Nurses reveal most common final wishes of dying patients

Saying a final goodbye to a loved one is tough, but for nurses, it’s something that is simply part of their daily jobs.

A video published by the BBC in November is gaining traction online again this morning, with staff from Royal Stoke University Hospital in the United Kingdom revealing what people say before they pass away.

Nurse Louise Massey said it was common for people who are dying to request seeing their pets one last time before they pass away. “To experience the joy on somebody’s face when they’re dying when their dog’s been in to see them priceless,” she explained. It’s something that her co-worker Nicki Morgan has also noticed.

“We’ve had a border collie and an Alsatian cross up on the bed with a gentleman and that was his wish,” she said. She also added that some people want nothing more to celebrate their birthday one last time and hold off until they’ve had a party until they pass away.

Dani Jervis said that it wasn’t uncommon for people to request their favourite alcoholic beverage, while Carina Lowe added that others want nothing more than a cup of tea. “It’s one thing that I think everybody wants,” she said.

For others, being around the one they’ve loved their whole life is what they want. Another nurse, Angela Beeson, explained how staff pushed two beds together so a woman could be beside her loving husband in his final moments. “They just lay side by side, holding hands, and they were singing Slow Boat to China together,” she recalled. “And they both died on that ward within 10 days of each other.”

Others have said that they witness patients talking about heaven and even talking to loved ones who have already crossed over. Some also become filled with regret, telling staff that “life is too short” and to “do the things you want”. Staff said that many patients don’t feel like the dying process is like what they see on TV shows or in movies.

Still, the nurses added that they believed there was such a thing as a “good death”. They said that communication was key and that most patients just want a death that is pain free. Some request to be surrounded by the ones they love, while others want to be in a very specific place when they die.

“I think that part of living is talking about death,” one nurse said. “It’s about what are your goals in life? What’s important to you?”

What do you think? Have you been with a loved one when they’ve passed away? What was their final wish?