She’s on a mission to help people ‘gain more comfort and peace’ when it comes to the subject of shuffling off this mortal coil, while making the process as comfortable as possible for her patients when their time eventually comes.
Throughout her years of experience working in intensive care, home hospices and other facilities, Katie has managed to pick up on common behaviours and movements which a lot of people display when they are close to death.
One of these ‘unexplainable phenomenons’ is a palliative care patient suddenly reaching upwards – perhaps in the direction of the sky, or the ceiling.
According to Katie, it often looks as though the person is ‘trying to reach for something’ or ‘hold something that is above them.’
But why does this happen?
The end-of-life nurse explained that the definitive answer to this remains a mystery, however, she doesn’t mind hazarding a guess.
“In my personal experience working with people who are dying, this reaching towards someone or something above them, is really common,” she explained in a TikTok video.
“You will literally see the person reach up, and almost look like they are trying to touch someone or hold someones hand.
“Sometimes this is associated with what we call end of life visions or other end-of-life experiences – when someone will actually vocalises that they are seeing someone or something.”
She explained that it’s similar to how gravely ill patients often report seeing an ‘angel’ or a ‘bright light’ when they are nearing the end of their life.
“Very commonly, it is a loved one or family member or pet, someone who has died before,” Katie continued. “And the person who is dying is vocalising that they’re seeing this person.
“But sometimes, you see a person reach and they don’t say anything at all,” she said.
Reflecting on this reaching movement commonly seen in dying people, the nurse added: “It’s one of those mystical parts of the dying process that we are able to be a witness to.
“Most commonly, the person does not appear to be in pain or distress, and we also know that other end of life visions and experiences tend to bring the dying person a lot of peace and comfort.”
So, it sounds like it’s actually quite a nice thing, all in all.
Social media users seemed to think so, anyway, as a host of people flooded the comment section of Katie’s post with praise.
One person wrote: “This is the in-between. What a privilege to witness.”
Another commented: “My dad reached up with both arms. Prior to this, he couldn’t lift his arms at all.”
A third said: “It’s heaven they are reaching for.”
While a fourth chimed in saying: “When I witnessed this I didn’t want to disturb him at all. It was a really special experience.”