What will be the last words of our lives? While we know the last (terrifying) words of several convicts, we don't necessarily know what ordinary people say when they feel the end of their life is approaching. This is due to a taboo around death that an American nurse is trying to fight with her TikTok account.
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Julie, a practicing nurse at a hospice in Los Angeles, USA, had the idea to create an account on TikTok after seeing two of her nieces making a video on the platform. In the middle of all the dances and challenges (sometimes dangerous), she chose to differentiate herself by teaching about death.
Nurse wants to 'normalise death'
Julie said she wants to 'normalise death by educating people about it'. Going by @hospicenursejulie on TikTok, the nurse is used to being by the side of her patients at the end of their lives. Interviewed by The Sun, she said:
There is something most people say before they die and it’s usually ‘I love you’ or they call out to their mum or dad - who have usually already died.
Created just six months ago, Julie's account is a real success on TikTok and already has more than 400,000 subscribers. The nurse's approach is reminiscent to that of the mortician who popularises his job via the same platform.
Read more ⋙ Man who died for 20 minutes reveals what he experienced
Last words of famous people
Julie's account is full of anecdotes, debunking, and interesting information. She reveals for example the way our bodies prepare for death or the strange phenomenon that seems to affect many patients just before their last moments.
In a recent video, where she lists the last words of famous people, the nurse tells us that Thomas Edison's last words were: 'It's beautiful here'. Bob Marley's? 'Money can't buy life'.
Most common regrets
In a more recent video, Julie revealed the regrets that her terminally ill patients often talk about. According to her, these regrets are often in a similar vein: they regret having spent their lives working, not appreciating the small things, and not realising how lucky they were to be alive.
She advises everyone not to 'spend your life working if you don't have to', not to take your good health for granted, and above all, to spend as much time as possible with your loved ones.
Read more:
⋙ This is how your skin changes right before you die
⋙ Death rattle: This is what happens right before you die
This article has been translated from Gentside FR.
Sources used:
The Sun: 'LAST WORDS I’m a hospice nurse – this is what most people say before they die and what happens when they do'