People Who Have Witnessed Someone Die In Front Of Them Share Their Experiences

Chest Compressions

"Clinically died, but resuscitated."

"I worked in an ER for a month, he rolled in with an AV block so bad, he had an asystole."

"I've seen him gasping for air, then his eyes going out of focus and looking up, and then stopped breathing."

"Chest compressions and dobutamine got him back up. He got an emergency pacemaker implant."

- sybch

Blood Clots

"This is my cousin's story."

"He was five at the time. His mom (my first cousin) was putting him to bed and then she collapsed. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she was just barely breathing."

"He ran downstairs to get help. They called 911, but it was too late. She had a blood clot in her leg that traveled to her lungs. Her lungs started filling with blood. She was gone just like that."

"My mom (her aunt) was on the phone the whole time. I can never get the sound of my mom crying out of my head. It’s the worst sound a kid could ever hear. I was 13 when this happened."

"After that, any time someone had an ache, I was afraid it was a blood clot. Because that’s how my cousin's death started."

"I always have a feeling one of my parents would get into some accident. My dad is a farmer and I heard way too many stories about farming accidents. I experienced way too many people's funerals for my age at the time and death just felt like it was right there. Like it could happen to my friends and family so soon."

"That day changed my life forever. You couldn’t pay me to relive that night."

- Dogs4life2009

The Phone Calls

"I heard my grandma coughing and went to check on her. She was stuck in bed I’m not sure how long. Covered in vomit. I tried to help her to the bathroom and I saw the life leave her face. She dropped."

"I did CPR. I got my dad. I called 911. I showed the ambulance which one was my house."

"I saw them shock her. I heard them call time of death. An hour later, my uncle yelled in my face for not calling him first. I was 11."

- drunkandlonely223

The Transition

"I'm an RN, and it happens all the time. Usually they're unconscious already and they just go from looking asleep to not breathing."

- AdmlBaconStrapes

Lung Cancer

"I held my Dad's hand as he passed from lung cancer. My mother held his other hand, and he took his oxygen mask off, knowing what that meant."

"When he started to make some noises and take breaths after he passed, my mother thought he was 'coming back,' and it was heartbreaking. I just had to tell her that this is what happens. He was ready, it was just that we weren't ready to lose him."

"It was (and I know how terrible this sounds) a relief when it was over. He was very clear beforehand he didn't want to be on any machines, it was fully his choice to take off the mask himself, and it was his right to have that choice."

"I miss him every day; he was my Superman, and I'm grateful that I had the chance to thank him for being the best dad in the world."

"If you've lost somebody close or are struggling with grief, I'll save you the platitudes but I'd like to share one thing I found helpful to remember: we don't ever get over losing someone we love so much, but we do learn to adapt and adjust day by day."

"Grief counseling is more helpful than you'd think. My Superman dad arranged for my mother and me to have grief counseling before he died because he knew we were struggling to accept we would lose him, and he was fine and accepted what was happening. It really helped."

- SabrinaSpellman3

Surrounded by Family

"Me, my mom, and my sisters watched my dad die. It was the 'died peacefully surrounded by family' that you often see in obituaries."

"He was bedridden the last few years of his life due to an inoperable tumor. He would get bed sores, and one eventually got infected, and when we got to the hospital, they told us there was really nothing they could do."

"They waited until we were all there before they took him off life support. We all said our goodbyes while he was still somewhat with it, and while he was a little incoherent, his last real words were how much he loved us."

"After that, it was just us waiting. He was propped up in bed with his head down and it seemed no different than just watching someone sleep. It probably took about 17 to 18 hours. We all didn’t stay the whole time, but we were all there holding hands when he passed. We weren’t even 100% sure he was gone but a nurse came in and confirmed."

"No struggle, no pain, just peaceful."

"I will say, though… the worst part (other than the obvious) was the staff asked if we wanted to step outside for a few minutes so they could finish up and get him straightened out (he was hunched over in bed). When we got back into the room, he was positioned to be lying down but his mouth was wide open, looking like Van Gogh’s 'Scream' painting. That hit a lot harder and was more painful than actually watching him take his last breaths."

- McMc10001

Pedestrian Trouble

"Dude got his skull crushed by a f**king street car five feet away from me. I will never get the sound of it out of my mind for as long as I am alive. Drunk and on drugs, the dude tripped while trying to run across the street in front of it."

"F**k me, just typing this is giving me PTSD."

- himlersgasstation

Metastatic Breast Cancer

"I was with my mom when she passed as a result of metastatic breast cancer. She had been in and out of consciousness for a week but hadn't regained consciousness in two days. It was a brutal fight but a fairly peaceful death if that makes sense."

- WoodlesMoodles

Witnessing Grief

"I saw a poor guy in really bad shape at the part of the hospital where chemo patients sit. Saw a guy just flop over and a woman with him just started wailing. It was terrible."

"That was, for whatever reason, the day I quit Facebook. Just thought life was too fragile to mess around with social media."

"As I type this on Reddit..."

- Worf_in_a_Party_Hat

Heart Attack

"I work at a hotel as a housekeeper. About a week ago I accidentally entered the wrong room and the man in said room was having a heart attack. I'd forgotten my phone, so I sprinted like mad to inform the manager."

"He was initially still alive, but he died the following morning."

- Fr3nchT0astCrunch

Swimming Accidents

​"Teens swimming. All of a sudden they panic, (I was on the other side of a body of water) I ran over, and their friend was underwater. I got him out and did CPR, but he didn’t make it. I dream of the kid sometimes."

"It’s not like the movies when the lungs expel water. Algae and whatever else went in my mouth, and they don’t wake up. At least that was my experience."

- Chiefzakk

Moving Boxes

"I was helping someone move apartments, and he had a heart attack right in front of me. Paramedics said it was a cardiac arrest from alcohol withdrawals. He didn't even make a sound. He just fell over and that was it."

- GotTechOnDeck

Breathing Transition

"I watched my mum take her last breath two weeks ago. After a night of really heavy breathing (heart failure), it went into shallow breathing, her face twitched a little, and went into her sleep."

- Bailey0423

A Familiar Phrase

"I’ve been working trauma and high-risk healthcare for nearly a quarter century and have seen more people die than I ever would have imagined."

"Reddit constantly downvotes this response, thinking it’s a Marvel reference."

"People really do often say, 'I don’t feel so good,' as their last words. Seasoned healthcare providers know that phrase is serious."

- Any_Move

We've all experienced something, with some situations being worse than others. But it's hard to imagine going through something worse than witnessing the final moments of someone's life, knowing there's nothing you can do to prolong their time.

All we can do is practice gratitude in our own lives and hug our loved ones a little tighter today.