This was my poor mom. It luckily only lasted less than a week, and she wasn't constantly vomiting. But the last hour of her life was rough, and even after she died, there was so much pressure built up from the tumor in her intestines, that she had almost continuous purging. I never knew it was possible for something like that to happen. It was horribly traumatizing. She was thankfully unconscious during much of the last day of her life. I am forever grateful for hospice nurses. Ours was our literal superhero that night. You are all angels!!
Sorry you had to witness yr poor Mums suffering. Sorry also that she suffered. I understand what Julie is saying about taking time to come up with a resolution for the pain. I agree with Julie, if theres no relief then I'd want to be heavily sedated.
so sorry for your loss and the suffering your mom went through 🫂 if you are up to it could you inform me about something? as a nurse in the Netherlands we are allowed to give all sorts of medication and give extra on our own when we see fit. this will speed up dying of course but there is also very little suffering. it this allowed in your country, for your mother, would you choose this?
All of your videos show you sitting at a desk, makeup on, hair fixed. The beginning of this video shows the true Julie. The working Julie. The Julie being and looking exhausted, tired and overwhelmed. This makes me respect you even more, giving you the credit you so deserve for your work as a Hospice nurse. It isn't easy working in a hospice environment. You, Julie, deserve every credit given to you. For what you do in your work and for making these videos for family members to understand the death and dying process. I commend you. 🥰
Julie is amazing. I watched how hard the hospice workers tried to ease the burden on the dying patient & their relatives. They often looked overworked & drained. I would try to tell them how truly amazing they are to the people who are dying but also to the dying person's family. Hospice workers deserve much more recognition. I used to be a hospice volunteer
I watched family over take a family member with cancer. She got into a severe pain crisis because they just would NOT follow her pain med schedule because she was "asleep alot." All day long I begged them, all day long they denied her. That night just my father and myself there, we call the ambulance. The pain I saw that woman in was traumatizing for everyone. I will never, ever forget that and it was preventable. Give the person their meds and keep them comfortable for the love of god!
I'm so sorry for your loss. This post is so sad. I have to assume she was not on hospice care. If so, this is totally against the law. How could any member want to see there loved one suffer? To be honest, I would never let them into the funeral home. They do not deserve the honor.
@@missihendershot2335 She didn't qualify for hospice until the last week because she had a bag for hydration and feeding that they wouldn't stop. Additionally, there were only two hospice available in the state. After the massive pain crisis she got into (was put into) She finally did go on hospice for the last week of her life but, I'd never, ever do it that way. I got voted down by the pain med fear mongers in the family and she paid the price.
@rca6576 I once knew a 94 year old woman who remained fairly active in an independent retirement community. Her pain dr prescribed a very low dose narcotic-and that is why she was still fairly active. Her daughter from out of state visited her for 2 weeks & made a huge fuss over her mom taking a narcotic. She didn't want her mom to become addicted. The 94 year old lady stopped taking her pain medicine. She stopped going to bingo & dinner. She stopped participating in activities. Within 3 weeks, she stopped living. Her son found her deceased in bed. At least she wasn't addicted when she died all alone. I guess that is all that matters to some people.. The stigma of pain meds needs to end.
Julie my lovely bride passed 1 year ago this week after a long struggle with cancer..i watched you video's prior to her passing so i could take the best care i could and try to understand what was gonna happin. You were and are a blessing dear..you helped me so much. You have a special place in my heart..love you big.
I am not religious but I am a person of faith and I am grateful for you and all of your colleagues for helping mankind die with dignity and with limited pain.
I had a friend who could have used palliative sedation. Instead she died screaming in agony because they couldn't manage her pain....her family was begging the doctor to do something, anything....dogs are treated more humanely than that.
A friend I helped through his journey was in and out of VA Hospital. They treated him like hell. They even refused pain meds at times because they were mad at him for being difficult when he was in pain. VA did insert the tube and pump, but it didn't relieve the pain, only the nausea and vomiting. VA finally transferred him to an inpatient hospice. He said he never wanted to leave. I promised him he wouldn't have to. They left the tube and pump in and allowed him to eat some small easy things. I turned him onto Italian Ice......He was the happiest I had ever seen him. I saw him just a couple hours before he passed and he/and I were both so fortunate that he never had to leave hospice. You are all Angels!!!!
So sad he had to go through that with the VA hospital, they treated my father the same. We went through hoops of paperwork to get him treated for throat cancer caused for agent orange
No words … my husband has non operational esophageal cancer. We have been battling for a year now. Nothing stays down. Such pain and misery. I will try the pain meds and anti nausea meds via the rectum. Thank you. No one knows the pain unless you’ve laid in the trenches. So heart breaking. Prayers appreciated for comfort.
Old hospice nurse here. Will never forget a patient I had with this, woman in her 50s with metastatic gallbladder cancer. She was a very conservative woman who was a mayor of a local city. She suffered like crazy until one of her sons brought her marijuana and it worked. She literally smoked every hour she was awake and her room was so smoky it looked like an old bar in the movies. I always thought she would be horrified if her constituents saw her, in the end I placed an NG and palliatively sedated her but she only lived a few hours. Once the vomiting had been taken care of she had the energy to transition. Won’t forget her…
That so sad ,but so wonderful at same time I totally understand I'm so glad she found some peace and comfort with the marjuana. Who cares how we cope in the end We are changing all the time ..even in final chapter. Thank you for helping her transition to the next world in comfort. You are amazing.❤
I worked in the hospital doing physical therapy for 25 years. I had an old patient in his 80s. An old cowboy. He had cancer and we all knew he didn’t have that much longer left. In fact every day, I wondered if he was still gonna be there when I got there in the morning. One day I walked in his room and he was chipper and bright and happy. Which scared me because I thought this might be the rally before the end. But nope. He informed me that the doctor had given him marijuana. And he was happy as a clam and he knew with those old hippies were talking about :-) His son was mortified because his dad would tell every single person that walked in the room. The person that brought his lunch, the lady that brought in some flowers and some mail everybody. This was about 20 years ago. Before pot was legal in my state for anything. But hey, if you’re dying, you should deserve to get whatever can make you comfortable and this helped him. He lived about another two weeks but at least it was a relatively decent two weeks.
I cannot express how traumatized I was by my mother’s passing. I had heard for years how wonderful hospice is and how those passing don’t suffer. We had the most horrendous hospice experience, and no one can ever convince me she didn’t suffer. I feel cheated, to this day, by how little peace and comfort our hospice team provided to both my mother and me. I was never afraid to die, until I experienced this. To top it off, I’m an only child with absolutely no living family, and the only expression of sympathy I received was from my dentist when I had to cancel my appointment due to her death. In some odd way, this video made me feel the tiniest bit better knowing that my mom, whom I loved so much, wasn’t the only woman who suffered in hospice, when I was told what a blessing it would be.
@@alllight1822 I am so sorry to hear about what you went through when your mum died. I lost my mum last year and she died in her own home, it was so peaceful. I am still traumatised so I feel sorry for you that you had to watch your mum suffer. Make sure you do one nice thing for yourself every day x
I am sorry for the experience you had. I also was The only living child my parents had and I lost both within six weeks of each other. Very hard for me but thank God there was little suffering. May Godbless you and you have my deepest condolences.
@@alllight1822 - I am so very sorry for your grief and what you went through with your mom. I am an only child and lost my mom from cancer a long time ago when I was 25, it's so painful to watch them suffer. My heart goes out to you, I wish you had experienced this with a good care team. The best ones are such a gift. Again, I'm so sorry. ❤
It’s a nightmare. For 2 decades I was medically neglected as a child. Non stop nausea, strange gagging/retching. Missing 3-4 days out of the school week. Turns out I had an intrahepatic gallbladder deformity. Forever thankful for this surgeon shout out to Irfan Wadilla in Houston. That man saved my life performed exploratory surgery and found it. It was horrible. I lost so much out of my life. Recovery was brutal. I was told sphincter of oddi dysfunction or gastroparesis could happen but we went forward. 4 years later i’m fit, a successful LMT, and have never experienced nausea ever.
@@noramartin96 thank you. Doing so much better. It was a curse lifted up. Always and never will forget how scared my nurses were even googling trying to find what was wrong with me. They were so scared seeing me retching without stopping
My brother was sedated with 2 sub-Q lines in his belly & a pump. He had brain cancer & his terminal restlessness wasn’t awful initially but one evening, in the overnight hours, it just got waaay worse. We had to have someone physically sitting in a chair right next to his bed to keep him in it. We couldn’t walk away for even 30 seconds. We got him to the hospice facility later that morning via Ambulance. They had quadrupled all his meds & he was still fighting to get up, & miserable. In the end it took a good 2.5 days to really get him fully sedated, sleeping & staying asleep. He was a healthy 54 year-old who ran 3-4 times a week, w/a healthy heart so it took another 4 days till he died, but his suffering was over once he was sedated. Terminal restlessness is awful but he really had no pain or other symptoms. We miss you, Tim. ❤️
My late husband was the same. He was inpatient Hospice the last 3 months if his life. He didn’t want to die at 58 so he fought and fought. I alone sat at his bedside and he still fell out of bed multiple times As a retired RN there is no suffering as someone with facial cancer. The nerves are so angry and painful. In all my 35 years as a nurse, I’ve never seen anyone die so painfully. As the cancer progressed from his nose back to his brain it went from excruciating pain to terminal restlessness week after week. I wanted to take him back home as I think that’s what some of the restlessness was about. Doc said if I did I was on my own they could not provide all the care he required at my home. So he stayed and suffered until his dying breath. Nausea and vomiting no, pain, excruciating pain. I’ll never wish that nightmare on anyone
I am a former Hospice Nurse. I loved my job & only retired because of my own medical problems. I plan to be a Hospice patient in my not so distant future. I had 2 patients who had particularly ugly deaths. I will remember them for the rest of my life!! No person should have to die the way these patients did.
Also a retired Home Health and Hospice RN. We try really, really hard to help provide a soft landing at the end of life, but there are times when that is very difficult or even impossible and sedation is the only avenue left to alleviate suffering. I loved my job but the occasional failures stay with us forever.
I'm not sure what to say, but I'm sorry you will need hospice care in the not so distant future. May you receive the comfort and care like you provided to your patients. Even though you loved it, you didn't have an easy job. I appreciate and am grateful for you and people like you who can do that job.
My darling dad was sedated with morphine and midazolam for the last 3 days of his life. His eyes stayed shut but his mouth was gurgling and open with yellow fluid coming out. He was communicating by squeezing my hand and raising his eyebrows. As he took his last breath, his eye's started to flicker and I SAW his spirit leave his body. His skin changed colour instantly from pale to light yellow. It was a beautiful natural death ❤
My best friend (my husband's cousin) died of colon cancer @ 37. She didn't want an NG tube (made her gag) when she was dying the nurse kept trying to suction her. She was showing out of not wanting it. I told the nurse "no more." She started gurgling and bloody foam started coming out of her mouth. Her daughter and I sat on the bed on both sides of her. I kept cleaning up the bloody discharge with towels. She died within minutes. I have always felt guilty that maybe she didn't want to die this way. It breaks my heart. Being a nurse and CNA my whole career, I felt a lot of guilt and maybe I could have done something else. I made sure the nurse was giving her pain meds prn as soon as I saw her having signs of pain. I just worry that she died in pain, drowning in her own fluids. As many deaths I have encountered in my life long career hers was the worst😢
@@bonniestevens9262 so sorry. You did what you thought she wanted. No other choice really. She would not want you to have regrets. You were there with her. Amen.❤️
That combination didn’t sedate him. He was in final stages of loosing all his stored energy or ATP. It’s when the body shuts down as much as it can to preserve the brain/heart. I’m so sorry for your loss.. If anything the morphine helped him be with you to squeeze your hand.
@@bonniestevens9262 omg i hope her mind was gone before this happened-the desperation of not being able to breathe! st felt it both with the attempted tube insertion and the other. i can never have an NG tube unless in on a ventilator bc i can only breathe out of one nostril plus the docs couldn’t even get the tube down the nostril which is closed- so hope i don’t have a gi problem at end.
This happened when my dad, on hospice, had a raging UTI. He kept trying to get up and fell over and over. We finally had to palliatively sedated him. He died two days later. It was all we could do. The hospice nurses could offer no other solution than to medicate him. Instant relief for him and us. 😢
I have gone thru nearly 5he same circumstances when 90 year old father fell and broke his neck. I am thankful he was sedated until he passed two days later.
My grandma had stomach/colon(??) cancer before in her life and spoke about painful it was. She passed later in lonely isolation in hospital during covid from something else, but i think of all thr pain she must have endured and it's heartbreaking. Thank you for making these videos
It's very very difficult. I went thru it with my mother. I had her prescribed marinol. The Dr. Said I'm not comfortable prescribing that, to which I said I really don't give a damn.
Thank you for highlighting this. My mom had intractible nausea and vomiting, for MONTHS, leading up to her demise on 29 Jan this year. She was in and out of hospital so many times, she became tired and worn down. It was horrible to watch her experience this up until the very end. I spent days on end crying and trying to comfort her the best way. I started watching your channel around that time, not knowing what to do. Your videos helped me understand and prepare for her passing IMMENSELY!! Thank you so much, Nurse Julie❤❤
I'm an AFC case manager and I've shared your channel with several Caregivers in recent months who are caring for loved ones in Hospice. Your channel has been very helpful to them. Thx for providing this important information.
I had morning sickness with all five of my kids. I couldn’t imagine nausea and vomiting at the end of life. I think I could handle pain more than that. I hope there is someone to advocate for me! You’re a good nurse/woman Julie.
ive had chronic nausea/vomiting all my 25 year long life. even on a liquid diet. it got so bad I got a feeding tube, and don't eat at all. i have to be on very strong IV drugs to manage vomiting anyways [it initially got better once my feeding tube was placed] it's been very tough, harder to deal with than chronic pain for me
I worked, as an Activities Director in a nursing home, for two years. Impactions, NG tubes, etc were common. I hated that residents were alone, at the end of their lives. I would try to stay, with them, during this time until the inevitable. I was only able to do this 4 times. The process took a toll, on me in a lot of ways. It’s such a helpless feeling. You have answered the call that few will. Thank you for your kind work and the support you provide.
@@hospicenursejulie Dont you give them Zofran? I was in a very bad accident (every single rib bone cracked in half, lungs collapsed, damaged C6 vertebrae bone etc etc , infections in lung, intestines, esophagus etc), and was on many painkillers. All thosed meds gave me EXTREME nausea, so at least 2x a day i was given Zofran. It was amazing, i cant thank the nurses enough.....i cry thinking about it.
Dear Lord....I pray you give continued strength and compassion to Julie to continue her job because we seriously need people like her. Julie......I have alot of respect and admiration for you. Please continue to help people in hospice. You are one in a million.
I’ve got Crohns, NG Tubes are horrendous, bowel obstructions are incredibly painful, and constant nausea is terrible. My heart breaks thinking of hospice patients going through this, along with everything else they’re suffering from.
I don't have Crohn's, but I have a different disease that I suspect may be related to it. I think that both Crohn's and my disease (Hashimoto's Thyroiditis) are caused by the consumption of gluten. Try cutting out gluten and see how it goes.
@@Hollyucinogen I cut out all grains, gluten free products too. ALL sugars, starches, processed seed oils, fructose, dairy and legumes too. My digestion is so much happier… calmer & quieter.
Julie. 3 years ago I was diagnosed with diastolic heart failure (which is all most better now with medication) stage 3 kidney failure. Working my best to keep my numbers in stage 3. Then GIST tumors attached to my stomach. They took out one 7 pound tumor and half my stomach. Fluid retention was awful. I’m living with all this until two weeks ago I found out I’m a stage2 9:29 diabetic and my liver is failing me. I watch your videos all the time I want to die gracefully. For my children but I’m so depressed with all this. Thank you for talking about tumors. They can get big.
So sorry that you had to go through that. Your vids have been indispensable while my wife of 40 years was dying. The periods of helplessness were so brutal. Your empathy is what makes the service you provide so valuable. Thanks for the nursing you do, as well as sharing your experiences and insights
Hospice made all the difference, in my Mother's end. I don't know how I could have survived without it and the kind people there. Thank you, so very much!
My dear mum had that ng tube in for 8 weeks as her swallowing mechanism failed completely. All she wanted was a cup of tea and she wasn't allowed anything. I wish she'd been in a hospice and cared for palliatively, not the hospital, waiting for a diagnosis that never came before she passed. She felt like she was being tortured and she suffered horribly. I'm grateful at least that she didn't have the nausea and vomiting and she is now at peace. Thank you for caring as you do Nurse Julie, you are the best of humans! x
My mother was pallatively sedated after being run over and breaking 16 ribs, her right orbital socket, and her pelvis. No more struggling for breath. So grateful.
I was an ICU RN for 40 years. I empathize with all the things you witness in your practice… I am in awe of your strength and compassion in caring for dying patients. And your efforts to educate the public is so appreciated. Thank you…..
I'm pretty sure the universe both thanks you and blesses you. I thank and bless all the hospice workers that were unfailingly by my mother's side when she died from complications of dementia. You're series here on YT has been vastly helpful to me. Many hugs go out to you 😘😇
@@Mypuppies812 strangely enough, I’m a retired palliative care nurse, and was floored with the lack of use for hospice care with this family of medications. Anything that helps, and you are not totally zoned out. My daughter is a drug addictions and mental help nurse. It astounds me how public feeling is more understanding with drug addicts, than those that are on their last days and in pain. Hopefully the pharmaceutical companies can focus on those comfort meds, less on using the diabetic medication to lose weight.
7.41am Brisbane Australia. I find your videos so insightful . They helped so much when my Mum was in Palative care and now my sister is very unwell. I find the information so helpful. ❤
You explained and taught that well. I have also had days like that when I was working as a hospice nurse. Thanks for what you do in educating people. Beth Craven, RN retired
Thank you for every life you make easier and better ❤ Thank you for all the help and care you provide to those who need it so much. Praying for you and your patients🙏🫶🫂
Thank you so much. My dad had an obstruction-like issue in his small intestine years ago. One day, he couldn’t stop vomiting. From what I remember, he didn’t have a visible obstruction but were informed his small intestine was starting to die off. They gave him this treatment. Somehow his intestine recovered while losing 25 lbs over 3 weeks while in the hospital. Always a strong healthy man, not overweight, doesn’t smoke or drink, we don’t know why this happened. He was 70 years old then. Colon cancer does run in the family. Thank you for explaining this procedure so clearly. It saved his life. Thank you for your compassion and commitment to this difficult work you do.
I have emetephobia - a fear of vomit and vomiting- and even the thought of this happening gives me the chills. My heart goes out to all those who are suffering x
I want you to know you are so appreciated 💕 and loved for all your kindness, compassion, and empathy. God Bless you and all the other Hospice nurses that really care 🙏 prayers for you. ❤
thank you for these extremely empathetic videos, i've always had the opinion that palliative sedation (and being put to sleep) is something that should be legal everywhere and it's clear that it alleviates suffering for the one dying. Knowing i may have to puke and suffer until i die is an incredibly haunting thought.
We got u Julie. I think we have all had patients like that. My worst (pain) patient was a young man with pancreatic cancer. He believed he was being punished for straying away from his religious upbringing and he refused all pain meds. He believed it was his redemption. It was so hard to watch yet I became protective. I was fearful someone else would trick him and give him meds so I hated to leave him. I felt if this is what he needs to believe he would be in heaven far be it from me to mess that up. I learned so much about myself through that journey and I took that lesson with me the last 15 years of my career. We love u Julie.
What you're describing is standard Catholic belief for one billion people on this planet. The young man was doing penance for his sins, and he did the absolute right thing. He may not have made it to Heaven if he hadn't repented and done penance for his sins like that - and he almost certainly would not have. So what he did is a completely and utterly normal belief and activity for the largest religious group on this planet. It only seems strange to you because you're godless and ignorant of religion. In fact, with your last name/ethnic heritage, you're supposed to be Catholic, but you or your family apostatized at some point.
Wow That must have been so hard Thankyou for helping him and respecting his wishes How sad, he felt he had to suffer to be repent... But how wonderful, he was loved and protected in his last days.. May he rest in heavenly peace ..and bless you,for all you have done to help others.
@@KaraLey98 I agree 100%. But only jails and psych units can force someone into medical needs. My experience with this young man changed my outlook and I changed the way I viewed medicine and medical staff. He literally shaped the direction of my career.
@@missykowalewski I was sorry later that I wrote that in response to your post! Of course you did what was moral-it wouldn’t be right to force medication on a person who is sound -/he was not hurting anyone else-and if he believed that his soul would be better for it-that’s powerful.
I'm a retired carer, and I loved my job. Palliative care is the hardest but giving that client the best care possible in know they didn't suffer. I love watching your videos and I miss my work.
I cared for a dying old man, Who literally had turned into a living skeleton. 😢 We were 3 teams working at his house, (home hospice care) and no matter what we tried to do to ease this poor man's pain, he still kept exclaiming/wailing, when we washed him/turned him over, etc. He WAS on morphine, on a special matress, the whole nine yards. The day before he passed, my colleague Liz and I just fell into each other's arms crying, when we had put our coats on, and were ready to leave the house.😭 It was just too much. Even for us, who are professionals. This was a situation, that I still recall to this day. I have prayed for both this man, AND his family. In this kind of work, prayer is a BIG tool, trust me. Hugs to all of you guys out there. Take care and God bless.
@Ujuani68 how heartbreaking. I'm sooo sorry for all involved. I have deep respect for all of you who work with terminal patients. I wish I had continued in nursing school when I graduated from high school. I ended up dropping out of college and never returned. I'm 61 now and have no experience nor knowledge. I have so much compassion. Though I'm an emotional person, I feel like I can encourage families and the patient from a volunteer standpoint. I don't even know if an "exhorter" position even exists. Thank you for sharing your profound experience with us. I agree, prayer is a VITAL tool! God bless you. 🥹⚘️♥️✨️
@Mars-77 that was incredibly mean-spirited. These nurses take on things that are soul crushing every single day. This is their life. You heard her say everything they tried, and it didn't work. Some people just don't respond to treatment for pain. Just wow... 😟
I'm trying to understand why there's a pain medication limit for patients who are dying? Why not give them enough to relieve the pain? Is not like we need to worry about it damaging internal organs, or addiction, either way they will be dead soon. Why not make it comfortable? I'd much rather be as drugged as possible in pain like that, even if the drugs were to kill me faster than my illness. If they don't give me enough to cure my pain, I get an extra few pain filled days... lucky me?
@@lauraprokes117 This poor man already had morphine patches on his arm permanently, and other folks came and administered them. He couldn't have medicine orally anymore... It was truly heartbeaking.
You may never know how beneficial your videos are. You are truly an Angel and deserve all the hugs you can get. You have my utmost admiration and respect. Having worked in home health for 26 years, it's rough out there! Hospice nurses have a very strong place in my heart
I thank God that I had a wonderful & caring hospice nurses for my husband. He passed away we just me next to him in our bed.He went peacefully. I am glad that he wasn't alone and I could be there to say goodbye. 😢
Thank you for your work and for doing what you do with love ❤️ Nausea to me is sometimes worse than pain.. So sorry the doctors couldn’t help your patient to have a better death.. I will never forget my mother’s death. I was a kid and… it was somehow traumatizing. I will never forget, how her upper body/back looked after weeks of lying in the hospital bed. Thank god she was “sleeping” (don’t know, if she was sedated - she seemed conscious at times..) most of the time and got medicated when she showed the slightest sign of discomfort. She was still young and had had a tough life. More than tough. I hope that God will explain to me one day, why this beautiful human being had to suffer so much throughout the years she was on earth and why she didn’t get the chance to see her children succeed and spoil her in the later years of her life. It has been 34 years now and after pushing the pain away and not really dealing with it in my youth, the mourning is more painful now, than it ever was. I would like to go back in time, hug that little girl that I was and tell her that it is okay to be sad and cry. Please remind the families of the children that are left behind, that they need support - even if it seems like they are doing… okay 🫶🏼
So sorry that you lost your precious mother when you were still a small child. And so very sorry to learn that she had tough life. No, it surely doesn't seem fair at all.💔 🙏
Thank you for providing such extensive details. Your videos are so helpful and I am using the knowledge I gain to provide exact instructions for my end of life care whenever that may occur.
your a very unique individual with your skills that you have, not just nursing, but the compassion you have, and your huge heart. I hope things improve for you as well as the patient.
I’d rather have death by firing squad than go through what is described in this video. Poor patients! This video is a good education. I appreciate this channel for educating us. I appreciate the nurses like this one who give kind and compassionate care to their patients during these difficulties.
I pray you are my hospice nurse when I am dying. My X husband went through this. He was a wonderful man, this video made me cry. He didn’t deserve to suffer. I know he’s in heavenly peace now!🙏🙏
I love your videos and I have been a hospice therapist for over 15 years and there is so much soul work done with patients and families that I never forget my families❤ thank you for what you do❤
I appreciate your gentle honesty. My dad remains 100 % fiercely independent at 97 yrs. However I know his time is coming. You are helping me prepare factually. Emotionally I will never be prepared. I hope when his time comes I'll be strong and not crying. He is ready to go Now. I'm going to try to be happy for him bc that's what he wants. 😢❤
I am not obviously hospice but suffer from constant nausea sometime vomiting and had 2 small intestine blockages that were repaired by major surgery. Living with this constant nausea that no medication takes away (Canada) is a terrible way to live thanks to gastroparis. Thank you Julie for this video
My sweet auntie died of stomach cancer when she was only 50yrs old. A few months before she passed, she kept vomiting constantly. This would last for at least half an hour and then she would be exhausted. The anti nausea medication they gave her did not work. Thank you Nurse Julie for sharing ways to alleviate this.
My Wife Died in Hospice 4-8-21. She had all the classic visitation from loved ones. It’s what happened after death that really convinced me of an after life. I’ve accepted her death but still struggle 3yrs later. I need to tell her story some how. God Bless❤️
Life is so wild I really need to start taking care of my health so little time on earth and so much to do my god I know death is apart of the life cycle but being alive in this moment I’m very grateful. Just here spreading love y’all ❤❤❤❤
Thank you Nurse Julie and all the hospice workers. This must be an incredibly challenging career. Thank you for all the work you do and for the educational videos.
A friend of mine came home from the hospital with an ileostomy at 95 years old. Medicare would only pay for an ostomy nurse to come & change her bag for so long, after that time ended it would be $150 out of pocket for each bag swap. I did massage therapy in an injury clinic for years so I offered to help, met with her ostomy nurse & got the basics. After visiting multiple ostomy forums and getting tips on different situations we forged ahead. We made it almost 6 years & it was a blockage that finished her off 37 days before her 101st birthday! I used to do visceral manipulation techniques on her when she would get backed up and eventually things would open up and pass. It's subtle & time consuming work, sometimes it would move in 20 minutes, other times it would take an hour. The last time it took the hospital and the tube, was released to rehab and blocked again. No one thought to keep her on liquids for diet. But- it was meant to be. She went back to the hospital, was released to hospice, put into a coma and didn't last 24 hours.
i am so grateful for the nurses and doctors that kept my son comfortable while he passed away, he was medicated but stil aware enough to know i was there holding him. his body broke down so fast, and we knew death was coming. the work you do is so precious and important. thank you for everything you do for the dying.
I am SO thankful for these videos. I’m 13 years into P.D. but only 65. It has gone into my round muscles so I do know that this will be the cause of my passing. My kids are in their 30s so we can have better conversations about what it will look like and what to do. Thank you so much..
Decades ago, a doctor told us to get weed to treat this. It worked beautifully. Get what’s called a “pinch hitter” that’s all it takes. This works for nausea from cancer when nothing else will. Just an FYI. 💙
Julie speaks about the variety of ways palliative care is given. Hospice nursing is truly a specialty. I did hospice nursing both in-patient and home hospice. Loved this
Hospice workers are amazing. Hospice is amazing. No one wants to be there, of course, but it spares patients and families so much suffering. I'll never forget the two hospice nurses who brought such comfort and reassurance to us while my mother was in home hospice. They were a blessing
I wish I knew about palliative sedation. My husband suffered so much! He was constantly vomiting, (like coffee grinds), unfortunately the hospice gave him only liquid morphine, and they never understood it didn't work because he will vomit it. I wish I knew about this before. I would have asked for palliative sedation for sure. Thank you nurse Julie for educating people! Hopefully nobody has to suffer the way my poor beloved husband did.
Hi there! I’m so sorry for your loss. As a hospice nurse, I’d just like to point a couple things out. Morphine can cause constipation could increase nausea and vomiting. The morphine though, was working, because it absorbed through the gums, under the tongue, and tissues, he didn’t throw it all up I promise.
If i was suffering like that, you better believe that i would want to be put to death, rather than have to go through all that terrible suffering. I don't know the rules, and what's allowed, but i do believe that the patient who is suffering should be allowed to make that choice, on wether they want to be put to rest or not. Bless you Julie!, and for all that you do with your chosen occupation, as not many people would be able to go through seeing those poor people, at the end of their lifes. 💯💗
Thanks, Julie. I had a nasogastric tube when I had peritonitis back in 2015. I was delirious most of the time and I kept pulling it out. It wasn't comfortable, to be sure, but it wasn't agonizing. Still, I was so glad when it was finally taken out.
Thank you Julie for sharing this. I have never felt so powerless. Not being able to stop my mom from vomiting constantly was devastating to me. For you, I know you have professional boundaries and you can perhaps compartmentalize. Having watched my mom and listening to what you have gone through… You’re a rockstar Julie! This was my mom’s story. She was taken to hospital. We didn’t know what happened. I called the ambulance as soon as I got to mom‘s then she went to hospital. She wound up having life-saving surgery that actually fixed the twist. She was in ICU for four days. She was then transferred to the surgical ward. The surgical ward is designed to help people with wound care, get you in get you out. They would not transfer my mom somewhere else where she could get better care. Two months later she died there, under what to me is completely inhumane. I was talking to one of the nurses “looking after” my mom after she started to vomit. I saw her chart and it said bowel obstruction. I immediately went home and googled bowel obstruction. I tried letting my family know how serious this was. Even the nurse in my family thought I was overreacting. The surgeon in ICU had told me that she might not get out of Hospital if she didn’t become ambulatory. Unfortunately, my mom lived a very sedentary life and just fought physical therapy every step of the way. Who could blame her. Every time she started to walk faeces would run down her leg. They didn’t diaper her properly. I believe she decided to just give up towards the end. I know that everybody’s doing the best they can or I would like to believe that given the circumstances, we all seem to find ourselves in with healthcare costs. I live in Canada, so we are supposed to have this wonderful single healthcare system. Except that certain politicians want it to become a private payer system and our playing political games. I feel for the people on the front line. I will say, I didn’t gain any respect for surgeons😊 or hospitalists whilst she was being cared for. This was and still is the most heart wrenching traumatic PTSD inducing death I have experienced. I have experienced many deaths. My mom recently, my dad, my oldest sister, my youngest brother, my first husband. I am left with one sister and to say that we are different people is an understatement. The thing that has saved me from completely losing my mind, is that I was able to be with her when she died. It has also compelled me to take a Death Doula course as well as a hypnosis course. ❤I’m hoping I might be able to marry the two modalities and help people deal with the hard conversations around death, while they are still living. ❤❤❤🇨🇦☮️❤️🩹💔💝 I have been sober for 18 years and I can tell you that at one point leaving the hospital after a particularly devastating day. I definitely wanted a double scotch, and thought about it. I know better and always take it to the end. You are sober as well, I know from watching your videos. I can only assume that you have some amazing practises that keep you healthy and sane! ❤ Bless you, Julie for everything that you do. You are an angel on earth. I will say as well that watching your videos and your real life approach to death has also inspired me.☮️💝🥇
I like that even as a nurse of 11 years, sometimes I need reminders: rectal medicine, OF COURSE! I've had a patient the last 2 weeks who was 1000% hospice appropriate but not ready. Gastric cancer, abdominal abcess, surgically created fistula, and all I wanted was to relieve her nausea arms vomiting. Why didn't I think of rectal meds? Ugh! Thanks Julie!
I’ve sat bedside now four different times with friends and family as they passed from Cancer … the suffering for both the patients and the caregivers can be overwhelming. My sister died of Ovarian cancer and blessedly her son, a brilliant Doctor sat beside her for her last two weeks and managed her care. She suffered the bowel obstruction. For the rest not so fortunate to have a Dr sit beside them, your videos are the best guides we can get. Thank you so much for being honest about this process. It seems as modern medicine lengthens our lives… the chance of these more difficult deaths has also increased.
One million percent agree. I don’t remember what my mom’s hospice nurse looks like, but I can still feel the hug she gave me as I fell into a puddle on the floor when my Mom died.
Sweet angel 😇 💖 You are such a blessing to the dying. It broke my heart seeing you so moved. I'm sending you prayers and hugs. You truly are an angel. Please 🙏 take care okay?
This was my poor mom. It luckily only lasted less than a week, and she wasn't constantly vomiting. But the last hour of her life was rough, and even after she died, there was so much pressure built up from the tumor in her intestines, that she had almost continuous purging. I never knew it was possible for something like that to happen. It was horribly traumatizing. She was thankfully unconscious during much of the last day of her life. I am forever grateful for hospice nurses. Ours was our literal superhero that night. You are all angels!!
Sorry you had to witness yr poor Mums suffering. Sorry also that she suffered. I understand what Julie is saying about taking time to come up with a resolution for the pain. I agree with Julie, if theres no relief then I'd want to be heavily sedated.
I feel your pain❤
I'm so sorry, but now she is in no pain and watching over all of you. God Bless 🙏
I'm so sorry. My mom experienced the same ❤
so sorry for your loss and the suffering your mom went through 🫂
if you are up to it could you inform me about something? as a nurse in the Netherlands we are allowed to give all sorts of medication and give extra on our own when we see fit. this will speed up dying of course but there is also very little suffering. it this allowed in your country, for your mother, would you choose this?
All of your videos show you sitting at a desk, makeup on, hair fixed. The beginning of this video shows the true Julie. The working Julie. The Julie being and looking exhausted, tired and overwhelmed. This makes me respect you even more, giving you the credit you so deserve for your work as a Hospice nurse. It isn't easy working in a hospice environment. You, Julie, deserve every credit given to you. For what you do in your work and for making these videos for family members to understand the death and dying process. I commend you. 🥰
I wanted to give you a big hug!
Same!
Honestly?
@@Juggaletta yet i didnt recognize her when the video started, just thought whos that
Julie is amazing. I watched how hard the hospice workers tried to ease the burden on the dying patient & their relatives. They often looked overworked & drained. I would try to tell them how truly amazing they are to the people who are dying but also to the dying person's family. Hospice workers deserve much more recognition.
I used to be a hospice volunteer
I watched family over take a family member with cancer. She got into a severe pain crisis because they just would NOT follow her pain med schedule because she was "asleep alot." All day long I begged them, all day long they denied her. That night just my father and myself there, we call the ambulance. The pain I saw that woman in was traumatizing for everyone. I will never, ever forget that and it was preventable. Give the person their meds and keep them comfortable for the love of god!
I'm so sorry for your loss. This post is so sad. I have to assume she was not on hospice care. If so, this is totally against the law. How could any member want to see there loved one suffer? To be honest, I would never let them into the funeral home. They do not deserve the honor.
@@missihendershot2335 She didn't qualify for hospice until the last week because she had a bag for hydration and feeding that they wouldn't stop. Additionally, there were only two hospice available in the state. After the massive pain crisis she got into (was put into) She finally did go on hospice for the last week of her life but, I'd never, ever do it that way. I got voted down by the pain med fear mongers in the family and she paid the price.
@rca6576 I once knew a 94 year old woman who remained fairly active in an independent retirement community. Her pain dr prescribed a very low dose narcotic-and that is why she was still fairly active. Her daughter from out of state visited her for 2 weeks & made a huge fuss over her mom taking a narcotic. She didn't want her mom to become addicted. The 94 year old lady stopped taking her pain medicine. She stopped going to bingo & dinner. She stopped participating in activities. Within 3 weeks, she stopped living. Her son found her deceased in bed. At least she wasn't addicted when she died all alone.
I guess that is all that matters to some people.. The stigma of pain meds needs to end.
Thank God for people like you Julie. Most people cannot cope with what you and your fellow nurses see/go through. Angels every one of you.
Amen
Yes
Amen 🙏🏽
Amen 🎉
Julie my lovely bride passed 1 year ago this week after a long struggle with cancer..i watched you video's prior to her passing so i could take the best care i could and try to understand what was gonna happin. You were and are a blessing dear..you helped me so much. You have a special place in my heart..love you big.
@@johnkizziah108 Sending heartfelt condolences for your loss. 🙏
So sorry for your loss, John. God bless.
@@raedarden9830 thank you so much.
I’m so sorry.
My condolences on your bride's passing.
I am not religious but I am a person of faith and I am grateful for you and all of your colleagues for helping mankind die with dignity and with limited pain.
I had a friend who could have used palliative sedation. Instead she died screaming in agony because they couldn't manage her pain....her family was begging the doctor to do something, anything....dogs are treated more humanely than that.
I'm so sorry!
I'm sorry she had to go through that, may she rest in love
Love from Europe ❤
What is palliative sedation?
She should have repent
In this day and age, no one should suffer while dying😢
Be sure to go into hospice and not in the hospital!
There should be a death with dignity option in all 50 states by now. But sadly, most states will not go for it.
@@lauramartinez7057 Right!
Totally agree!
@@lauramartinez7057 Or, better yet, go live in a state or country with MAID.
A friend I helped through his journey was in and out of VA Hospital. They treated him like hell. They even refused pain meds at times because they were mad at him for being difficult when he was in pain. VA did insert the tube and pump, but it didn't relieve the pain, only the nausea and vomiting. VA finally transferred him to an inpatient hospice. He said he never wanted to leave. I promised him he wouldn't have to. They left the tube and pump in and allowed him to eat some small easy things. I turned him onto Italian Ice......He was the happiest I had ever seen him. I saw him just a couple hours before he passed and he/and I were both so fortunate that he never had to leave hospice. You are all Angels!!!!
@@dixiechic60 Thank God the hospice service was WONDERFUL at our VA. I will be forever thankful for them.
So sad he had to go through that with the VA hospital, they treated my father the same. We went through hoops of paperwork to get him treated for throat cancer caused for agent orange
No words … my husband has non operational esophageal cancer. We have been battling for a year now. Nothing stays down. Such pain and misery. I will try the pain meds and anti nausea meds via the rectum. Thank you. No one knows the pain unless you’ve laid in the trenches. So heart breaking. Prayers appreciated for comfort.
Old hospice nurse here. Will never forget a patient I had with this, woman in her 50s with metastatic gallbladder cancer. She was a very conservative woman who was a mayor of a local city. She suffered like crazy until one of her sons brought her marijuana and it worked. She literally smoked every hour she was awake and her room was so smoky it looked like an old bar in the movies. I always thought she would be horrified if her constituents saw her, in the end I placed an NG and palliatively sedated her but she only lived a few hours. Once the vomiting had been taken care of she had the energy to transition. Won’t forget her…
That so sad ,but so wonderful at same time
I totally understand
I'm so glad she found some peace and comfort with the marjuana.
Who cares how we cope in the end
We are changing all the time
..even in final chapter.
Thank you for helping her transition to the next world in comfort.
You are amazing.❤
"once the vomiting had been taken care of, she was able to transition." 🫂
I worked in the hospital doing physical therapy for 25 years. I had an old patient in his 80s. An old cowboy. He had cancer and we all knew he didn’t have that much longer left. In fact every day, I wondered if he was still gonna be there when I got there in the morning. One day I walked in his room and he was chipper and bright and happy. Which scared me because I thought this might be the rally before the end. But nope. He informed me that the doctor had given him marijuana. And he was happy as a clam and he knew with those old hippies were talking about :-) His son was mortified because his dad would tell every single person that walked in the room. The person that brought his lunch, the lady that brought in some flowers and some mail everybody. This was about 20 years ago. Before pot was legal in my state for anything. But hey, if you’re dying, you should deserve to get whatever can make you comfortable and this helped him. He lived about another two weeks but at least it was a relatively decent two weeks.
@henrysmom1742 Oklahoma is as conservative as they come and they voted in medical Marijuana.
I cannot express how traumatized I was by my mother’s passing. I had heard for years how wonderful hospice is and how those passing don’t suffer. We had the most horrendous hospice experience, and no one can ever convince me she didn’t suffer. I feel cheated, to this day, by how little peace and comfort our hospice team provided to both my mother and me. I was never afraid to die, until I experienced this. To top it off, I’m an only child with absolutely no living family, and the only expression of sympathy I received was from my dentist when I had to cancel my appointment due to her death. In some odd way, this video made me feel the tiniest bit better knowing that my mom, whom I loved so much, wasn’t the only woman who suffered in hospice, when I was told what a blessing it would be.
@@alllight1822 I am so sorry to hear about what you went through when your mum died. I lost my mum last year and she died in her own home, it was so peaceful. I am still traumatised so I feel sorry for you that you had to watch your mum suffer. Make sure you do one nice thing for yourself every day x
I am so sorry.
I appreciate your messages/replies more than you know. Thank you.
I am sorry for the experience you had. I also was
The only living child my parents had and I lost both within six weeks of each other. Very hard for me but thank God there was little suffering. May Godbless you and you have my deepest condolences.
@@alllight1822 - I am so very sorry for your grief and what you went through with your mom. I am an only child and lost my mom from cancer a long time ago when I was 25, it's so painful to watch them suffer. My heart goes out to you, I wish you had experienced this with a good care team. The best ones are such a gift. Again, I'm so sorry. ❤
I will remember the hospice nurses that took care of my father for the rest of my life, they were like angels for my family ❤
Same here. Mom is on hospice now. Same people... such a comfort.
Hospice nurses are angels 👼
It’s a nightmare. For 2 decades I was medically neglected as a child. Non stop nausea, strange gagging/retching. Missing 3-4 days out of the school week. Turns out I had an intrahepatic gallbladder deformity. Forever thankful for this surgeon shout out to Irfan Wadilla in Houston. That man saved my life performed exploratory surgery and found it. It was horrible. I lost so much out of my life. Recovery was brutal. I was told sphincter of oddi dysfunction or gastroparesis could happen but we went forward. 4 years later i’m fit, a successful LMT, and have never experienced nausea ever.
Keep well
@@noramartin96 thank you. Doing so much better. It was a curse lifted up. Always and never will forget how scared my nurses were even googling trying to find what was wrong with me. They were so scared seeing me retching without stopping
I’m so so sorry you had to experience that, so horrific. I am so very glad you finally received the right help ❤
My brother was sedated with 2 sub-Q lines in his belly & a pump. He had brain cancer & his terminal restlessness wasn’t awful initially but one evening, in the overnight hours, it just got waaay worse. We had to have someone physically sitting in a chair right next to his bed to keep him in it. We couldn’t walk away for even 30 seconds. We got him to the hospice facility later that morning via Ambulance. They had quadrupled all his meds & he was still fighting to get up, & miserable. In the end it took a good 2.5 days to really get him fully sedated, sleeping & staying asleep. He was a healthy 54 year-old who ran 3-4 times a week, w/a healthy heart so it took another 4 days till he died, but his suffering was over once he was sedated. Terminal restlessness is awful but he really had no pain or other symptoms. We miss you, Tim. ❤️
My deepest condolences 🙏 I also had a sweet brother named Timmy. I miss him so much. He was 64. May your dear brother rest in peace ❤
@@marig.2318 ❤️
My late husband was the same. He was inpatient Hospice the last 3 months if his life. He didn’t want to die at 58 so he fought and fought. I alone sat at his bedside and he still fell out of bed multiple times
As a retired RN there is no suffering as someone with facial cancer. The nerves are so angry and painful. In all my 35 years as a nurse, I’ve never seen anyone die so painfully. As the cancer progressed from his nose back to his brain it went from excruciating pain to terminal restlessness week after week. I wanted to take him back home as I think that’s what some of the restlessness was about. Doc said if I did I was on my own they could not provide all the care he required at my home. So he stayed and suffered until his dying breath. Nausea and vomiting no, pain, excruciating pain. I’ll never wish that nightmare on anyone
*hugs*
From one nurse to another. Who do you speak to when you need help? Dont break sister. Keep up the amazing work. And thank you.
I am a former Hospice Nurse. I loved my job & only retired because of my own medical problems. I plan to be a Hospice patient in my not so distant future. I had 2 patients who had particularly ugly deaths. I will remember them for the rest of my life!! No person should have to die the way these patients did.
Why did they suffer so much?
Why? What was the particular reasons why they suffered
Also a retired Home Health and Hospice RN. We try really, really hard to help provide a soft landing at the end of life, but there are times when that is very difficult or even impossible and sedation is the only avenue left to alleviate suffering. I loved my job but the occasional failures stay with us forever.
terrible - highlighting these cases is so important - vote Assisted Dying into law
I'm not sure what to say, but I'm sorry you will need hospice care in the not so distant future. May you receive the comfort and care like you provided to your patients. Even though you loved it, you didn't have an easy job. I appreciate and am grateful for you and people like you who can do that job.
My darling dad was sedated with morphine and midazolam for the last 3 days of his life. His eyes stayed shut but his mouth was gurgling and open with yellow fluid coming out. He was communicating by squeezing my hand and raising his eyebrows. As he took his last breath, his eye's started to flicker and I SAW his spirit leave his body. His skin changed colour instantly from pale to light yellow. It was a beautiful natural death ❤
My best friend (my husband's cousin) died of colon cancer @ 37. She didn't want an NG tube (made her gag) when she was dying the nurse kept trying to suction her. She was showing out of not wanting it. I told the nurse "no more." She started gurgling and bloody foam started coming out of her mouth. Her daughter and I sat on the bed on both sides of her. I kept cleaning up the bloody discharge with towels. She died within minutes. I have always felt guilty that maybe she didn't want to die this way. It breaks my heart. Being a nurse and CNA my whole career, I felt a lot of guilt and maybe I could have done something else. I made sure the nurse was giving her pain meds prn as soon as I saw her having signs of pain. I just worry that she died in pain, drowning in her own fluids. As many deaths I have encountered in my life long career hers was the worst😢
@@bonniestevens9262 so sorry. You did what you thought she wanted. No other choice really. She would not want you to have regrets. You were there with her. Amen.❤️
That combination didn’t sedate him.
He was in final stages of loosing all his stored energy or ATP. It’s when the body shuts down as much as it can to preserve the brain/heart.
I’m so sorry for your loss..
If anything the morphine helped him be with you to squeeze your hand.
@mynursekel7958 thankyou so much for your lovely description. He was a beautiful, big strong man and I know he died very peacefully ❤️
@@bonniestevens9262 omg i hope her mind was gone before this happened-the desperation of not being able to breathe! st felt it both with the attempted tube insertion and the other. i can never have an NG tube unless in on a ventilator bc i can only breathe out of one nostril plus the docs couldn’t even get the tube down the nostril which is closed- so hope i don’t have a gi problem at end.
This happened when my dad, on hospice, had a raging UTI. He kept trying to get up and fell over and over. We finally had to palliatively sedated him. He died two days later. It was all we could do. The hospice nurses could offer no other solution than to medicate him. Instant relief for him and us. 😢
Thank God you did. I've had utis & I've been crawling on the floor. I can't imagine the pain when one is dying. I'd beg for sedation.
UTIs can cause Dementia symptoms
I have gone thru nearly 5he same circumstances when 90 year old father fell and broke his neck. I am thankful he was sedated until he passed two days later.
Love this nurse.
Thankful for someone like you in this world that cares so much.
My grandma had stomach/colon(??) cancer before in her life and spoke about painful it was. She passed later in lonely isolation in hospital during covid from something else, but i think of all thr pain she must have endured and it's heartbreaking. Thank you for making these videos
yes it's heartbreaking and what an impact it leaves on the family
It's not right to let people suffer like that. It's inhuman. Comforting to hear that one can get palliative sedation in such cases.
It's very very difficult. I went thru it with my mother. I had her prescribed marinol. The Dr. Said I'm not comfortable prescribing that, to which I said I really don't give a damn.
@@DougieFootballNo kidding!!
Thank you for highlighting this. My mom had intractible nausea and vomiting, for MONTHS, leading up to her demise on 29 Jan this year. She was in and out of hospital so many times, she became tired and worn down. It was horrible to watch her experience this up until the very end. I spent days on end crying and trying to comfort her the best way. I started watching your channel around that time, not knowing what to do. Your videos helped me understand and prepare for her passing IMMENSELY!! Thank you so much, Nurse Julie❤❤
Deepest condolences ❤
I'm an AFC case manager and I've shared your channel with several Caregivers in recent months who are caring for loved ones in Hospice. Your channel has been very helpful to them. Thx for providing this important information.
This is why there should be the right for a patient to end things when it's too much.
too right - vote Assisted Dying into law
Agree
Yes, absolutely.
I had morning sickness with all five of my kids. I couldn’t imagine nausea and vomiting at the end of life. I think I could handle pain more than that. I hope there is someone to advocate for me! You’re a good nurse/woman Julie.
ive had chronic nausea/vomiting all my 25 year long life. even on a liquid diet. it got so bad I got a feeding tube, and don't eat at all. i have to be on very strong IV drugs to manage vomiting anyways [it initially got better once my feeding tube was placed] it's been very tough, harder to deal with than chronic pain for me
@@livewellwitheds6885 😢🙏🏻
I worked, as an Activities Director in a nursing home, for two years. Impactions, NG tubes, etc were common. I hated that residents were alone, at the end of their lives. I would try to stay, with them, during this time until the inevitable. I was only able to do this 4 times.
The process took a toll, on me in a lot of ways. It’s such a helpless feeling.
You have answered the call that few will.
Thank you for your kind work and the support you provide.
Thank you for all the help you've provided 💕💕
You helped by being there
Crying now. You are a treasure.
@@hospicenursejulie Dont you give them Zofran? I was in a very bad accident (every single rib bone cracked in half, lungs collapsed, damaged C6 vertebrae bone etc etc , infections in lung, intestines, esophagus etc), and was on many painkillers.
All thosed meds gave me EXTREME nausea, so at least 2x a day i was given Zofran. It was amazing, i cant thank the nurses enough.....i cry thinking about it.
oh my gosh your work is most valuable to ppl who hasn’t no one else thank you for all you do!!
Dear Lord....I pray you give continued strength and compassion to Julie to continue her job because we seriously need people like her. Julie......I have alot of respect and admiration for you. Please continue to help people in hospice. You are one in a million.
I’ve got Crohns, NG Tubes are horrendous, bowel obstructions are incredibly painful, and constant nausea is terrible. My heart breaks thinking of hospice patients going through this, along with everything else they’re suffering from.
I don't have Crohn's, but I have a different disease that I suspect may be related to it. I think that both Crohn's and my disease (Hashimoto's Thyroiditis) are caused by the consumption of gluten. Try cutting out gluten and see how it goes.
Are you on any biologic drugs?
@@Hollyucinogen
I cut out all grains, gluten free products too. ALL sugars, starches, processed seed oils, fructose, dairy and legumes too.
My digestion is so much happier… calmer & quieter.
Have you tried acidophilus capsules and cutting out sugars and carbs as the other commenter has suggested?
@@nicholawilks1171 so do I. I was diagnosed just before my mum went palliative with bowel cancer.
Hospice nursing is a calling. God be with you as you fulfill your calling ❤
Julie. 3 years ago I was diagnosed with diastolic heart failure (which is all most better now with medication) stage 3 kidney failure. Working my best to keep my numbers in stage 3. Then GIST tumors attached to my stomach. They took out one 7 pound tumor and half my stomach. Fluid retention was awful. I’m living with all this until two weeks ago I found out I’m a stage2 9:29 diabetic and my liver is failing me. I watch your videos all the time I want to die gracefully. For my children but I’m so depressed with all this. Thank you for talking about tumors. They can get big.
God please bless this woman. I am so sorry for your situation. Godspeed u to a better place. Wherever that is.
So sorry that you had to go through that. Your vids have been indispensable while my wife of 40 years was dying. The periods of helplessness were so brutal. Your empathy is what makes the service you provide so valuable. Thanks for the nursing you do, as well as sharing your experiences and insights
Hospice made all the difference, in my Mother's end. I don't know how I could have survived without it and the kind people there. Thank you, so very much!
My dear mum had that ng tube in for 8 weeks as her swallowing mechanism failed completely. All she wanted was a cup of tea and she wasn't allowed anything. I wish she'd been in a hospice and cared for palliatively, not the hospital, waiting for a diagnosis that never came before she passed. She felt like she was being tortured and she suffered horribly. I'm grateful at least that she didn't have the nausea and vomiting and she is now at peace. Thank you for caring as you do Nurse Julie, you are the best of humans! x
I will alway be thankful for hospas nurses who took care of my 17 yr old they give so much love .
17??! That’s so young what happened?
My mother was pallatively sedated after being run over and breaking 16 ribs, her right orbital socket, and her pelvis. No more struggling for breath. So grateful.
This broke my heart to pieces. Thank you for keeping the public aware, Nurse Julie.
🥺💔⚘️
How horrible to feel that bad at the end of your life. Thanks for doing what you do! Truly helping people.
I just wanted to say thank you for the work you do. You are truly an angel helping people cross over. ❤
Yet again....more help for those of us who are coming to the end of our journey so we are better prepared. Thank you, Nurse Julie.
I was an ICU RN for 40 years. I empathize with all the things you witness in your practice… I am in awe of your strength and compassion in caring for dying patients. And your efforts to educate the public is so appreciated. Thank you…..
I'm pretty sure the universe both thanks you and blesses you. I thank and bless all the hospice workers that were unfailingly by my mother's side when she died from complications of dementia. You're series here on YT has been vastly helpful to me. Many hugs go out to you 😘😇
Marijuana MJ (emjay)is commonly used with dying patients to curb nausea. It really helps!
OMG.I wonder what the heck the hold up was.I agree .
@@Mypuppies812 strangely enough, I’m a retired palliative care nurse, and was floored with the lack of use for hospice care with this family of medications. Anything that helps, and you are not totally zoned out. My daughter is a drug addictions and mental help nurse. It astounds me how public feeling is more understanding with drug addicts, than those that are on their last days and in pain. Hopefully the pharmaceutical companies can focus on those comfort meds, less on using the diabetic medication to lose weight.
7.41am Brisbane Australia. I find your videos so insightful . They helped so much when my Mum was in Palative care and now my sister is very unwell. I find the information so helpful. ❤
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God bless you Julie 💚 It is so hard to see the suffering..
I wish we were honored as our beloved pets..
I thank all the hospice nurses who took care of my mom and Dad and I mean that from the bottom of my heart
You explained and taught that well. I have also had days like that when I was working as a hospice nurse. Thanks for what you do in educating people.
Beth Craven, RN retired
Thank you for every life you make easier and better ❤ Thank you for all the help and care you provide to those who need it so much. Praying for you and your patients🙏🫶🫂
Thank you for your heart ♥️ Your videos and insight got me through losing TWO parents this past year, both in hospice.
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JEEZ, Really? I am SO VERY you had to go through all of thisnin tje span of a year. You are so strong. God Bless you.
Thank you so much. My dad had an obstruction-like issue in his small intestine years ago. One day, he couldn’t stop vomiting. From what I remember, he didn’t have a visible obstruction but were informed his small intestine was starting to die off. They gave him this treatment. Somehow his intestine recovered while losing 25 lbs over 3 weeks while in the hospital. Always a strong healthy man, not overweight, doesn’t smoke or drink, we don’t know why this happened. He was 70 years old then. Colon cancer does run in the family. Thank you for explaining this procedure so clearly. It saved his life. Thank you for your compassion and commitment to this difficult work you do.
thank you, for letting ppl know what really happens during life last stage
I have emetephobia - a fear of vomit and vomiting- and even the thought of this happening gives me the chills. My heart goes out to all those who are suffering x
Me too. I haven't puked since 2012 or seen anyone be sick.
Sammmme. I’d rather break a bone than vomit.
Omg me too!! Now I'm terrified of dying this way 😩
If it happened to my husband I don't think I could look after him...this is a nightmare!! 🤦🏻♀️😩
@@Crystall1961 I may manage as it wouldn’t be contagious so that part of the emetephobia would be removed at least.
@@maggietaylor9475 same here … emetephobic!
It's so sad to see anyone suffer... Thank God that there is some meds that can ease some of the suffering and pain....
I want you to know you are so appreciated 💕 and loved for all your kindness, compassion, and empathy. God Bless you and all the other Hospice nurses that really care 🙏 prayers for you. ❤
thank you for these extremely empathetic videos, i've always had the opinion that palliative sedation (and being put to sleep) is something that should be legal everywhere and it's clear that it alleviates suffering for the one dying. Knowing i may have to puke and suffer until i die is an incredibly haunting thought.
yes it's terrible - the dread of what may be in store for any one of us
We got u Julie. I think we have all had patients like that. My worst (pain) patient was a young man with pancreatic cancer. He believed he was being punished for straying away from his religious upbringing and he refused all pain meds. He believed it was his redemption. It was so hard to watch yet I became protective. I was fearful someone else would trick him and give him meds so I hated to leave him. I felt if this is what he needs to believe he would be in heaven far be it from me to mess that up. I learned so much about myself through that journey and I took that lesson with me the last 15 years of my career. We love u Julie.
What you're describing is standard Catholic belief for one billion people on this planet. The young man was doing penance for his sins, and he did the absolute right thing. He may not have made it to Heaven if he hadn't repented and done penance for his sins like that - and he almost certainly would not have. So what he did is a completely and utterly normal belief and activity for the largest religious group on this planet. It only seems strange to you because you're godless and ignorant of religion. In fact, with your last name/ethnic heritage, you're supposed to be Catholic, but you or your family apostatized at some point.
Wow
That must have been so hard
Thankyou for helping him and respecting his wishes
How sad, he felt he had to suffer to be repent...
But how wonderful, he was loved and protected in his last days..
May he rest in heavenly peace
..and bless you,for all you have done to help others.
Some ppl need to be protected from themselves
@@KaraLey98 I agree 100%. But only jails and psych units can force someone into medical needs. My experience with this young man changed my outlook and I changed the way I viewed medicine and medical staff. He literally shaped the direction of my career.
@@missykowalewski I was sorry later that I wrote that in response to your post! Of course you did what was moral-it wouldn’t be right to force medication on a person who is sound -/he was not hurting anyone else-and if he believed that his soul would be better for it-that’s powerful.
I'm a retired carer, and I loved my job. Palliative care is the hardest but giving that client the best care possible in know they didn't suffer. I love watching your videos and I miss my work.
I cared for a dying old man, Who literally had turned into a living skeleton. 😢 We were 3 teams working at his house, (home hospice care) and no matter what we tried to do to ease this poor man's pain, he still kept exclaiming/wailing, when we washed him/turned him over, etc. He WAS on morphine, on a special matress, the whole nine yards.
The day before he passed, my colleague Liz and I just fell into each other's arms crying, when we had put our coats on, and were ready to leave the house.😭 It was just too much.
Even for us, who are professionals.
This was a situation, that I still recall to this day.
I have prayed for both this man, AND his family.
In this kind of work, prayer is a BIG tool, trust me.
Hugs to all of you guys out there.
Take care and God bless.
@Ujuani68 how heartbreaking. I'm sooo sorry for all involved. I have deep respect for all of you who work with terminal patients. I wish I had continued in nursing school when I graduated from high school. I ended up dropping out of college and never returned. I'm 61 now and have no experience nor knowledge. I have so much compassion. Though I'm an emotional person, I feel like I can encourage families and the patient from a volunteer standpoint. I don't even know if an "exhorter" position even exists. Thank you for sharing your profound experience with us. I agree, prayer is a VITAL tool! God bless you.
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@Mars-77 that was incredibly mean-spirited. These nurses take on things that are soul crushing every single day. This is their life. You heard her say everything they tried, and it didn't work. Some people just don't respond to treatment for pain. Just wow... 😟
@@Mamasan742 Thank you for your kind words. Hospices have (and need) volunteers, because not everybody has a family or relatives.
I'm trying to understand why there's a pain medication limit for patients who are dying? Why not give them enough to relieve the pain? Is not like we need to worry about it damaging internal organs, or addiction, either way they will be dead soon. Why not make it comfortable? I'd much rather be as drugged as possible in pain like that, even if the drugs were to kill me faster than my illness. If they don't give me enough to cure my pain, I get an extra few pain filled days... lucky me?
@@lauraprokes117 This poor man already had morphine patches on his arm permanently, and other folks came and administered them. He couldn't have medicine orally anymore... It was truly heartbeaking.
You may never know how beneficial your videos are. You are truly an Angel and deserve all the hugs you can get. You have my utmost admiration and respect. Having worked in home health for 26 years, it's rough out there! Hospice nurses have a very strong place in my heart
Julie, Thank you for addressing this issue. You explain issues extremely well. The suffering is horrible.
I could never be a nurse. Thank God for you people!
I’m thinking of you. I know it’s hard. I went thru that with my husband. Keeping you and your patients in my prayers
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💔 Hugs 💔 Poor people.... Glad you are there to try and help.
I thank God that I had a wonderful & caring hospice nurses for my husband. He passed away we just me next to him in our bed.He went peacefully. I am glad that he wasn't alone and I could be there to say goodbye. 😢
How old
Thank you for your work and for doing what you do with love ❤️ Nausea to me is sometimes worse than pain.. So sorry the doctors couldn’t help your patient to have a better death..
I will never forget my mother’s death. I was a kid and… it was somehow traumatizing. I will never forget, how her upper body/back looked after weeks of lying in the hospital bed. Thank god she was “sleeping” (don’t know, if she was sedated - she seemed conscious at times..) most of the time and got medicated when she showed the slightest sign of discomfort.
She was still young and had had a tough life. More than tough. I hope that God will explain to me one day, why this beautiful human being had to suffer so much throughout the years she was on earth and why she didn’t get the chance to see her children succeed and spoil her in the later years of her life. It has been 34 years now and after pushing the pain away and not really dealing with it in my youth, the mourning is more painful now, than it ever was. I would like to go back in time, hug that little girl that I was and tell her that it is okay to be sad and cry. Please remind the families of the children that are left behind, that they need support - even if it seems like they are doing… okay 🫶🏼
God bless you, as you have suffered too.
So sorry that you lost your precious mother when you were still a small child. And so very sorry to learn that she had tough life. No, it surely doesn't seem fair at all.💔 🙏
@@karenrader2160Thank you, means a lot to me 🫶🏼
@@gloriamaryhaywood2217Thank you so much! Maybe we’ll understand one day…❤
Thank you for providing such extensive details. Your videos are so helpful and I am using the knowledge I gain to provide exact instructions for my end of life care whenever that may occur.
God bless you for being there for the sick and elderly.
your a very unique individual with your skills that you have, not just nursing, but the compassion you have, and your huge heart. I hope things improve for you as well as the patient.
She always has the best ways to help the patients. 🤲
I’d rather have death by firing squad than go through what is described in this video. Poor patients! This video is a good education. I appreciate this channel for educating us. I appreciate the nurses like this one who give kind and compassionate care to their patients during these difficulties.
Yes I was thinking the same.
I pray you are my hospice nurse when I am dying. My X husband went through this. He was a wonderful man, this video made me cry. He didn’t deserve to suffer. I know he’s in heavenly peace now!🙏🙏
I love your videos and I have been a hospice therapist for over 15 years and there is so much soul work done with patients and families that I never forget my families❤ thank you for what you do❤
I appreciate your gentle honesty. My dad remains 100 % fiercely independent at 97 yrs. However I know his time is coming. You are helping me prepare factually. Emotionally I will never be prepared. I hope when his time comes I'll be strong and not crying. He is ready to go Now. I'm going to try to be happy for him bc that's what he wants. 😢❤
Thank you Julie, for what you do. You are amazing.
I am not obviously hospice but suffer from constant nausea sometime vomiting and had 2 small intestine blockages that were repaired by major surgery. Living with this constant nausea that no medication takes away (Canada) is a terrible way to live thanks to gastroparis. Thank you Julie for this video
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i’m so sorry that is such an awful condition!
My sweet auntie died of stomach cancer when she was only 50yrs old. A few months before she passed, she kept vomiting constantly. This would last for at least half an hour and then she would be exhausted. The anti nausea medication they gave her did not work. Thank you Nurse Julie for sharing ways to alleviate this.
My Wife Died in Hospice 4-8-21. She had all the classic visitation from loved ones. It’s what happened after death that really convinced me of an after life. I’ve accepted her death but still struggle 3yrs later. I need to tell her story some how. God Bless❤️
You should tell it here. It may help you and others...
Continue to tell her story anytime. Would love to hear about the special soul in your life
I would love to hear your wife's story.
Life is so wild I really need to start taking care of my health so little time on earth and so much to do my god I know death is apart of the life cycle but being alive in this moment I’m very grateful. Just here spreading love y’all ❤❤❤❤
Thank you Nurse Julie and all the hospice workers. This must be an incredibly challenging career. Thank you for all the work you do and for the educational videos.
@HospiceNurseJulie thank you for your videos! My father is on home hospice care, and your videos have been very helpful and comforting.
A friend of mine came home from the hospital with an ileostomy at 95 years old. Medicare would only pay for an ostomy nurse to come & change her bag for so long, after that time ended it would be $150 out of pocket for each bag swap. I did massage therapy in an injury clinic for years so I offered to help, met with her ostomy nurse & got the basics. After visiting multiple ostomy forums and getting tips on different situations we forged ahead. We made it almost 6 years & it was a blockage that finished her off 37 days before her 101st birthday! I used to do visceral manipulation techniques on her when she would get backed up and eventually things would open up and pass. It's subtle & time consuming work, sometimes it would move in 20 minutes, other times it would take an hour. The last time it took the hospital and the tube, was released to rehab and blocked again. No one thought to keep her on liquids for diet. But- it was meant to be. She went back to the hospital, was released to hospice, put into a coma and didn't last 24 hours.
wow you are a good friend
i am so grateful for the nurses and doctors that kept my son comfortable while he passed away, he was medicated but stil aware enough to know i was there holding him.
his body broke down so fast, and we knew death was coming.
the work you do is so precious and important. thank you for everything you do for the dying.
What did he have?
@lisamccullough5150 my son has Kabuki syndrome type 2
I am SO thankful for these videos. I’m 13 years into P.D. but only 65. It has gone into my round muscles so I do know that this will be the cause of my passing. My kids are in their 30s so we can have better conversations about what it will look like and what to do. Thank you so much..
what are round muscles? please answer-my husband has had PD nearly 20 years plus many complications-i need to know as much as possible!
Lungs, digestion and bladder. I started having lung tremors at about 10 years. I am currently at 8x100/25 L-dopa.. hope that helps.
Decades ago, a doctor told us to get weed to treat this. It worked beautifully. Get what’s called a “pinch hitter” that’s all it takes. This works for nausea from cancer when nothing else will.
Just an FYI. 💙
Not always-sometimes i wonder if that is a placebo in some cases.
Julie speaks about the variety of ways palliative care is given. Hospice nursing is truly a specialty. I did hospice nursing both in-patient and home hospice. Loved this
God bless you. I am a retired trauma nurse. Used to do “car talks” to myself in the car after my shift too. ❤️🙏
Hospice workers are amazing. Hospice is amazing. No one wants to be there, of course, but it spares patients and families so much suffering. I'll never forget the two hospice nurses who brought such comfort and reassurance to us while my mother was in home hospice. They were a blessing
I wish I knew about palliative sedation. My husband suffered so much! He was constantly vomiting, (like coffee grinds), unfortunately the hospice gave him only liquid morphine, and they never understood it didn't work because he will vomit it. I wish I knew about this before. I would have asked for palliative sedation for sure. Thank you nurse Julie for educating people! Hopefully nobody has to suffer the way my poor beloved husband did.
Coffee grinds = bleeding from the upper Gastrointestinal tract… medical staff should know this.
Hi there! I’m so sorry for your loss. As a hospice nurse, I’d just like to point a couple things out. Morphine can cause constipation could increase nausea and vomiting. The morphine though, was working, because it absorbed through the gums, under the tongue, and tissues, he didn’t throw it all up I promise.
How old was he, was it cancer?
Love you beautiful, I'm going to do hospice volunteer ❤ I'm so sorry you had such a hard time,I am in awe of your strength and dedication ❤❤❤
Hello 👋Beautiful Lady 🌹..How are you and the weathere condition like ?
I have Gastroparesis and you just described the last 7 years of my life. It breaks my heart to hear that others are suffering the same way
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me too, its my past decade sumed up 😢 not easy to keep going with something like gp
It’s a terrible disease. I lost 30 lbs in a few months. 😢I’m so glad that they can help dying people with the nausea and vomiting.
If i was suffering like that, you better believe that i would want to be put to death, rather than have to go through all that terrible suffering.
I don't know the rules, and what's allowed, but i do believe that the patient who is suffering should be allowed to make that choice, on wether they want to be put to rest or not.
Bless you Julie!, and for all that you do with your chosen occupation, as not many people would be able to go through seeing those poor people, at the end of their lifes. 💯💗
Thanks, Julie. I had a nasogastric tube when I had peritonitis back in 2015. I was delirious most of the time and I kept pulling it out. It wasn't comfortable, to be sure, but it wasn't agonizing. Still, I was so glad when it was finally taken out.
What a hard job you have, Julie. Your compassion is appreciated.
Julie ❤ Thank you for being here for us and helping us 🙏
Thank you Julie for sharing this. I have never felt so powerless. Not being able to stop my mom from vomiting constantly was devastating to me. For you, I know you have professional boundaries and you can perhaps compartmentalize. Having watched my mom and listening to what you have gone through… You’re a rockstar Julie! This was my mom’s story. She was taken to hospital. We didn’t know what happened. I called the ambulance as soon as I got to mom‘s then she went to hospital. She wound up having life-saving surgery that actually fixed the twist. She was in ICU for four days. She was then transferred to the surgical ward. The surgical ward is designed to help people with wound care, get you in get you out. They would not transfer my mom somewhere else where she could get better care. Two months later she died there, under what to me is completely inhumane. I was talking to one of the nurses “looking after” my mom after she started to vomit. I saw her chart and it said bowel obstruction. I immediately went home and googled bowel obstruction. I tried letting my family know how serious this was. Even the nurse in my family thought I was overreacting. The surgeon in ICU had told me that she might not get out of Hospital if she didn’t become ambulatory. Unfortunately, my mom lived a very sedentary life and just fought physical therapy every step of the way. Who could blame her. Every time she started to walk faeces would run down her leg. They didn’t diaper her properly. I believe she decided to just give up towards the end. I know that everybody’s doing the best they can or I would like to believe that given the circumstances, we all seem to find ourselves in with healthcare costs. I live in Canada, so we are supposed to have this wonderful single healthcare system. Except that certain politicians want it to become a private payer system and our playing political games. I feel for the people on the front line. I will say, I didn’t gain any respect for surgeons😊 or hospitalists whilst she was being cared for. This was and still is the most heart wrenching traumatic PTSD inducing death I have experienced. I have experienced many deaths. My mom recently, my dad, my oldest sister, my youngest brother, my first husband. I am left with one sister and to say that we are different people is an understatement. The thing that has saved me from completely losing my mind, is that I was able to be with her when she died. It has also compelled me to take a Death Doula course as well as a hypnosis course. ❤I’m hoping I might be able to marry the two modalities and help people deal with the hard conversations around death, while they are still living. ❤❤❤🇨🇦☮️❤️🩹💔💝
I have been sober for 18 years and I can tell you that at one point leaving the hospital after a particularly devastating day. I definitely wanted a double scotch, and thought about it. I know better and always take it to the end. You are sober as well, I know from watching your videos. I can only assume that you have some amazing practises that keep you healthy and sane! ❤
Bless you, Julie for everything that you do. You are an angel on earth. I will say as well that watching your videos and your real life approach to death has also inspired me.☮️💝🥇
I like that even as a nurse of 11 years, sometimes I need reminders: rectal medicine, OF COURSE! I've had a patient the last 2 weeks who was 1000% hospice appropriate but not ready. Gastric cancer, abdominal abcess, surgically created fistula, and all I wanted was to relieve her nausea arms vomiting. Why didn't I think of rectal meds? Ugh! Thanks Julie!
I’ve sat bedside now four different times with friends and family as they passed from Cancer … the suffering for both the patients and the caregivers can be overwhelming. My sister died of Ovarian cancer and blessedly her son, a brilliant Doctor sat beside her for her last two weeks and managed her care. She suffered the bowel obstruction. For the rest not so fortunate to have a Dr sit beside them, your videos are the best guides we can get. Thank you so much for being honest about this process. It seems as modern medicine lengthens our lives… the chance of these more difficult deaths has also increased.
Pretty sure hospice nurses have wings and halos we can't see.
@@starlakelsey2782 Not all superheroes wear capes-sometimes they wear sneakers and scrubs!
One million percent agree. I don’t remember what my mom’s hospice nurse looks like, but I can still feel the hug she gave me as I fell into a puddle on the floor when my Mom died.
Sweet angel 😇 💖 You are such a blessing to the dying. It broke my heart seeing you so moved. I'm sending you prayers and hugs. You truly are an angel. Please 🙏 take care okay?