Truly Haunting Last Moments
Dying is a natural part of life, but that doesn't make it any easier. Last moments can be harrowing, shocking, or poignant—and these stories might make you think about your own mortality.
1. Resigned And Done
My dad was in the hospital and found out he had lung cancer. It was him, my stepmom, and a nurse in the room. He told my stepmom to get him something just to get her to leave the room. The nurse said that before she could stop him, he made a drastic decision. He took off his oxygen mask, said "I'm done" and lost consciousness immediately.
He was on life support for a day or so, but he was already gone. When we pulled the plug, his body went in less than five minutes. I guess he really was done.
2. Confusion In Hospice
I worked as a nurse’s aide in a nursing home, for just two months, brand new. This gentleman was assigned to my caseload the entire time I had worked there, and was in hospice the whole time, but had seemed to be doing well. This night, I was working with him, and he seemed off. I talked to him and explained what I was doing to care for him, but he just sounded so angry and confused.
I was new to this, so I didn’t know quite what to do, so I pressed on. He got so freaked out—he did the unthinkable: He took his oxygen tubing and tried to wrap it around my throat to choke me. I got away, told the nurse, and was told that confusion and aggression were common when people were dying, he needed his care regardless. I went to care for him again a few hours later, and he looked so docile and defeated.
His eyes filled with tears as he looked at me, and told me, “I’m real sorry for what I did earlier, ma’am, that’s not who I am. I’m so sorry". I told him it was okay, and that I just wanted to make him comfortable. He thanked me, and said the line, “I’m going home". He just kept repeating it and sounded so urgent. “I’m going home. I’m going home. I’m going home". I thought he was still confused…
He passed one and a half hours later, right after my shift was over. I was the one to hear his last words. Upon learning that he passed, I immediately thought of those last words. Sticks with me to this day.
This was almost 12 years ago, and I don’t think I’ll ever forget.
3. Crazy About Owls
My great-grandmother lived a very long and interesting life. She was in her 20s during the great depression. Over the course of her nearly 100-year life, she had collected owls. Literally thousands of owl figurines.
She had clocks, wall-hangings, potholders, lamps, stained glass art, salt shakers, and more little figurines than you could imagine, all depicting owls.
We all wondered about the importance of the owls. She never talked about them, and we just all assumed she loved owls.
Well, when she was nearing the end of her life, at the age of 98 or 99, and the docs said she had days, my grandparents went and talked to her, and they asked her if she had anything she wanted to share or ask before she goes.
She thought for a moment, then said, "I never understood the owls". It turns out, she didn't really care at all about owls.
Near as we could piece together, sometime in the 40s or 50s perhaps, she bought either a trivet or a set of salt and pepper shakers that were owls. Then someone got her the other. Those were the oldest owls anyone could remember.
But from there, someone got her an owl to match, probably a potholder or placemat. And all of a sudden, her kitchen was owl-themed. From there, it snowballed. The owls flowed like a river, baffling her for 60 years, eventually taking over as the bulk of her personal belongings.
4. Twisted
Lad comes in after a car accident. His work van had flipped and rolled. The fella was wheeled in fully conscious, no pain or disorientation. However, his lower half was something straight out of a horrifying hospital drama. He was completely twisted in half from the midsection down. There was no way he would survive “untwisting,” but the blood vessels must’ve been cinched in such a way that he didn’t bleed out.
The doctors and nurses explained the situation to him and suggested his family come to say goodbye. He looked like he was lounging on the couch watching TV with a blanket over his lower half. Once the realization set in, he replied with, “
How will I explain this mess?”
