizza and got very sick. they came and got him and took him to entrance and he was transferred to an Ambulance. He had gotten E. coli. Then he got yeast after that. it looked like chicken pox. his immune system was very low, and his body could not fight the yeast. The Doctors where not handing out hope. The yeast was spreading on his inside lung liver Brain. We were in the hospital for about 2 months. I was pathetic asking God not to let him suffer. His dad job took up a collection and bought him a go cart. we took him to the playroom to see it. He seemed so excited to have a go cart. I began praying that he would get to ride the cart and go on make a wish. He was on an oxygen level machine. We called ET finger. it went off. He said he was floating, and he saw Grandma. Then he said he was going to heaven for a visit. I asked just for a visit? he said it was just a visit. When came out of it for 24 hrs. he was able to straighten his legs and walk with little help to the bathroom. He did get to go home and ride to go cart and have a wish trip. Leukemia came back I suppose that 24 hrs. was just saying he would be ok for a little while. Just wanted you guys to know that you can see spirits and live. God is still healing.

Thank you so much!

Hospice helped very little when my sister was dying of cancer. It was awful, I was tired, and nothing went the way the oncologist said it would. Honestly the best help I had was the CNA who came to give her a sponge bath . My sisters last few days were awful, she was gasping and other things, and no one came I was left all on my own. Her daughter came to take nights last couple nights. The doctor said she’d pass peacefully in her sleep. Nothing like that happened. My brother in law passed “in hospice “ too. Their biggest concern, when my sis called to tell them he had died, was to frantically take care of the morphine. No one relieved anyone on nights, with cares, with anything beyond hauling in a hospital bed. That’s probably why SHE ended up with cancer.

When my father was on his deathbed he came right out and said to us "I'm dying." My question is, how do you know you are dying?

Thanks for posting

I wish I would have knew some of these things

We love your channel we’re not afraid to die anymore and please keep on explaining how the doctors know you’re gonna die and does the bloodwork tell you if you’re gonna die and does the oncologist tell you where the hospice place is do you die at the hospice or do you just call 911 and die at the regular hospital because we don’t know anything we only went to the doctor a few times when we were kid we don’t know how to die or where to die

I cannot take opiods of any kind. It makes my BP drop like a stone plus they don't have any effect on my pain. I wear a Medic Alert just for that reason. I can take Toradol which is what they gave me when I had a hysterectomy. Everyone is different.

I don’t really understand this because my aunt is in the nursing home on hospice. They do not give her any food or drink. They do not give her her sugar medications. They are just pushing morphine on her every four hours. They do not assess her pain at all. This is in spite of her vital signs being good. This experience has been straining to the point that I wouldn’t want a close loved one on hospice unless they were at home where the family could oversee it.

well when my MIL was in the nursing home dying from cirrhosis and congestive heart failure she was really struggling at the end....she went from the hospital on 10/31/92to the nursing home. They said oh she's struggling but we can give her morphine and it will calm her but she may pass. Well I'd been visiting daily and she wasn't eating much, saying much etc. so I was thinking she might not have long but then we'd been called there very late one evening and I had just been there 3 hours before she had seemed very calm and mostly just dozing and not very responsive but suddenly they call us back and you can see her suffering was palpable and she was so agitated and struggling so we said okay and they gave it to her and she instantly died. I mean Instantly! like within 3 seconds just flat out stopped breathing and was gone. So you can't tell me that wasn't murder cuz it was. That was Nov 7th. Then they said okay, you have to get her stuff out of here by noon tomorrow like right then they said this! She had just died like two minutes before and we're standing there stunned and they start talking about getting her stuff out of there right after they asked what nursing home to call. So we had to get her stuff the very next morning November 8th. We took it back to her assisted living apartment that we'd already paid the month of November and they told us we had 3 days to remove all her possessions or they would be disposed of. So we had to get everything out by Nov 11th and the funeral and burial was Nov 12th. People are so cold sometimes.

I had a wonderful experience with Hospice. I could not have coped with losing my daughter without their help. My daughter had terminal cervical cancer, my daughter wanted me to take care of her, yet, I didn’t have confidence in myself, but Hospice brought her a nice bed, all necessary supplies, they stayed with me with for 3 days. 24 hours a day, training me how to clean and treat a debried bed sore, how to change sheets while she was in bed, because, she could not get out of bed because radiation had destroyed her muscles, plus had caused a fissure between her right kidney and they🎉 had a tube coming out of that kidney drawing into a bag, the other kidney was catheterized draining into another bag, she lived for 5 mo since diagnosis in Jan, died in June. God did answer many of my prayers during this very difficult time, she did not have pain, she did have a lot of discomfort, but she refused to take morphine and took Tylenol as needed. I thank God for giving me the ability to take care of her and I read her devotions once a day from the Bible, we played cards, watched TV together up until the last week of her life, she didn’t have control of getting sick; so the hospice nurse told me she needed to be in a hospice facility because they would be able to control this, my daughter agreed and an ambulance took her willingly, and she was made comfortable, She quit eating, but would drink the milkshakes I would bring and would drink code red made by Mountain Dew that helped keep her alert as Hospice gave her a low dose Of Oxycodone, she had a lot of friends come and visit, and my husband and I held her hands as she died peacefully with a smile on her face as she went into the presence of the Lord. Thank you Hospice for helping me take care of her, her favorite care person who came to our house 3 times a week and gave her a bath and helped me wash her hair came to her memorial service. She often stopped by to see how I was doing after she went to heaven 😮

I have so many questions.

What about liver cirrhosis and chronic pancreatitis?

I'm 55 & healthy. How do I book Nurse Julie in advance?

What about heart patients and hospice? I'm not yet at that stage but Im worried I might end at hospice. I don't know if I can live a somewhat normal life so can I live that?

I was kinda kidding. However, I've been a veterinary nurse for 28 years. I deal with death every single day. I am going to mortuary school soon. So, let's talk about animals & the grief similarities.

We have hospice care facilities in Ohio.

Thank u, Stephanie f educating us n caring!❤️ I don’t want to get into the horrors of what I witnessed thru this organization, concerning a family member who had MUCH life left. This organization should have a label....GR1M REAPER, or WORSE! My stepdad FOUGHT for his life, alongside myself. The day after a stroke, he had ALL functions except couldn’t talk, yet, but was euthanized by hospice. Ex’s mom just euthanized to save her spouses house f nursing home taking it, and SNEAKING MORPHINE pills and FORCING them, ending life. IT NEEDS TO END...NOT TOMORROW...NOW!!!!

If you ate contemplating hospice you need to really discuss what medications will be discontinued first. If they end your treatment for cancer they may also insist on ending other drugs like your heart medicine because that would extend your life…maybe that’s not supposed to happen but you really need to argue about it and get it in writing before signing up. I really wonder what they’d do with an insulin dependent diabetic.

I feel my Mom could do with hospice but she decided home is for her. I think hospice would take care of her and her pain etc well but she wants home. Its getting more difficult to look after her. I have had to flannel wash her in bed and change her pad in bed with her lying down very gently and change the sheets (try getting new ones on) when shes taken pad off......... I have cleaned up no 2s on her and on carpets etc help her dress and comb her hair. I have started putting on weekly pain patches. She has been in pain and shes allowed paracentamol and a pregnatin at night which seems to help. The four visits a day from carers seem to be mainly microwaving food I have brought in. Family isnt supporting me apart from OH who gives me a lift so some pressure is taken off. I have had a stroke in the past and I dont want another one. This week I feel pooped and emotional seeing her looking that look. I am wasting energy on feeling angry no one else is hands on in the family. Also I havent spoken to her about her approaching death. Then you have to look like you arent pooped inf ront of them so they dont feel bad about it

I see you're very busy switching from interview to interview I hope you can answer some questions dance I reported earlier my grandmother broker hip went in nursing home and was in the process of dying she was angry she looked mean she grabbed me and scratched me Was it just plain agitation Or did she hate me for putting her in the nursing home 20 and I suffer with this guilt ever since she was 94 years old

I am so grateful for hospice, because it DOES fill a "need" that just hospitals do not with their set protocols and limitations. We ALL face DEATH.

I felt the worst pain in my life. I have stage 4 cancer and it only lasted one day.

My Mom was on Hospice for about 3 weeks. They put her on sublingual Ativan and Roxynol. I gave it as directed. The Hospice nurse told me to increase the Roxynol…so I did. I thought I was overdosing her so I lowered the dose. Well! She sat straight up in the bed and screamed at me. You horrible POS, give me my medicine. I knew she was delirious, but I gave her twice the dose. She scared the daylights out of me. This took all the fear of overdosing her out of my mind. She was in a coma, and hadn’t said anything for 2 weeks. All she did was sleep and call out to her Mom. The Hospice nurse told me to increase the Roxynol again, so I did. She lasted another 5 days, then passed. I was not overdosing her, she truly needed this pain medicine. Its ironic how Julie mentions that you think you’re overdosing your loved one. I knew exactly what she meant. Mom passed from Rectal cancer.

What are the charges for having a hospice nurse and the hospice care I haven't seen anything and I I listen to you daily so I just kind of wondered what are the charges and where does it come from thank you for all you do

Rarely too early, often too late.

I hope that when my death comes long from now that i get the deathbed visions. I want my dad and grandparents to come get me. I think it would be the best transition ever. By then my mom will have passed away too. I want her to come get me with all of the family

Hi...Can a person with an aneurysm rupture bleeding in the brain servive ?

Did someone who was on hospice ever miraculously cure? I ask u this question because I have heard of some miracle stories. Do u know some incredible cases in which someone terminally ill, suddenly is cured, and doctors just can't explain it?

mt mom wanted ice cream, she died a week later.

When my Daddy was dying , I asked him if there was anything I could get for him and he said he wanted an orange really bad. My dad didn't like oranges at all for his whole life. I got him some and he ate them. He died days later.

How long can a patient be on these meds, prior to starting morphine? My fil has just started the package of 3 of the meds but no morphine.. yet…

I have been wanting to ask and Im unsure how to ask but to be blunt. I have witnessed several deaths and I would like to know when does that smell start, I mean before death?

How do you defend yourself when people are taking advantage of you? (Due to your age or people who are only serving their own personal interest.)

Is end stage and end of life the same thing

Does nurse Julie have a RU-vid channel?

What if you have no family?

It’s time for people to realize that our souls live on after death. Being in sprit form is our natural state and being physical is actually not our natural existence. That is why we die and reincarnate.😊

With all due respect; hospice does NOT come to the home when they are really needed. My daughter fell and hurt her ankle. She couldn’t walk after the fall. She started not being able to take her medicine. I called hospice and they told me no one can come to check on her, because it was the weekend. So No hospice will NOT come when really needed.

Pray for their salvation.. Life everlasting in Christ.. He is the truth.. The way and life..

This was really interesting but I'm sorry to say that there is something about this nurse I find a tad creepy..if he interested to know if she herself has had a loved one go through the hospice routine she describes....and when her time comes, if she'll feel the same....as a side note, I am a cancer survivor of six years but now have a recently diagnosed recurrence, I was also a palliative carer for five years, looking after patients overnight in their own homes....just my opinion..

Too bad nurse isn't"t equal to firefighter. Look at the pay and benefits a firefighter, typically male dominated field, gets in comparison to these nurses. Ridiculous!

EVERYBODY CAN CHOICE MANY KOREAN STRONG HANDSOME BITEN SMART MEN PLAYING TOGETHER !