It's true, most people don't get the opportunity to choose their last words with any kind of intent. It's not like choosing a yearbook quote. That doesn't mean last words can't be profound or awesome, though. Medical staff are probably the people who have the most experience hearing people's final words, so one Reddit user asked:
Doctors and nurses, what are the weirdest last words you've heard?
The answers were pretty amazing. Some people embraced humor, some were scared - we feel like we totally understand cheeseburger-lady on a deep and cellular level. Here are some of the best responses.
Who Says
Grandpa, tough as nails. Had four heart attacks, each one worse than the last, lived 25 years beyond all expectations. He liked to tell jokes to the EMTs before defibrillator use, hoping they might be his last words. He was funny and stubborn and sweet.
When he finally went, my mom tried to fix his oxygen mask, "daddy, you need to wear this" and he looked at her, pulled it off, and said "pfft. Who says." Then he died.
I like it. I think it was fitting.
Sports? No Thanks.
My grandma was in the hospital,and we knew she would die in the next weeks. A nurse came in for her sport program,my grandma looked at her,said "I don't want to do sports now",closed her eyes and just died.
I love her for that sentence because now,years later, it's kinda funny.
Cheeseburger
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For a lot of people their brains are just kinda going haywire to cope with the fact that they're dying. In a thread just like this but specifically about nursing homes, a nurse said that her "favorite" last words was an old lady who looked like and thought she was just eating this massive, delicious cheeseburger, then she faded out to nothing.
She's Here
Paramedic here. Unfortunately seen the end of many people's lives, some in a much nicer way than others. Had a gentleman who was incredibly unwell, family were with him too. We stayed to offer support and ensure he was comfortable in the last stages of his journey. His last words were "she's here now, I think I'll go". The patients wife explained that they had lost a daughter at a young age, and we believe that's who he saw before he died.
The Worst Memories
911 dispatcher.
Took a call from a man who was about to have what ended up being a fatal stroke.
He was a Vietnam vet, and I stayed on the line with him as long as I could. He first said he was feeling off and weak and as his brain started short circuiting he started rambling then yelling about "the LZ is hot requesting immediate evac we have heavy casualties".
I guess it was some memory from the war, but the panic in his voice was palpable and heartbreaking. He went out reliving what was probably the worst moments of his life before the stroke effected him to the point his words turned into a garbled mess.
The No-Shows
Nurse was assisting a not-very-nice elderly woman terminal patient, who fully expected all her deceased family members to show up to take her with them up to heaven. Not long before she died, the elderly woman said in a scared voice:
"They're not coming."
Waiting For St. Peter
I once had a patient that put his call light on. When I went in to see what he needed, he said "could you please turn off the lights? I'd like to wait for St. Peter in the dark." Sure enough, by the time I went in there with his evening medications about an hour later, he had already died.
"Hold My Beer"
Doctor here.
The thing is, people's last words are seldom ever memorable, because anytime people have something meaningful or coherent, let alone humorous or profound, they are definitely not dying.
After that delirium sets in and they most often mumble incoherently if they say anything at all.
By the time they proceed to imminent death, most often no one remembers the last meaningful communication they attempted.
For trauma patients that arrive coherent but proceed to death due to gravity of their injuries, they are mostly Just answering directed questions about their health history, substance abuse, past surgery, time of last meal, etc. The last thing that anyone present for their head injury, though, might frequently have been the proverbial "hold my beer."
Sometimes people have profound or inspiring things to say when they have a terminal diagnosis the last time we see them before they transition to hospice care, especially those who have or are in the process of achieving acceptance of their mortality.
Sorry
Former paramedic here. 1st witnessed death for me was a 56 year old man that had passed out at the dining table with his daughter while they were having lunch. We get there and he's talking normally. Blood pressure was a little elevated, but otherwise all other vital signs and heart rhythm is within normal limits. He mentioned he needed to use the restroom before we went to the hospital, so my male partner stood at the door to the bathroom just in case. His daughter thought we were being weird, but we let her know that sometimes it's one of the last things a patient wants to do, so we were being cautious. He finished up, courteously washed his hands and we got him into our ambulance. About 30 seconds later, he started apologizing for taking up our time and wasting the resources on him. He said "I'm just so sorry that you have to waste your time on me," took a deep breath and died.
His daughter was following us to the hospital and watched me straddling her father, doing CPR as she got out of her vehicle. He didn't make it and she asked me if he said anything. I told her what he said, and she broke down in front of me. She told me that it sounded exactly like something he would have said, but had wished that it was more profound.
Feed The Cat
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3rd yr med student here. "Weird" and equally heart wrenching... 68 yr old man dying of metastatic lung cancer (with a 9 yr old daughter) turns to his wife just minutes before his last breath and says "don't forget to feed the cat, she likes dry food in the morning and wet food at night".
Knew He Was Loved
Not a doctor or nurse, but was in the room when my father n law passed. In the last couple weeks he lost the ability to talk or breath on his own. He decision was made to take him off life support and we all sat and waited for the moment when he was gone. At the very last second he reached out and grabbed my mil hand opened his eyes and held her hand while he took his last breath. it was the saddest yet most beautiful thing I've ever seen. She smiled at him and cried and told him she loved him in in his last moments he knew he was loved and that was it he was gone.
The Dog Was Her Favorite Grandchild
When my Nana was in palliative care she stopped talking 2 days before she passed. She would wake up and mumble a bit but not much more than that.
I decided to stop by and visit her after work one morning. I worked graveyards so I got there around 7am. She woke up and started speaking almost coherently to me. She asked me if I'd spent the night and I explained I just got there.
She asked me to give her a kiss and I did. Then she proceeded to ask me if I'd fed my dog and how my dog was doing. Of course her last thought would be about our dog. We had always joked that the dog was her favorite grandchild.
I told my poppa she had actually spoke to me that morning and he said he would go visit her the next morning and see if she would talk to him. She ended up passing away about half an hour before him and my aunt got there.
I Want My Mom
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Working cardiology, had a mostly stable 50 year old woman. Admitted with angina pain and was going for an angiogram the next day. She hits the call bell and I run into the room. She's hyperventilating, panicking, complaining of indigestion and back pain. I instantly know this is probably a cardiac event. She told me she's scared and wants her mom.
A few minutes later she was a full code with no recovery. My first code.
Would've Been
I had brain swelling and went in to a partial seizure for about 20 minutes or so then entered a full body seizure in the ambulance. With how long it lasted I could've died easily. My last words (for the paramedic) would've been a mixture of "dovnoeipntphomwepfinwepfigmeprgm" and "oijofveovuheoefpijewpiofpieo" due to my speech being completely slurred.
So Inconsequential
I'm an ICU nurse in a unit that cares for patients after open heart surgery. This particular patient was a couple days out from her surgery and seemed to be recovering well, if a little bit slowly compared to others having the same surgery.
I work at night, and while I was giving her her nighttime medications and doing her assessment, I reviewed how I expected the night to go. Automatic hourly vitals (our monitors to these for us, so no need to go in the room), every 4 hours I would have to wake her up to do a mini-assessment, yadda yadda. She stated a desire to sleep in the recliner instead of the bed; she just couldn't get comfortable in out beds. Pretty common complaint, and since was stable, I agreed to it.
The night progresses well. Around 5:30 AM, I go in to find out if she needs any pain meds, and tell her I am going to get a couple of meds that need to be taken on an empty stomach, as well as a couple of other things. She tells me that no, she's not in any pain, felt like she rested pretty well, even given that we keep waking her up. I say ok, I'll go grab the stuff I need, and be right back. She says ok.
I'm out of the room about 5 minutes when I hear the charge nurse yelling for me to go into her room. She's gray, unresponsive, and barely breathing. About 6 of us muscle her back into the bed, CPR ensues, followed by a return trip to the OR. She never regained consciousness. It turned out she probably had thrown a massive pulmonary embolism, which caused her to have a stroke.
Just weird to have someone's last words be about something so inconsequential.
Dad Jokes Til The End
Nurse asked grandpa how he felt, he said "with my hands" and died like two hours later.
- CadeYYZ
Terrified Eyes
I'm a nurse- my first death ever that haunts me to this day-
Dude started complaining of chest pain- I did all the things, called for a doc, then looked up at me with these terrified eyes and asked if this is what a heart attack feels like and promptly coded (died- we couldn't get him back) most horrific experience ever. I'm sure I have more (working in an Er it all gets blurred thank god) but it was my first- on my watch- and I'll never forget it.
"Get Ready, Pickle..."
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I worked in hospice for a few years I took care of this particular woman who was always telling these off-the-wall stories about her past that I truly want to believe because they are just epic! Like she would tell us all how she was a mafia assassin and crazy stuff like that. I'm not sure if I can believe them but I REALLY want to.
Anyway her last words were, and I quote:
"Get ready pickle, I'm about to f*ck sh!t up"
She winked at me and that was that I know it sounds horrible but I laughed... She was the most memorable patient I've ever had.
Smile Still On Her Face
Oh man, I have a bunch of these! I am a hospice nurse and I was asked to see one of the nuns in the Motherhouse. I got there and she was alert and lucid, no pain, no shortness of breath, nuthin'. I introduced myself and then her gaze shifted and she looked thru me to focus on a spot about 2 feet behind me. Her face lit up and she said with a big smile "It's YOU!"
And promptly died with the smile still on her face.
I Don't See The Light
Paramedic here.
I had a guy in the back of my ambulance that was having a heart attack and while I was treating him, his rhythm changed to V fib on the EKG monitor. V fib is disorganized electrical activity and is lethal. We both saw it happen and in the brief couple of seconds before he lost consciousness he looked at me and said "but I don't see the light". I worked the sh!t out of him but he died.
H/T: Reddit
When we're intoxicated, or even the slightest bit tipsy from having a little too much to drink, our immediate perspective on things is hazy.
But there's nothing like a bit of alarming news or a jarring incident to snap us out of the fog and focus on the moment.
Sometimes alcohol isn't always to blame for our impairment.
It can be a state of mind, like a perpetual numbness from being complacent in life, and all it takes is one shocking moment to rattle us back to our senses.
Curious to hear from strangers online about this type of scenario, Redditor Known_Challenge_7150 asked:
"What’s one thing that sobered you up real quick?"
These individuals were witness to shocking events that sobered them up right quick.
Bleeding Out
"Got out of a taxi and found a naked man profusely bleeding from his head crawling up the driveway in my condo. Called him an ambulance completely forgot I was absolutely wasted until 45 minutes later when I'd helped him translate and in to an amublance and stepped in my front door."
"Later a few days later learned he'd slipped in the tub and literally crawled out for help. Poor dude. He was fine but I genuinely thought he was going to die there."
– DongLaiCha
Tragic News
"At a bachelor party and we got a phone call that the groom’s father had suddenly passed."
– accountnameredacted
Bottom Of The Barrel
"I went to visit my parents back in July. I was homeless and deep into fentanyl addiction so I lost a lot of weight. My folks could see it. They knew something was up. Anyway, I spent the night and I was getting ready to leave in the morning and I looked at myself in the mirror for a good long time. I finally had enough and told them everything. They took me to detox, from there I went to rehab. Graduated in August and been living with them ever since then. I have 160 days clean and sober."
– Crotch-Monster
A reality check can be enough for some people to snap out of it.
Like Father, Like Son
"Was driving a drunk friend home, he had been on a bender again and was smart enough to call me for a lift rather than try and drive. As I helped in to his house his mother came down the stairs and said 'your as drunk as your father' and went back upstairs. I haven't seen him drunk since then, he still drinks but the thought of turning into his dad scared him out of hard drinking."
– psycospaz
Busted
"Flashing blue lights."
– FiddleOfGold
"This sobered me up just thinking about it."
– redmaple_syrup
Losing Sight
"Woke up to no sight in one eye. I had cataract surgery so just thought one of the lenses had slipped and it was an easy fix. Eye doc says nope, you had a stroke. I loved soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and salty food, which caused high blood pressure, which caused retina damage. Over six months was able to get most of my eyesight back with medication, and all back within a year. Trying to navigate life with one eye was very sobering. Started taking HBP much more seriously."
– MissHibernia
Quitting The Bottle
"Looked up someone I went to highschool with who was an awesome guy. Found out he had been dead for 3 years from alcoholism, at age 33. I made an overnight change. I hadn't started drinking that night yet, 10 months ago. Haven't touched it again since."
– omgtater
These disturbing moments were enough for Redditors to immediately come to their senses.
Unplanned House Guests
"Me and a buddy Woke up in someone’s living room, realized neither one of us knew the people, they were just nice and let 2 drunk guys sleep on their living room floor. We didn’t even say goodbye."
– Oneinsevenbillion75
Serious Health Warning
"Elevated liver enzymes."
"And the knowledge that this sh** was gonna kill me and I just couldn't orphan my family over it."
"So I opted for recovery, instead."
"Clean and sober since June 5, 2009."
– Far_Meal8674
The Joyride
"Grew up in a rural area. The little town hosted dances at the hockey arena, everyone (adults and kids) went and they overserved everyone, regardless of age. I was maybe 16 or 17 and was absolutely sh*tfaced, and jumped in the back of someone's truck with about 8 other people to go back to someone's cottage for after dance drinking. The driver (still don't know who it was) started racing one of his buddies and we whipped around small dirt roads, flying around blind corners on the wrong side of the road, going god knows how fast. It was basically a disaster waiting to happen. It was crazy scary and I was sober and thankful to be alive when we finally arrived."
– foxfood9116
The human psyche is a fascinating thing, isn't it?
How we can automatically focus on something urgent at a crucial time, even after getting buzzed from drinking too much alcohol.
But as we're in the thick of the holidays, it's a good reminder to drink responsibly and stay off the roads if you drive to your celebratory destination.
Cheers. Stay safe. And happy holidays.
We've all complained or vented about something in our lives which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't exactly a problem, or is very easily solved.
Then there are those who complain about things that others almost hope will happen to them at some point in their lives.
These are known as "first world problems", as they are problems that pretty much only the world's one percent faces.
From having to fly business class instead of first class, or being served Roederer instead of Dom Pérignon, these complaints are often met with amusement, bewilderment, or even anger.
Redditor jennimackenzie was curious to hear the most absurd "first world problems" anyone ever complained about, leading them to ask:
"What’s the most ridiculous 'first world problem' you’ve seen people get worked up over?"
"Tale As Old As Time..."
"I once knew a mom who was legitimately devastated, to the point of tears/grief, because a doctor predicted her 8 year old daughter's final height to be around 5'2","
"Which wasn't tall enough to get cast as Belle at Disney World."
"That was the child's (and her mother's) only dream in life, apparently."
"Didn't appreciate my suggestion that she could be Minnie or Mickey."
"Lol!"
"Only a face character would do!"- TravelLovingMom
"Must Be Funny, In A Rich Man's World..."
"My boss from about a decade ago was this insanely rich dude who always went to the bank to get fresh and crisp currency."
"He'd call the bank in advance to make sure they had some on hand."
"I think he was a germaphobe."
"He had a trash can that he'd throw $1 and $5 bills in that he thought was 'dirty' and regularly just donated it vs spending it."
"I asked him why he did this and he said it was too much trouble and asked if I wanted it."
"I said f*ck yeah dumped it into my bag and when I got home it was close to $400 in singles and fives.
"Another time, he wanted to upgrade all the computers in his studio, so we went to a store and bought 10 PCs."
"They all had $150 mail in rebates and he wasn't bothered to go through the trouble of mailing them in."
"3 weeks later I received $1500 after spending a whole afternoon filling out all those goddamn forms."- azninvasion2000
Money Burn GIF by nog
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Who Wore It Better?
"When I was about 19 years old, I was at my boyfriends family BBQ."
"I was wearing this pretty floral sundress."
"His cousins girlfriend showed up in the same dress and she was SO mad that she went and changed."
"I will never understand being upset when someone is wearing the same thing as you.'
"Did you really think that your shirt you bought off the rack is going to be unique to you?"
"No."- mertsey627
Seeing Red! Or Blue In This Case...
"The blue of the balloons wasn't quite the same as the bridesmaid's sashes."
"Years ago my wife and I attended a wedding."
"It was very low key."
"The dinner was in the dining hall at the university where the couple met, cinder block walls and all."
"It was a Baptist wedding - no booze and very serious."
"The dark blue balloons attempting to liven up the hall were a slightly darker shade of blue than the sashes on the bridesmaid's dresses."
"The bride lost here sh*t and absolutely raved for nearly an hour."
"I can't remember how they finally managed to talk her down."- mechant_papa
south park wedding GIF
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See You In Court!
"Rich neighbors who end up in expensive court battles because they disagree about where a tree can be planted or whether the color of a fence fits in with the street’s 'amenity'."
'These disputes get really heated and rack up huge lawyers’ bills."
"The most pathetic part is after the judgement when they are arguing about who should pay the other party’s costs."
"Lots of affidavits filed citing the 'emotional distress' they had to endure, or painting themselves as brave warriors who were forced to take a stand to fight for 'justice'."
"Also lots of pompous litigants insisting that the judge refer to them by their 'Dr' title."
"An absolutely insane dumpster fire of entitled rich people problems."- ElectrocRaisin
It's Always People With Money Who Don't Want To Pay!
"I work in a public library."
"People will get so so mad if they have to be put on a wait list for a book."
"A popular book that just came out."
"Ok our services are not only free but so are the books."
"You’re welcome, a**holes."- Switchbladekitten
A Warm Butt Is A Happy Butt!
"My own."
"We have a bidet toilet seat (Fabulous! Everyone should have one!) and not only does it wash your bum and blow dry it, but the seat's heated!"
"It's shocking how much a heated toilet seat makes the whole process more agreeable."
"Except: We had a power outage and I went to use the toilet and the seat was cold!"
"Unacceptable!"
"This shall not stand!"
"I was really upset because it didn't feel good."
"Then I stopped and thought: This is the most first-world problem anyone's ever had."
"I was really pissed because my heiny was tepid."
"I got over it."- DeathGrover
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Holy Matrimony!
"Weddings are a gold mine for this question."
"People get so hyped up over their 'most important day of their life'."
"They'll destroy friendships, go into debt, and have crazy expectations."
"It's not always the couple who go crazy, either."
"Sometimes, it's the parents or another family member who feels entitled to control the wedding."
"It's just a party."
"Be considerate of guests, have plenty of food and drinks, and enjoy it."- magicrowantree
When Fast Food Isn't Fast Enough...
"Having to pull off to the side to wait for a drive-thru order to be brought out to you because your food isn't ready and there's a line building up behind you."- demanbmore
In Case You Don't Think Customer Service Employees Are Undervalued...
"I was working the return desk at a Target next to a military base so I have so many stories."
"One of my favorites was a lady who had her baby shower before revealing the gender and was livid that she had received floral newborn diapers when she’s having a boy."
"It was a huge box of super expensive, all organic diapers, that we didn’t carry and therefore could not return."
"I cannot accurately express her fury and disgust."
"How dare either suggest her boy could wear feminine diapers."
"I suggested she donate them if she didn’t want to use them and she instead threw away the entire box."
"When she left we pulled it out and threw it in our donate bin."
"There have also been multiple times where mom’s order massive toys and when we bring them out to the car they get furious that they aren’t wrapped."
"We don’t offer wrapping services."
"Here’s the thing, if you don’t want your kids to see the toys you got them for Christmas or their bit to day DON'T BRING THE CHILD WHEN YOU PICK IT UP."
'I’ve had multiple women scream and curse me out that I had ruined their kids Christmas by bringing the toys they ordered out to the car like they requested."- clever-mermaid-mae
Customer Service Waiting GIF by Juno Calypso
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Happiest Place On Earth!
"I used to work for Disney."
"That in itself should tell you everything."
"However for fun I'll give you two specific stories one form our tech department and one from my wife who worked bookings."
"I specifically worked for their call center to help with technical issues with magic band and the website."
"Suddenly got worse huh?"
"A right of passage call everyone has at least one story of is the 'Dome call'."
"Basically there is a subset of Disney Guest (TM) that believes if it rains at Walt Disney world there is someone that will push a button to encapsulate the whole of Disney property in a dome to keep out the rain."
"I'm not kidding."
"If this button is not pushed they call our tech department to angrily ask why."
"My wife worked booking."
"Pretty much everything including Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique and Pirate's league."
"These two things did roughly the same thing difference being price and theme."
"BBB was expensive did more and was focused on princesses, pirates league did a bit less and focused on mermaids and pirates."
"Lady called up my wife, and got pissed about BBB being booked up (It goes FAAAAST)."
"Karen: 'Im going to give the phone to my daughter and I want you to tell her how you are ruining her vacation by not letting her do BBB'."
"Wife proceeds to explain how pirate's league is so much cooler and how she can be a mermaid or pirate and basically gets the kid to start demanding to their parents about how they want to be a mermaid instead of a princess."- trollsong
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The horror!
Being booked into a junior suite at Disney World instead of an executive suite!
It's almost as bad as having no money for groceries, or no food to feed you children...
Said absolutely no one.
For many childhood memories are overrun by living nightmares.
Yes, children are resilient, but that doesn't mean that the things we see as babes don't follow us forever.
The horrors of the world are no stranger to the young.
Redditor -2sweetcaramel- wanted to see who was willing to share about the worst things we've seen as kids, so they asked:
"What’s the creepiest thing you saw as a kid?"
Serious Danger
"Me and my best friend would explore the drainage tunnels under the Vegas area where we grew up. These were miles long and it was always really cool down there so it was a good way to escape the heat of our scorching hot summers. We went into this one that goes under the Fiesta casino and found a camp with a bunch of homeless people."
"Mind you we are like 11 years old lol. And we just kept going like it was nothing. It wasn’t scary then but when I look back at it we could have been in some serious danger. Our parents had no idea we did this or where we were and we had no cellphones. We could have been kidnapped and never have been found."
oofboof2020
Waiting for Food
"I was at a portillos once when I was 12 and I was waiting with my little brother at a booth while my parents got our food. This guy was standing with his tray kind of watching me then after a couple of minutes he started to walk over really fast not breaking eye contact with me."
"He was 2 feet from the table and my dad came out of nowhere and scared the s**t out of him. He looked so surprised and just said he wanted to see if I’d get scared or not. He left his tray full of food near the door and left. My folks reported him but we never went to that location again since we found a better one closer to home."
nowhereboy1964
Captain Hobo to the Rescue
"When I was a pretty young teen, my friends and I were horsing around in San Francisco and started hanging out to smoke with some homeless guys. Another homeless dude came up and began aggressively trying to shake us down for anything (money, smokes, a ride, drugs- all of it) and wouldn’t take no for an answer."
"We got in over our heads and could tell this guy was now riling the other 2 guys up and they were acting like they wanted to jump us. Some grandfather-looking old homeless man appeared out of nowhere and yelled at us to get the f**k out of here- nice kids like us don’t belong down here at this hour!!"
"Captain Hobo saved our lives that night. My parents sincerely thought we were at a mall all day lol."
FartAttack911
Survival
tsunami GIF
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"I was 7 and survived the 2004 tsunami in Thailand. Witnessed the wave rise way above the already massive palm trees (approx. 40ft?) and my family and I watched/heard the wave crash into the ground from a rooftop."
faithfulpoo
These Tsunami stories are just tragic.
On the Sand
Scared The Launch GIF by CTV
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"We were a group of kids who went to swim in a local lake. And there was a dead body on the beach with their hands raised and their legs bent unnaturally that local police just took out of the same lake. I've never put my foot in these waters again."
oyloff
Be Clever
"I was walking to school and I was about 5 or 6 years old and some guy pulled up beside me in his car and asked if I would get in. He also offered me sweets to do so. I said no. The creepy bit was when he calmly said ‘clever boy’ to me, then drove off. I’ve never even told my parents or anyone else about this as it would most likely freak them out."
OstneyPiz
Bad Jokes
"Dad's side of the family pranked me by burying a fake body on our back property and had me dig it up to find valuables. Was only allowed to use a lantern for light. They stuffed old clothes with chicken bones. Sheetrock mud where the head was... Random fake jewelry as the treasures... I was like maybe 10 or 11.. I remember digging up the boot first and started gagging because it became real at that point."
Alegan239
YOU
Who Are You Reaction GIF by MOODMAN
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"Woke up to find my little brother staring at me in the dark, asking, Are you really you?"
PrettyLola2004
Siblings can really be a bunch of creepers.
No one should talk to others in the dark though.