“…Life lesson, folks.”
Every day felt like it would bemylast, too.
“He wished he had been a better father to his daughter.
He wished they had reconnected.
His dementia prevented him from remembering they had reconnected years before and that she visited often.
I wish I could have made him aware that he had accomplished his last wish.
But he died not really understanding that.”
“I’ve worked in long-term care for over a decade.
crackerjack222
3.
“I worked as an oncology nurse right out of nursing school.
I was barely 21 years old.
I had a patient about my age who was dying of lung cancer.
He was so young.
He asked me to call his parents, and he died shortly after they arrived.
It was awful.”
“His regrets were more about the life he had not lived.
Many older patients had interesting life stories, and most wanted to tell them before they died.
Most were at peace with the life they lived.
Many regretted working so much and not spending enough time with family.”
MagiBee218
4.
“He was one of my first patients as a nursing student, named Frank.
After knowing him for a few days, he disclosed to me his regret was outliving everyone he loved.
He and his wife hadn’t had kids.
He was ‘all that was left’, and he wanted to see his wife again.
I wasn’t sure how to respond, so I just listened.
It made me realize how living so long isn’t great if everyone you love is gone.”
“As a medical student at Stanford, I saw some ‘VIP’ patients.
One, in particular, was an executive at an iconic company.
This person was terminally ill, and I was tasked with the initial interview.
During my history-taking, they spoke about the ride up the corporate ladder.
It all seemed worthwhile at the time, chasing wealth and prestige.
“I still remember them in the hospital bed, staring out the window with a blank expression.
21AtTheTeeth
6.
TheMatt666
7.
“I was a hospice nurse.
He had been a farmer all his life and never married.
He thought about it a minute and said he wished he had worn a hat when he was farming.
I wish he did, too.”
“I was a new nurse, flying solo.
We got a call for an incoming trauma, a woman in her 50s involved in a multi-car accident.
We were all ready at the ambulance bay but unsure of the woman’s complete condition.
She rolled in, breathing on her own but very labored with asymmetrical chest expansion.
Her vitals were unstable; she was circling the drain.
I told her I was disappointed in her.'
She began to cry, her vitals plummeted.
‘I’m sorry,’ was the last thing she said before her heart stopped.
I still see her face at times, her eyes filled with more emotional pain than physical.
It took much longer and was so much harder to write this than I thought it would be.”
NurseAshley216
9.
They all wish their family were there.
Or they cry out for their significant other in a panic.
The look of relief on people’s faces just hearing that gets me every time.
People just want to not be alone at the end.”
“A 40-year-old patient I had was dying from breast cancer that had spread throughout her body.
She was diagnosed with breast cancer 10 years earlier and had a mastectomy.
She regretted not getting the bilateral mastectomy.
The patient never ended up marrying after all.”
“A week later, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.
I instantly told the doctor that I wanted a bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction.
I also had an aggressive form of cancer.
I feel that she actually saved my life by sharing and opening up with her regret.”
Lanna33
11.
“That they hadnt utilized hospice services sooner.”
azaleapirate
12.
“Some people just want you to let them go.
Learn when to let go.”
I can’t die yet.
I still have so much growing to do.
The gentleman who told me the line above was in his late 60s-early 70s.
It made me reflect on how I view patients in this age group.
Yes, much older than myself, but still with growing and living to do.”
“I also think of a woman in her 50s who I met early in my training.
When she was diagnosed with metastatic pancreatic cancer, they regretted never making that step.
I attended their small wedding in the hospital.
She died a few days later.”
yuanchosaan
14.
“AEMT [Advanced Emergency Medical Technician] here.
A mid-40s male called us for chest pain.
He was in the middle of a massive heart attack.
When I asked what he meant, he told me, ‘F what others think.
If it makes you happy, do it.
It doesn’t matter.'”
“I used to be a nursing student.
One day, he told me I looked like the woman he had wished he had never let go.
“I did a one-month elective in palliative care as a student.
I felt it was very rewarding.
I would say top three I heard the most were:”
“1.
I shouldn’t have spent so much energy on negativeemotionsor hatred.
I heard a lot of different stories, but those were by far the most common.
I also heard a few times, ‘I liked this girl/guy when I was young.
I should have been brave and asked them out.
Life could have been very different.
I will never know unless I tried.'”
In the end, all of them died.
I felt really bad for the people who spent their last living days in such anxiety or hatred…
I really feel like it’s not a nice way to go.
seifer9
17.
I knew her well and spent quite a bit of time talking to her up to the news.
In the days that followed, she seemed to have accepted she was dying.
She lived this beautiful, independent, and successful life.
Maybe not financially successful, but just plain happy.
“This was a weird one for me and actually apropos for my current life.
I still think about her.
Older 70s female with a history of breast cancer.
She was in the ICU for sepsis, I believe.
I talked to her, and she mentioned she was widowed.
I gave my condolences and stated, ‘That’s hard.
I’m sorry about your loss.
I imagine you miss him.’
To my surprise, she told me, ‘No, actually, I don’t.
I was relieved when he died.
I was never happy with him.
I didn’t leave him because that’s not what we did back in the day.
Life lesson, folks.”
Like_The_Spice
And lastly:
19.
Some regret not getting a specific education, like wanting to go to college but never doing it.
Some regret their choice of partner, especially when alcohol/drug abuse is involved or cheating.”
So, if you’re reading this, yay, you’re alive!
