Hospice Nurse Breaks the Internet with the ‘Death Rattle’

Credit: YouTube

TikTok has long been a place that people would visit to learn trending dances or watch puppies get baths. It’s really been branching out lately. Now you can get the inside scoop on death, straight from the experts.

Julie McFadden, also known as @hospicenursejulie on TikTok, has gained over 1.5 million followers with her tidbits about the end-of-life experience. McFadden is a hospice nurse whom we’ve previously covered, but she just keeps giving us wonderful nuggets that we want to share with you.

The “Death Rattle” Heard Around the World

McFadden has been making the rounds in the media recently because of a post about the sound people can sometimes make during the end of their lives. She  refers to it as the “death rattle” and described it as absolutely normal, albeit terrifying when unexpected.

She goes on to explain the rattle is the sound of saliva gathering in patient’s mouths, combined with a “mouth breathing” that creates an unconscious gurgling. She claims many people misperceive this as someone choking on fluid in their lungs. She puts the listeners at ease by explaining that this is a painless experience for the patient and can even be fixed by hospice workers.

Users respond to the Death Rattle post.
Credit: TikTok

Users responded with gratitude. One wrote, “I wish I knew about it before I heard my mother. This is an important video. Especially educating us that they aren’t really feeling it.”

Another user wrote, “Hearing the rattle was hideous it really upset me. I wish I could have known about it before it happened.”

McFadden Spreads Important Information to Younger Generations

She also describes a little known phenomenon, the “death reach.” That’s when patients on their death bed extend their arms into the air as if reaching for someone. It seems to coincide with what McFadden describes as “end-of-life visioning.” That’s when patients have visions of people and things that are getting them ready to say goodbye.

One of her most viral videos shows someone in the “active dying” stage. It’s an elderly woman on a hospital bed taking long, deep mouth breaths. McFadden said the video was taken about 12 hours before she died. It has over 9 million views.

Thanks to creators like McFadden, people are getting more exposure to the ending of a life. She’s actively reducing the stigma around death and dying while debunking myths and unnecessary fears. And she’s gaining a following on TikTok, which is known for it’s younger user base. Hopefully it’s a sign that we’re all starting to wake up and see death for what it is: a natural part of life.