From the practical , to the taboo , to the personal — here are all your questions Hospice Nurse Julie answered about death and dying:Lpettet / Getty ImagesThe answer is we don't know, technically. We use non-verbal pain scales to assess if the person is experiencing discomfort or pain. It's pretty easy to see that in a dying body, if someone is comfortable or not comfortable.
We do believe someone dying can still hear us. Hearing is the last sense to shut down. There have been EEGs done on dying brains that show thatWe are unsure of how much they truly comprehend. There have been people who have been in an induced coma in the ICU who come out of the coma eventually and do say they could hear people and quote-unquote,"feel and sense" people.
But really, I would say the last phases of Alzheimer's are usually the most peaceful. For years, people with Alzheimer's have confusion, paranoia, and agitation because they're very confused. You know, a lot of issues, and that can last for a very long time and be very hard. The last phases of life for someone with dementia or Alzheimer's are usually pretty docile because they are sleeping 22 hours a day. They are kind of like a sleeping baby almost.
I've also heard many people who have death anxiety tell me that watching, learning, and educating themselves about how the body works during the dying process has helped alleviate a lot of their anxiety. I think education can help decrease fear and truly understand and contemplate our mortality — knowing it's going to happen, knowing it's normal to fear that, and soothing ourselves in the process.