Ascalon
Justified & Ancient
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2009
- Messages
- 1,345
My two sisters are nurses of decades experience. One exclusively paediatric and the other with several years in it too.
They both tell tales of terminally ill children, at the very end, holding on for something. A favourite relative, someone to arrive, some event gives them a reason to linger. Nurses get very good at recognising these things. They would often advise immediate family to be ready for whatever the expected arrival is as they will often feel allowed to go at that point. It isn't as uniform as that but it has been observed so often that they become accustomed to the signals. The child struggles on, often in semi or unconscious states until the expected event occurs.
A favourite grandparent, aunty or other visit, even a pet or favourite thing can be the marker. It is terribly sad and when the person or event turns up, terminal lucidity is not that common in the reports they have relayed, often the child will relax,
appear more comfortable and then slip away.
They both tell tales of terminally ill children, at the very end, holding on for something. A favourite relative, someone to arrive, some event gives them a reason to linger. Nurses get very good at recognising these things. They would often advise immediate family to be ready for whatever the expected arrival is as they will often feel allowed to go at that point. It isn't as uniform as that but it has been observed so often that they become accustomed to the signals. The child struggles on, often in semi or unconscious states until the expected event occurs.
A favourite grandparent, aunty or other visit, even a pet or favourite thing can be the marker. It is terribly sad and when the person or event turns up, terminal lucidity is not that common in the reports they have relayed, often the child will relax,
appear more comfortable and then slip away.