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hospice nurse julie

A man walking into the light.

What happens after we die? It’s one of the biggest mysteries that we have to confront during the short time we enjoy on Earth. That is, of course, unless you have unshakeable faith in a religion that believes in an afterlife or are a committed atheist who has accepted that we are nothing more than worm food after we expire.

Julie McFadden, also known as Hospice Nurse Julie, is someone who gives hope to those who believe in an afterlife. During her time helping countless people pass away, she has had supernatural experiences that have led her to believe there’s more to death than we know. Julie is a registered nurse and hospice care expert who aims to normalize conversations about death and dying, and is the author of Nothing to Fear: Demystifying Death to Live More Fully.

What is a shared death experience?

One of the most moving supernatural experiences that McFadden has had came after the death of a patient who she claims reached out to her at the moment of his passing. She shared the story on her popular TikTok feed, as well as on the Howie Mandel Does Stuff podcast.

@hospicenursejulie

Story time. #hospicenursejulie #nurse #story #shareddeathexperience #afterlife

“I've had this experience that I now know was called a shared death experience,” she told the Howie Mandel Does Stuff podcast. McFadden says that she shared death with a young man she refers to as Randy, who was under hospice care. He didn’t have very close family or friends and suffered from anxiety and had a hoarding problem. He had “hit bottom” and began talking about the tremendous anxiety he experienced while facing death, and became close with McFadden and his other caretakers. One day, while he was unconscious and actively dying, McFadden knew he was going to go very soon, so she left him with the continuous caretaker, knowing she may never see him again.

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When she got into her car, she said to herself, "Goodbye, Randy, I hope you have a beautiful journey." At that moment, Randy entered her thoughts. "It hit every sense: I could hear his voice, I could feel how he was feeling, and I could see him in my mind's eye," she said.

"Oh my gosh, Julie, if only I had known how good this was going to be, I wouldn't have been so afraid,” Julie heard Randy’s voice call out. "It felt like he was smiling and soaring," Julie said, calling the experience 'beyond anything [she] could ever describe'.

"I was so emotional in the moment that I was weeping tears of joy in my car. I was so overwhelmed by what he was showing me," she said. Then, as she began to collect herself, she received a text that Randy had passed away. “I thought ‘I know’ cuz he just showed me what it was like,” she recalled.

She kept the story to herself

McFadden kept the story to herself for years because she felt that people would think she was crazy. “Finally, everyone kept asking me, ‘Why aren't you afraid? What makes you not afraid?’ and finally I just said, ‘You know what? Screw it, I'm going to tell people why, and that's one of the main reasons why,” she said.

We can all have our thoughts on what happens after we die, but for those of us who are unsure of what happens when we transition to the great beyond, it’s comforting to know that someone who's been so close to death, for so many years, chooses to face it without fear.

Julie McFadden and former President Jimmy Carter.

Former President Jimmy Carter is known for being one of the most beloved former presidents in American history for his resolve to use his talents to help others, whether it was eradicating the Guinea worm or his work with Habitat for Humanity into his late 90s. Carter says that his faith is the big reason for his resilience. “I have one life and one chance to make it count for something,” he said. “My faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can with whatever I have to try to make a difference.”

The man who held the presidency from 1977 to 1981 went into hospice in February 2023 but has lived much longer than most expected. Carter has made 2 public appearances in that time, the first in November 2023 for the funeral of his wife of 77 years, Rosalynn and on October 1, 2024 for his 100th birthday. When Carter was wheeled into his wife’s funeral, some family members expressed shock and worry about Cartter’s appearance.

Since beginning hospice care, Carter has appeared frail and gaunt without expression and mouth agape. It shouldn’t be shocking for a person who has reached the age of 100 to appear so fragile, but it’s right to be concerned that he may be uncomfortable in such a state. However, Julie McFadden, also known as Hospice Nurse Julie, settled a lot of people’s fears in a TikTok video where she explained Carter’s appearance and why he’s most likely comfortable during his transition.

McFadden has assisted over a hundred people in their final days and is the author of the bestseller, "Nothing to Fear."

@hospicenursejulie

#greenscreenvideo #greenscreen Jimmy Carters 100th birthday! #hospicenursejulie #hospicenurse #jimmycarter #education

What is Jimmy Carter's condition?

“I have been tagged in this Jimmy Carter turns 100 years old today video,” she begins her viral TikTok with over 600,00 views. “So many times people asking me, why does he look like this? Is he okay? Does this mean anything? As a hospice nurse, this video was not alarming to me. Jimmy Carter, to me, looks just like someone who was 100 years old on hospice and getting towards the end of their life.”

She then speculated on what his life is like at age 100. “Jimmy Carter is likely sleeping 20 to 22 hours a day. He is likely not really eating and drinking, which is all normal and to be expected at the end of life. So that's why he looks so thin. He looks cachectic. His body is slowly shutting down and the more we just let his body be the guide, the better he will be.”

A lot of people are concerned about the way that Carter’s mouth seems to be permanently open. McFadden says that is due to muscle wasting. “His mouth is hanging open because it takes muscles to keep your mouth shut. And at the end of life, those muscles relax. So he is likely so relaxed that when he's sleeping, which is most of the time, even when he's in a wheelchair, he's asleep, and his muscles relax, so his mouth hangs open.”



McFadden also addressed many people's concerns: Should Carter have been brought outside to celebrate his birthday with his family in such an advanced state? Should he have been in front of the cameras?

“In my opinion, it's up to the family. The family knows that person best,” McFadden said. “From what we know of Jimmy Carter, he was a family man who loved being around his family. So why not be around him and celebrate his one hundred? One-hundredth birthday and bring family around, bring him outside. They know his personality. They must think he would love this. So let's do it. We don't have to keep dying people hidden away.”

McFadden is such an incredible gift because we tend to lock away the dying and talking about death and hospice is a very uncomfortable topic for most. This lack of information leads us to believe that someone in Carter’s position suffers. But, according to McFadden, he’s probably comfortable and relaxed. McFadden knows that when people better understand Carter’s condition, they will probably feel better about their final days as well.


A kind nurse offers a flower.

As the old saying goes, “You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.” Sadly, this hard truth becomes increasingly evident as we reach our final days. The things we take for granted today, such as our health, relationships, and time itself, become much more precious when we know they are about to end.

How much happier would we be every day if we lived with the perspective of those who are experiencing their final days?

Julie McFadden, known to her hundreds of thousands of followers on social media, as Hospice Nurse Julie, helps people appreciate their lives by regularly sharing her experiences with those who are living their final days.

Recently, she stopped by Rob Moore’s “The Disruptors” podcast, where she shared some of the big lessons she’s learned from the dying. Moore is a public speaker, entrepreneur and bestselling author of “Life Leverage.”


Given his background as an entrepreneur, Moore assumed that when people reach their final days, they regret the amount of time they spend working. "People definitely say that. 'I wish I didn't work my life away. I wish I didn't wait until retirement to do the things I wanted to do,'" McFadden said. However, there is another big regret that many share. “The main thing people say, that I don't hear a lot of people mention, is ‘I wish I would have appreciated my health,’” she added.

“I think the biggest thing I hear from people [who are] dying is that they wish they would have appreciated how well they how well they felt before,” she continued.

It seems that when people’s health begins to decline, they miss the vitality they never fully appreciated.

"I think most people take for granted things that have always been,” she told Moore. “You know, it's really easy to forget. We're so lucky to be alive in this moment. We're taking a breath right now. We're here on a rock that's like soaring through space. I mean, that alone can blow your mind."

McFadden believes that her profession reminds her to be grateful because dying is just as natural as living.

“I think because of my job, it's easier for me to see how once-in-a-lifetime this is. The fact that everything works together in our bodies to make us live and grow and I see that in-depth, too. I see how our bodies are biologically built to die,” she said. “That, right there, is so fascinating. We literally have built-in mechanisms to help us die. Our body can naturally do it. That's wild."

To get the most out of the miracle of life, McFadden writes a gratitude list every night so she’s sure to appreciate everything she has. Because, in the blink of an eye, it can be gone. “I like the fact that I can breathe, I'm walking around, I can feel the sunshine – little things like that,” she shared.

Our lives are filled with incredible gifts, whether it’s the people we love, the amazing things our bodies can do, or the places we get to see. But without gratitude, these beautiful gifts can easily go unnoticed and unappreciated. Practicing gratitude allows us to cherish these moments, so we’re fulfilled by what we have, instead of disillusioned by what we don’t.