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An old woman holding a cane.
Death is the last great mystery that all of us face. We donât know when we will go or can really be sure what comes next. So thereâs understandably a lot of fear and uncertainty that most of us feel around death, whether weâre thinking about ourselves or a loved one.
Thatâs why Julie McFadden's work is so important. As a palliative care nurse in the Los Angeles area, who has seen over a hundred people die, her TikTok videos shed light on the process to make us all a bit more comfortable with the inevitable.
McFadden is also the author of the bestseller, âNothing to Fear.â
The nurseâs experience helping people in their final stages has given her a unique perspective on the process. In a recent video, she shared how she can see the first symptoms that someone is going to die a natural death about 6 months before they finally do.
Interestingly, she can determine that someone only has half a year left to live when most of us have no idea they have entered the final stages of life.
@hospicenursejulie Replying to @Mariah educating yourself about scary topics will help decrease fear. âšNothing to Fear âš- my book- out june 11th #hospicenursejulie #hospicenurse #caregiversoftiktok #medicaltiktok #learnontiktok #nothingtofearbook
What are the symptoms of dying at the 6-month mark?
McFadden adds that people who are dying are usually placed in hospice care when the symptoms begin to appear around the 6-month mark.
"You will have very generalized symptoms. Those symptoms will usually be, one, you will be less social. So you'll be more introverted than extroverted," McFadden said. "Two, you will be sleeping a lot more. And three, you will be eating and drinking a lot less. Literally, everyone on hospice, I see this happen to."
A Ray of light over a mountain. via PIxbay/Pexels
What are the symptoms of dying at the 3-month mark?
You are going to notice more debility,â McFadden continues. âThey will be staying in their house most of the time. It's going to be difficult getting up and just going to the bathroom. Again, sleeping a lot more and eating and drinking a lot less.â
What are the symptoms of dying at the 1-month mark?
Something usually begins to happen in the final month of someoneâs life. They start to believe they are in contact with others they have lost. Itâs like they are there to make the dying person feel comfortable with their final transition.
"Usually around the one month mark is when people will start seeing 'the unseen', they have the visioning. They'll be seeing dead relatives, dead loved ones, dead pets, old friends who have died,â McFadden said. âAgain, not everyone â but many, many people will start seeing these things at around one month."
An angel with a trumpet.via PixaBay/Pexels
Angela Morrow, a registered nurse at Verywell Health, agrees that people in the final stage of life often hear from those who have passed before them. Morrow says we should refrain from correcting the patients when they share their stories of talking to people and pets who have died. "You might feel frustrated because you can't know for sure whether they're hallucinating, having a spiritual experience, or just getting confused. The uncertainty can be unsettling, but it's part of the process," Morrow writes.
At the end of the video, McFadden says that the most important factors palliative care nurses look at to determine the stage of death are eating, drinking and sleeping. âMost people, a few weeks out from death, will be sleeping more than they are awake. And they will be barely eating and barely drinking,â McFadden said.
In the end, hospice nurses âallow the body to be the guideâ as they help their patients transition from life to death.
McFaddenâs work has brought a lot of peace to her followers as they go through trying times. "My mom is in hospice right now and sheâs currently, I think, hours or days from death. YourTikToks have helped me out tremendously," Deb wrote. "My grandma passed away in February, and she experienced all of this. this page brings me peace knowing everything she went through was natural," Jaida added.
"Thanks, Julie. I volunteer in a hospice end-of-life facility, and this helps educate the families. Your posts are wonderful," Grandma Nita wrote.
One of the things that makes death so scary is the number of unknowns surrounding the process. Thatâs why itâs so important that McFadden shares her stories of helping people to the next side. She shows that death is a natural process and that hospice nurses are here to help make the transition as peaceful as possible.
via Carla Rhodes
Two northern cardinals captured on Carla Rhodes' bird-feeder camera.
The pandemic has caused many people to reevaluate their surroundings. When youâre stuck at home more often than youâd like, you start to pay a lot more attention to what goes on in your own backyard.
This type of introspection inspired wildlife photographer Carla Rhodes to get a closer look at the furry friends that live near her home in the Catskill mountains of New York.
What she found was magical.
âThe winter of 2020-2021 was particularly brutal to humankind. After months of enduring the Covid-19 pandemic, we were now collectively slogging through winter. As a result of being stuck at home, I focused on my immediate surroundings like never before,â Rhodes said in a statement.
Rhodes positioned a DSLR camera trap beneath her bird feeder to get an up-close glimpse of the wildlife that came to sample her delicious seeds.
The results are an incredible series of photos of birds and other woodland creatures from a vantage point most people never see. Rhodes calls her project, "Beneath the Bird Feeder."
The birdfeeder photos also gave a new glimpse into the behavior of several species of birds and rodents that call the Catskills home.
âAs I got deeper into the project, intriguing observations emerged,â Rhodes says. âI noticed distinct repeat visitors such as a Dark-Eyed Junco with an overgrown beak, a deer mouse with a notched ear, and an irruption of Red-Breasted Nuthatches. Dark-Eyed Juncos always showed up at the crack of dawn and Northern Cardinals would always be the last visitor of the day as dusk turned into evening.â
Here are 15 of the most captivating photos that Rhodes captured from beneath her bird feeder.
1. Dark-eyed junco
via Carla Rhodes
"Often overlooked and considered drab ground-feeding birds, Dark-Eyed Juncos hold a special place in my heart due to their funny and curious behaviors. Every day they were first to arrive beneath the bird feeder," Rhodes says. "Dark-Eyed Juncos were one of the most frequent and curious subjects beneath the bird feeder."
4. Tufted titmouse
via Carla Rhodes
According to All About Birds, the tufted titmouse is "common in eastern deciduous forests and a frequent visitor to feeders."
5. Mourning dove
via Carla Rhodes
â"Observing Mourning Doves was a daily pleasure, especially when they gathered to form a clean-up crew beneath the bird feeder. Mourning doves are monogamous and possibly mate for life," Rhodes writes.
8. Blue jay
via Carla Rhodes
"Blue Jays are known for their intelligence and complex social systems with tight family bonds," All About Birds says. "Their fondness for acorns is credited with helping spread oak trees after the last glacial period."
9. Northern cardinal
via Carla Rhodes
"Northern Cardinals were always the last to show up beneath the bird feeder, shortly after dusk every evening," Rhodes writes.
10. Black-capped chickadee
via Carla Rhodes
"Little flocks of Black-capped Chickadees enliven the winter woods with their active behavior and their cheery-sounding chick-a-dee callnotes as they fly from tree to tree, often accompanied by an assortment of nuthatches, creepers, kinglets, and other birds," the Audubon field guide to North American birds says.
12. Eastern gray squirrel
via Carla Rhodes
Eastern gray squirrels are important members of forest ecosystems as they play a vital role in dispersing seeds.
 13. American red squirrel
via Carla Rhodes
The American red squirrel is known for its distinct bushy and dark red tail with hints of a white outline.
14. American red squirrel
via Carla Rhodes
15. Northern short-tailed shrew
via Carla Rhodes
If you see a northern short-tailed shrew, be careful. It's venomous and paralyzes its victims with poisonous saliva. In humans, a bite can cause swelling and intense pain.
This article originally appeared on 01.03.22