If your loved one in palliative care suddenly reaches for the sky or ceiling at the end of life, it's not just imagination.
This "unexplained phenomenon" is actually "very common" in people on the verge of death, experts have claimed.
Katie Duncan, from Gaithersburg, Maryland, said this move toward height often takes relatives by surprise, but patients are actually reaching out to deceased relatives, friends or even a beloved pet.
While this may make it seem like the dying person is in distress, she said it does not cause suffering.
The end-of-life nurse and trainer has worked in intensive care, home hospice, and rehabilitation centers, caring for terminally ill patients during the last months of their lives.
Now, she shares videos on social media about everything she says she has learned about death and the dying process, in hopes of freeing the topic from stigma.
In a video that has been viewed over five million times, she said:
"This is one of those unexplained phenomena. From my personal experience with dying people, this tendency to reach out towards someone or something is very common. Sometimes it's associated with what we call end-of-life visions or other near-death experiences."
"When someone says they see someone or something, they often mention an angel, sometimes a bright light. Very often, they say it's a relative, a family member or a pet who has died before. The dying person talks about what they see. But it also happens that they just hold out their hands and say nothing."
Footage of patients in their final moments has been widely shared on TikTok and Instagram.
In response to Ms. Duncan's video, TikTok users shared their personal experiences:
"My husband did this too. He held out both hands and said 'mom', with the biggest smile I'd ever seen," one user wrote.
“My father saw a little boy on a white horse the night before he died,” said another.
In another Instagram video, viewed over a million times, a woman shared a video of her husband stretching his hands towards the ceiling while drinking water.
“I was so happy that he was drinking water that I didn't notice that he was doing the 'stretch to the sky' before he died,” she said.
It is still not known exactly what causes this "terminal clarity."
However, an American study published in 2023 on brain activity during death suggests that the brain of a dying person is deprived of oxygen and may produce increased gamma waves.
Gamma waves are the fastest brain waves and occur when a person is in a state of high alertness and is processing sensory information.
Experts also believe that the brain releases a surge of neurotransmitters like serotonin shortly before death, which can improve mood.
Ms. Duncan also said:
"What should we do when this movement occurs? Nothing. It is one of those mystical parts of the dying process that we are fortunate enough to witness. We also know that visions and end-of-life experiences bring great peace and tranquility to people who are dying. If you are a relative who is seeing this in someone who is passing away, I hope this brings you comfort.".” /GazetaExpress/
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