When confronted with mortality, what is the initial thought that enters your mind?
As per the assertions of an end-of-life physician, patients frequently experience visions that assist them in reconciling with their life choices; these visions may manifest as poignant recollections or entirely fanciful realms.
Buffalo, New York-based palliative care physician Dr. Christopher Kerr has devoted years to researching end-of-life occurrences.
Patients frequently experience “love, of being reassembled, of being reacquainted with their loved one,” according to him, in the form of visions and hallucinations.
“I find it quite intriguing,” he remarked.
In addition, children’s experiences differ significantly from those of adults due to their limited comprehension of mortality, which frequently compels them to seek comfort in imaginative realms.
Individuals with a troubled past who may have committed offences in the past seem to experience visions associated with the individuals they harmed.
Dr. Kerr stated on the podcast Next Level Soul, “We had a man in his forties who had been incarcerated for the majority of his life.” He had both a substance abuse problem and neck cancer.
“He was dreaming, joking, and extremely jovial when all of a sudden he breaks down in tears because he is having these horrifying dreams in which he is being stabbed by the people he has wronged.”
“However, upon his recovery, he requested to see his daughter, to whom he wished to apologise and express his love,” Dr. Kerr explained.
After that, he passed away in tranquilly.
According to Dr. Kerr, the patients “do not deny the negative and painful events that occur; rather, they confront and utilise them in a very intriguing way.”
Dr. Kerr is a member of the research team at Hospice & Palliative Care Buffalo, which has documented over 1,500 end-of-life events, many of which have been videotaped, and published multiple studies on this subject.
He described an additional patient who, during his teenage years, had participated in the Normandy invasion. He had been afflicted with PTSD his entire existence without ever receiving treatment.
“At the end of his life, he was admitted to our unit because he was unable to rest after having such horrifying experiences, including seeing body parts, bloody water, and screams.”
To some degree, patients must be calm and receptive of their circumstances in order to pass away, according to Dr. Kerr.
“Really, you cannot die unless you are able to sleep.” “It’s quite difficult to accomplish, as you essentially pass out in your sleep,” he explained.
However, the patient eventually fell asleep for a brief period of time one day, and Dr. Kerr inquired as to the subject of his dreams.
“I had a fantastic dream in which I relived the most momentous occasion of my life,” he continued, “the day I received my discharge papers.”
“Moreover, I had a fantastic dream, presumably in Normandy, in which an unknown soldier approached him and said, “No, we’re coming to get you.”
The man then passed away peacefully while sleeping, according to Dr. Kerr.
The physician continued, “Therefore, that feeling that he had abandoned people had come full circle.”
Patients ultimately attain a sense of tranquilly regarding the choices they have rendered in their lives.
Positive aspects of past adversity may become apparent at the end of one’s life, experiencing what Dr. Kerr refers to as “post-traumatic growth.”
Dr. Kerr stated that children’s end-of-life experiences differ because they may lack an understanding of mortality or finality.
Additionally, they may have no personal acquaintance with a deceased person to whom they can relate or envision a connection in an afterlife.
According to Dr. Kerr, infants frequently encounter animals that convey the message “that they are loved and not alone.”
He stated, “Children are imaginative and creative and can access that aspect of themselves.”
While in her hospital bed, one young lady envisaged an entire scene encircling her.
Dr. Kerr remarked, “She constructed a fortress for herself; it featured a swimming pool, returned animals, a piano, and a window that let in warm light.”
When I inquired as to what the castle symbolised, she responded, “A secure location.”
