A hospice nurse who works to try and stop people from being afraid of death has revealed what many people say in their final moments.
As well as spending her time caring for people at the end of their lives, nurse Julie McFadden has written a book and created a social media platform all about death and dying.
It might not sound like the most feel-good topic, but after spending years working in healthcare Julie started to notice ‘the power each body has to die naturally and how beautiful it really was’.
She’s now hoping to educate people on how we die, highlighting that it’s a ‘natural process’ – not something to be afraid of.
Julie has amassed more than 1.5 million followers on TikTok with her insights into death and dying, but earlier this year she sat down with businessman and author Rob Moore for an episode of his podcast, ‘Disruptors’.
In the episode, released on 15 July, Julie described having seen ‘hundreds’ of people die throughout her career, which included working in an Intensive Care Unit before she moved to hospice work.
Her career has given her a unique insight to the final stages of life that most people don’t typically witness, and as a result she’s come to learn of two wishes a lot of people have in common.
Speaking to Moore, Julie explained that the first wish people have in their final moments is that they didn’t spend so much time at work – something that’s easier said than done when we have bills to pay.
The second and even more common, however, relates to something we have more power over.
McFadden explained: “The main thing people say, that I don’t hear a lot of people mention, is ‘I wish I would have appreciated my health’.”
It’s easy to take our health for granted when we’re feeling well, but as soon as sickness hits us – even when it’s something as minor as a sore throat or blocked nose – it can make us long for our health again.
Having seen that happen on a much more impactful scale, Julie has attempted to learn from her patients and now writes a ‘gratitude list’ each night to remember what people take for granted, and what she’s grateful for.
She explained: “I like the fact that I can breathe, I’m walking around, I can feel the sunshine – little things like that.
“I think the biggest thing I hear from people [who are] dying is that they wish they would have appreciated how well they felt before.”
Explaining why she’s so vocal about the experience of death, the nurse added: “I believe that people should know about the dying process before they’re actually going through it with a loved one or themselves.”
