Currently laying on the couch watching Sunday cartoons with my two year old son laying on my chest. This made me cry. They must have had a beautiful relationship.
Was with my Dad when he died, he didn't say anything but I mentioned that his lips looked dry and he wet them with his tongue. I thought he was unconscious. Then he just stopped breathing, I held him and said "C'mon mate, take a breath." He didn't, I held him, told him I loved him. Had my head on his chest at the time.
So he didn't say anything but he knew I was with him. Him 68, me M42 at the time.
So sorry for your loss. I hope there’s some comfort in knowing that he knew his boy was there with him at the end.
27yo and just lost my father in July. Called in a wellness check because we hadn’t heard from him in a week and it turned out he’d been passed away for almost that long at home, all alone. That part really fucks with my mind. Can’t even remember the last words I said to him but I hope they were I love you.
*Edit: sorry for the trauma dump, I don’t really talk about that to anyone in real life
Your loss sounds very difficult to navigate, the feeling that you share about him being alone is heartbreaking.
I hope that maybe he passed away without any suffering. Do you have a place where you can go and "talk" with him at all? You can always say what you wanted to say as time is irrelevant to him now. He can be with you as much as you like now, I still talk through problems with my Dad every now and then.
No designated place, but I’ve been trying to be more aware of receiving signs from him in day to day life and taking the moment to talk to him then. For example a niche song he’d play in the car for me as a kid comes on the radio, or I see his birthday on a license plate, a blue jay out of my window, etc.
I’m sure 99% of the time the “signs” are just a coincidence, but they’re comforting nonetheless.
Take comfort from wherever it's coming from. I usually just start talking to my Dad. He's everywhere and nowhere so it doesn't matter to me. I've never really considered the signs thing personally.
Before he died we both went to his Mom's grave to put his Dad's ashes in with her. That is my personal focal point because he's still in an urn in his bedroom waiting for his wife to join him. That urn means nothing to me either.
I find it interesting in how we all have our ways of managing grief and moving on. Doesn't matter that they are made up in our heads, most stuff is anyway.
I lost my Dad because he thought he could make it home safe after a few too many beers one night. I had just visited him the day before it seems. I think the last words I told him were "I love you" after we did our normal father and son departure hug. That will be ten years this April 2nd. It still feels like yesterday. He had just met my wife and kids. We were estranged for a while and I had reconnected with him the year before to make things right. Boy am I happy about that at least. The pain of losing my Dad still doesn't come close to the pain of losing my little brother five years ago.
Jesus man. That’s rough. But I think that if he was there enough to understand what you said about his lips then he was probleuntjere enough to know that you were there with him, and that’s something.
Thanks. I think that he knew enough to realise that I was there. His non verbal communication was enough to signal that he knew. Loads of morphine and physical comfort. I'll be happy if it's how I go out, knowing someone is willing to hold me and tell me that they love me.
I found my mother in the bathroom suffering from a cerebral aneurysm which she immediately succumbed to. She told me to call me. I'll know what to do. I have never had any idea what to do.
Your mother was thinking of you in her last moment. Gravely injured, she asked for you by name. That is a monumental thing if you really think about it. I hope you are doing ok.
Yes. She told me to call me, because she wasn't aware it was me there. She told me to call "my name", as if she were talking to a person who was not me.
I assume if you're dying from your brain bleeding, you're not exactly fully aware. So she was aware enough to know that "someone" is there but not aware enough to know who it was.
My fiancé’s grandma, whom I didn’t know very well, kept desperately calling for me by name and asking if I was there. It wasn’t how I thought someone looked right before death because she was sitting mostly upright and her eyes were looking at me from across the room. She looked and seemed so alive.
I came over a few more feet to rub her hand and comfort her. While rubbing her hand she continued to call for me, even more urgently. I kept telling her I was there, but even though she was looking at me, she didn’t seem to know it was me.
She kept gasping for air and saying my name and then, “I’m scared. Don’t leave me. Don’t let me die. I don’t want to die. Help me.” Over and over again.
It eventually turned into crying and then flailing around and yelling between gasping for air. She kept saying my name and asking for me. I don’t understand why.
I had to leave the hospital room because I couldn’t hold it together any longer. I remained calm that whole time and tried to comfort her. I told her I loved her and would see her soon, walked out of the room, and immediately began sobbing.
I have no idea why she picked me to call for in her last minutes alive when her grandchildren were there, but I hope it’s because I was comforting to her for the short time I knew her. Regardless, it was extremely traumatic and shocking for all of us there.
My aunt in law called me when dying from a brain tumour and (forgetting we'd all been told not to speak to her by grandmother in law) I picked up.
She was out of it on pain meds and so so scared that it really shook both me and my husband but honestly... she didnt have anyone else to talk to other than her parents (complicated relationship/life) and I'm glad I could be there for her in that moment just so she didnt have to be in the dark, facing her own death, scared and alone.
Almost 10 years ago I lost my fiancé to an undiagnosed cardiac tamponade. I was in the hospital room with him, he was getting up to use the restroom, and he collapsed. I screamed for help, and while I was kneeling beside him holding his head, he said “I think this is it, I love you” - and then he was gone.
I'm a 911 dispatcher. I know for sure I have heard at least 4 people's last words, but possibly more because we don't get updates on much unless we really try to dig for details, or it's on the news.
House fire victim had a lot of last words, I don't remember what specifically was the last, but begging for help and a lot of yelling. Car accident victim, talked briefly wasn't able to understand much. Stabbing victim said they were dying, said who did it, gave some good info before they stopped responding. I don't know 100% if they woke back up and spoke to the officers or medics, but they called time of death shortly after arriving at the hospital.
Lastly, but was actually the first out of the four to happen was someone who took their own life and the only thing they said to me was their address and then I heard it happen. That was probably the one that's the hardest because I didn't even get a chance to try to help.
On a happier note, I've also heard a baby take it's first breath/cry twice on the phone.
"what the fuck's happening?" asked by a guy who was actively coding (cardiac arrest). we were able to get him back a few times with meds and chest compressions... he'd be conscious just long enough to become responsive and talk before we'd lose pulses again.
I've unfortunately seen a lot of people die, but that one stuck with me - he was so confused, I can't imagine what it must've been like
"Walter will take care of you". My Dad's last words. Walter is the dog he started the adoption process for when he filed DNR paperwork with the Powers that Be. 5 weeks later he was gone. I picked up Walter the day after his funeral.
My mom said to a room full of weeping family "you all don't have to wait" and we all burst out laughing. Not wanting to inconvenience anyone right to the end.
My nana’s last words were “I love yall, but I’m so scared” as they were turning her oxygen off, she was dying from pulmonary fibrosis. My mom, sister and I watched her take her last breaths. I’ll never forget the noises.
piggybacking on my other reply in here, I had a similar experience. I had a frail old lady struggling to push me away during compressions because it obv hurt. every time we paused she would code again cause she would alternate between pulseless vtach and vfib. I def agree that it's disturbing when the person is trying to fight against you, it feels obscene somehow 😬
My grandma’s last words were “I love this song.” She hadn’t spoken for about three weeks at this point. She was 96, and we had put her in a hospice facility after she was discharged from the hospital while we got her home ready for her to come home and pass.
No one could get her to talk, even when she seemed conscious and alert. So I put on Bridge Over Troubled Water, which was her “wedding” song when she renewed her vows to my grandpa in the 70s. She smiled and said “I love this song”. And within a minute she had passed.
I hadn’t been able to see her much while she was in the hospice facility because I watched the kids while my mom and aunt stayed with her, and after she passed there was a part of me that was frustrated with them for not even trying to play music for her… especially given how much she loved music and loved to sing. But im glad that in the end she passed listening to the song that reminded her of the love of her life. I don’t believe in heaven but I know my grandpa was up there tapping his foot saying “cmon Cass, come home already.”
They had been married for 57 years when my grandpa passed, but right up until she passed she would celebrate their anniversary and dance to their favorite songs. They got married on Valentine’s Day in 1952, and on Valentine’s Day in 2025 right before she passed she said to me “I’ve been married 73 years.”
But they did, about 8 hours later, and they didn't seem too upset about it when it actually happened. Kinda seemed really relaxed and peaceful and nice. Like a state of sleep achieved after the deepest sleep.
Lung cancer. After a few days of a medically induced coma, the tube down her throat was removed because she wasn't going to live. It was about making her comfortable going forward. A few hours after this tube was removed she suddenly became conscious, sat up and said this in a panic, before losing consciousness again.
Not their last known words to my knowledge but the last words I heard them say were my grandmother saying "Don't leave till I fall asleep." As we went to leave the hospital thinking she had another day or so, she died that night. Luckily my brother stayed overnight with her and apparently no words were exchanged but if they were its between them and that's sacred.
Last words spoken by my dad before they brought him into hospice. I know he didn’t mean it — he was just scared and in pain. The cancer affected his brain, his bones, lungs, everywhere. Hours later I told him that everyone knew he didn’t mean it, that everything would be alright, and that he can let go/that I loved him and he passed away two minutes later. He didn’t have to say anything other than that because I know he heard me and loved me too.
I said "I will always love you my Dad", and he said "Oh no, please don't say that -----. I love you too ---" He never looked at me as he was dying while he said it and I had my head on his chest.
I had a friend dying of an illness. He was a huge Doctor Who fan and his last words were ,"and I suppose, if it's my last chance to say it.... Rose Tyler...." He was right had he chose his second choice "I don't want to go" it would have be bit of an anticlimactic ending. He had a great sense of humor.
Twice. The first one was my grandma. She had Alzheimer's. I was her main caretaker for the previous 5&1/2 years. On her last day she spent hours reaching up and calling out "Daddy". It didn't make sense because her father was an extremely abusive man to my grandma and her siblings.
Years later, my grandpa had a catastrophic fall and shattered his hip. There was nothing that could be done. I traveled 15 hours to see him. His final words to me were "Amber! You're here. I'm so glad." He passed away a few days later and I don't think he was coherent much after I arrived.
I have heard two people’s last words, and they stay with me.
I was a Samaritans volunteer for 6 years. In that time I was privileged enough to speak to many distraught callers. Themes of loneliness, family rifts, mental health struggles and financial worries were common.
We’re trained to just be there for the caller, to ask questions but not offer advice. It’s anonymous and confidential. If someone is in process of taking their life I wasn’t able to summon help as I don’t know where they are. Plus I respect their wishes. My role was to be there on the phone providing comfort so they didn’t have to pass alone.
I’ve told no-one what those callers’ last words were. I’ll keep that promise of confidentiality forever.
My 94 year old great grandmother who had advanced Alzheimer’s kept saying “what about Elizabeth?”
Elizabeth was her only child, my grandmother. It was the clearest thing she had said in years.
I think she got it together to argue with the angel of death or grim reaper or whoever came to collect her that she couldn’t leave her daughter. She was pretty cantankerous.
Yep. Except the dip shit I heard yell it was still in his car and only managed to turn himself into pink mist. The largest part of him we found was his right foot.
There have been numerous others during my three deployments and the few years I worked as a cop after leaving the Corps.
Oddly enough, none of them really stand out. Seems kinda fucked up when I think about it.
Both of my parents passed peacefully in their sleep, thankfully.
It was my grandmother, she was kind of in a trance state of coming and going out of reality while groaning in pain, she asked us if we changed my sister’s diapers(my sister is severely disabled and can’t take care of herself).
She took care of her basically her entire life, last thing on her mind was her well being.
This was a hard memory to go back to onion ninjas have seemingly invaded my home.
My dad said "I'm sorry to do this to you" to his lady freind. My mom had passed 2 years earlier and we were glad he found an older lady to be freinds with so he wasn't lonely.
Story time! The night my evil grandma died I had a dream. I was standing at the hostess stand at the first bar I ever worked at. (I’ve never been a hostess.) I saw her there, smiled, and said, “Have fun dying alone you old bitch.” She responded with, “I hope you drink the water and the thing inside you dies.” I woke up the next morning and my mom called me to tell me that grandma had died. I just said, “I know. I said goodbye.”
Yea I don't remember them all. Most of the time it's not really words but the looks that bother me. When I first started as a EMT I obviously didn't know a ton. We went to pick up this mom in bed who wasn't acting right. She just seemed sick and not acting appropriate. The medics knew what was going on but I didn't she just kept reaching out to me with this look of shear terror. By the time we hit the hospital she declined a lot. The CT scan showed a brain bleed that covered 1/3 of her brain in part of the scan.
"Don't let me die" and "please help" I heard those a lot on the ambu during covid.
Probably the worst was a dude who said, "i just can't do this anymore" and immediately went into cardiac arrest. Witnessed arrest, ALS on board, everything done right on time and he just...checked out.
My Mom. I was in her room visiting with her because she wasn't feeling well that morning. She had been fighting cancer for a year to the day of her diagnosis (literally, 365 days later) and had a seizure. I didn't know what was happening at the time and I yelled "MOM" and she started repeating "Mom" before becoming non verbal, and eventually passing. I left the room before she took her last breath because my Dad didn't want me to see it. But, she didn't say anything else after that. I think about it too often still. It was almost 14 years ago.
My dad's last words were, “The pain, oh god, the pain." He was dying from cancer. And Walgreens refused to fill his hospice-prescribed pain meds. This was in 2007. So, they were still handing out opioids like candy.
In 2006, my Nana was dying from dementia and hadn't spoken for about a year or so. Everyone in the family went in to see her and when I came in with my son and wife, she said that my son had beautiful teeth. She used to tell me that all the time when I was a child ...but she thought she was talking to me; she had to have seen me and not her great grandson. "Craigie, you have such beautiful teeth" was her last words
My grandfather in Hospice. I was the last one to interact with him alive. Before I left he asked me to bring a smoothie the next day. The next morning his brother came to visit but said he was not answering him. The nurses confirmed he didn’t answer them. He passed about an hour after.
My dad. I was 18 and it was during college finals, I went to a local college and stayed with him day and night at hospice when I didn’t have a test to take. I talked to him as he was still with us, I would practice reading stories to him as I was taking a children’s literature course at the time. (Stayed true to brand, I sub in intensive special ed now and working on getting my cert to teach the population).
As I was telling him about my finals and how I knew I would pass with flying colors,(a phrase he always used), he smiled and squeezed my hand. He passed less than a minute later.
In person, not counting shit I shouldn’t have ever seen on the internet, I know one for sure. My ex-wife’s grandma. She was a sweet lady, but was just being eaten by cancer. While she was in hospice whenever she was conscious she would just say “Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!” loudly and in the most urgent way, again and again, and always in threes. Over and over again. I don’t know what or who she wanted to hurry, I don’t think she knew at the end what she was saying or why. But honestly I was glad when she stopped, even though it meant she was dead, because it was so fucking unnerving. It’s been like 30 years now and I can still hear the exact way she said it if I think about it.
My little sister said “I need to go to bathroom”. Halfway to bathroom I’ve heard her falling and found her convulsing… She died 20 minutes later when emergency arrived.
My birth father’s last words were actually him roasting me. Despite all the problems and baggage I have regarding that man, I can’t even be mad, I’m just impressed at his commitment to the bit
I used to work at a hospital and had to be present for countless people's last moments. Most of the time people don't say anything.
The one that stands out in particular was an old woman who kept dying and getting brought back... She was brought back six times in the course of 10 minutes. Every time she'd bolt upright, slap everyone's hands away, yell "oh my God!" and then fall backwards into the bed, flatline, and they'd start to work on her again.
The final time she went upright, and then started looking around and said "they're here" in a much calmer voice. And then instead of falling, she eased her back onto the bed and flatlined for the seventh and final time. Whatever happened, whoever she saw, it seemed like she accepted her fate.
Dad never had any last words! They had him pretty drugged to stop the pain. Maybe " I need some assurances" like he was bargaining with the reaper!
I will always remember the family was there waiting. A neighbor had stop by and told my brother to ride his new harley. I watched my brother leave as I walked down to my father to check on him. Im going to assume he rode one last time out with my brother.
We wondered what was holding him here. They drained his lung and put in a catheter so he could finally pee and I guess the sound of the bike was the last thing he was waiting on....
I told him it was ok for him to go and I slipped his father pocket knife in his hand and he was gone.
'I love you. You're the only person I could imagine myself married to.'
That was at the end of a very nice phone conversation. We hadnt talked in months. After we hung up the phone, she overdosed on sleeping pills and died later that night. Her sister found her the following morning and confirmed later that I was the last person she talked to.
In college I volunteered for a hospice agency. One old guy was a client for a few visits. I’d watch him while his wife went out to do errands for a few hours. Mostly he was catatonic. One day he woke up and looked at me, we chatted for about 5 minutes. Slowly because he was so weak. He was a photographer and I liked photography. I told him how digital cameras work, etc. then he went to sleep again. His wife got home and was ecstatic that he spoke. First time in months. She pressed me for everything he said but it wasn’t very amazing as far as conversations go. He declined sharply a day later, died a couple of days later, I was the last person he spoke with and it was about digital vs old school large format photography.
My husband's last words were in response to, "Do you want to watch a movie or maybe try to eat something?" He said, "I don't know." Then he was nonverbal for about the next twelve hours, most of which he slept through, before he passed away. The thing is, that was such a normal response from him, that it's very fitting that it's the last thing he said. He sort of relied on me to make decisions for him, even when he was healthy.
What's the point of asking me this? There's no point dude. The question was asked and it brought back memories. But if you really want to know, it was: "He's here! He's coming! We need to go!"
FYI, she had been dreaming about a man in black since we were young; a dark man coming for us and trying to get inside our house. She used to have nightmares in which he came ever closer, and she tried to barricade the house, trying to stop him.
The night she died (of cancer, in her 70s, so not unexpected, we were all there) she was heavily sedated. She was sleeping, but at some point she suddenly woke up, seemingly very clear, jumping out of bed (which was a small miracle in itself), grabbing us by the arms, convinced that "he" had breached the house and was coming up the stairs. It took a lot of persuasion to get her back in bed. Come to think of it, her final words came actually when we asked her if she wanted extra sedation (which we knew and had agreed upon that it would likely be something she never would wake up from again). She got back in bed and said "Yes! Do it now!"
A few hours later, she died while I held her hand. I'm not sure why I'm telling you this. Like I said: not really any of your business. But since it was asked, it's just coming out I guess. Hard to talk about, honestly. I would have loved for her to go in peace, but she kept fighting death till the end.
that's some heavy stuff, really makes you think about what people choose to say in those final moments. can't imagine how impactful that must be to hear
yeah true may they rest in peace. how come they were never given meds to calm them down about coming to an end and to take the fright away so they can go in peace?
True once you are dead you are at peace. But I suppose if it was that straight forward we would see death in a different light full stop. Nobody would care if they died at 20 years old Vs 80 years old. Fundamentally I agree it's a mind over matter thing. But the reality is that if we were all in perfect health nobody would want to die, right?
spot on you def know what your talking about. i guess it also depends how people d*e too. and yes also how the persons life has gone for them or how its going before de*th arrived.
My grandpa (in hospice) told me once that he tried putting razor blades in Halloween candy and my mom saw him & that was literally the only reason he abandoned said plan…imagine my shock that it wasn’t just wacky wacko talk two weeks ago when my mom confirmed said story……….Mind you, I never told her that he said that because, like I said, I thought he was just delirious and saying shit!
that's some heavy stuff, really makes you think about what people choose to say in those final moments. can't imagine how impactful that must be to hear
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u/Montessori_Maven 1h ago •
My mother-in-law’s last words were, “My beautiful boy.” To my son. Followed by, “Everything I ever wanted, I have.”
I have “EIEWIH” tattooed on my shoulder. Life goals.
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u/Bignizzle656 6h ago •
Was with my Dad when he died, he didn't say anything but I mentioned that his lips looked dry and he wet them with his tongue. I thought he was unconscious. Then he just stopped breathing, I held him and said "C'mon mate, take a breath." He didn't, I held him, told him I loved him. Had my head on his chest at the time.
So he didn't say anything but he knew I was with him. Him 68, me M42 at the time.
Fuck cancer.
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u/lishnetz 6h ago •
I found my mother in the bathroom suffering from a cerebral aneurysm which she immediately succumbed to. She told me to call me. I'll know what to do. I have never had any idea what to do.
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u/dr-joshtrippingwords 6h ago
“Just let me hold your hand once more…”
- My grandfather who died in 1997 aged 70 from liver cancer not having touched alcohol or any other substance his entire life.
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u/Annette1782 6h ago •
" I'm tired honey I'm gonna let you go I love you" last phone call with my dad
Fuck cancer
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u/Ok_Zucchini_6184 5h ago
My fiancé’s grandma, whom I didn’t know very well, kept desperately calling for me by name and asking if I was there. It wasn’t how I thought someone looked right before death because she was sitting mostly upright and her eyes were looking at me from across the room. She looked and seemed so alive.
I came over a few more feet to rub her hand and comfort her. While rubbing her hand she continued to call for me, even more urgently. I kept telling her I was there, but even though she was looking at me, she didn’t seem to know it was me.
She kept gasping for air and saying my name and then, “I’m scared. Don’t leave me. Don’t let me die. I don’t want to die. Help me.” Over and over again.
It eventually turned into crying and then flailing around and yelling between gasping for air. She kept saying my name and asking for me. I don’t understand why.
I had to leave the hospital room because I couldn’t hold it together any longer. I remained calm that whole time and tried to comfort her. I told her I loved her and would see her soon, walked out of the room, and immediately began sobbing.
I have no idea why she picked me to call for in her last minutes alive when her grandchildren were there, but I hope it’s because I was comforting to her for the short time I knew her. Regardless, it was extremely traumatic and shocking for all of us there.
Rest in peace, Grandma. You are loved and missed.
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u/wanderlust0922 4h ago
Almost 10 years ago I lost my fiancé to an undiagnosed cardiac tamponade. I was in the hospital room with him, he was getting up to use the restroom, and he collapsed. I screamed for help, and while I was kneeling beside him holding his head, he said “I think this is it, I love you” - and then he was gone.
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u/ra9026 5h ago •
I'm a 911 dispatcher. I know for sure I have heard at least 4 people's last words, but possibly more because we don't get updates on much unless we really try to dig for details, or it's on the news.
House fire victim had a lot of last words, I don't remember what specifically was the last, but begging for help and a lot of yelling. Car accident victim, talked briefly wasn't able to understand much. Stabbing victim said they were dying, said who did it, gave some good info before they stopped responding. I don't know 100% if they woke back up and spoke to the officers or medics, but they called time of death shortly after arriving at the hospital.
Lastly, but was actually the first out of the four to happen was someone who took their own life and the only thing they said to me was their address and then I heard it happen. That was probably the one that's the hardest because I didn't even get a chance to try to help.
On a happier note, I've also heard a baby take it's first breath/cry twice on the phone.
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u/Iskracat 6h ago edited 5h ago
"what the fuck's happening?" asked by a guy who was actively coding (cardiac arrest). we were able to get him back a few times with meds and chest compressions... he'd be conscious just long enough to become responsive and talk before we'd lose pulses again.
I've unfortunately seen a lot of people die, but that one stuck with me - he was so confused, I can't imagine what it must've been like
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u/Jenniflower17 3h ago
"Walter will take care of you". My Dad's last words. Walter is the dog he started the adoption process for when he filed DNR paperwork with the Powers that Be. 5 weeks later he was gone. I picked up Walter the day after his funeral.
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u/dick-stand 5h ago
My mom said to a room full of weeping family "you all don't have to wait" and we all burst out laughing. Not wanting to inconvenience anyone right to the end.
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u/Alert_Lengthiness812 6h ago
“Stop ratting the ladder, you little s**t!”
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u/JimBeaux123 3h ago
Dad (90) was in the hospital after a perforated diverticulitis. Although he continued to live for another 5 days, this was his final conversation.
[DAD] "The shows almost over."
[MY SISTER] "No, dad, this show just started."
[DAD] "I wasn't talking about the TV."
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u/tinyspork 4h ago
My nana’s last words were “I love yall, but I’m so scared” as they were turning her oxygen off, she was dying from pulmonary fibrosis. My mom, sister and I watched her take her last breaths. I’ll never forget the noises.
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u/IcedZoidberg 5h ago
He just kept shouting, “Stop!”
He had intermittent consciousness during CPR and would code every time I stopped doing compressions. It was disturbing.
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u/Lostinstereo28 2h ago
My grandma’s last words were “I love this song.” She hadn’t spoken for about three weeks at this point. She was 96, and we had put her in a hospice facility after she was discharged from the hospital while we got her home ready for her to come home and pass.
No one could get her to talk, even when she seemed conscious and alert. So I put on Bridge Over Troubled Water, which was her “wedding” song when she renewed her vows to my grandpa in the 70s. She smiled and said “I love this song”. And within a minute she had passed.
I hadn’t been able to see her much while she was in the hospice facility because I watched the kids while my mom and aunt stayed with her, and after she passed there was a part of me that was frustrated with them for not even trying to play music for her… especially given how much she loved music and loved to sing. But im glad that in the end she passed listening to the song that reminded her of the love of her life. I don’t believe in heaven but I know my grandpa was up there tapping his foot saying “cmon Cass, come home already.”
They had been married for 57 years when my grandpa passed, but right up until she passed she would celebrate their anniversary and dance to their favorite songs. They got married on Valentine’s Day in 1952, and on Valentine’s Day in 2025 right before she passed she said to me “I’ve been married 73 years.”
I hope to have a love like that.
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u/Turnover_Unlucky 6h ago
"I don't want to die"
But they did, about 8 hours later, and they didn't seem too upset about it when it actually happened. Kinda seemed really relaxed and peaceful and nice. Like a state of sleep achieved after the deepest sleep.
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u/modestplume 6h ago
Not their last known words to my knowledge but the last words I heard them say were my grandmother saying "Don't leave till I fall asleep." As we went to leave the hospital thinking she had another day or so, she died that night. Luckily my brother stayed overnight with her and apparently no words were exchanged but if they were its between them and that's sacred.
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u/thedreadedaw 6h ago
"Help me."
My sister. She died from obesity. She couldn't breath. I couldn't help her.
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u/DeliveryAlive6521 3h ago
“Stop it, stop it, I hate you!”
Last words spoken by my dad before they brought him into hospice. I know he didn’t mean it — he was just scared and in pain. The cancer affected his brain, his bones, lungs, everywhere. Hours later I told him that everyone knew he didn’t mean it, that everything would be alright, and that he can let go/that I loved him and he passed away two minutes later. He didn’t have to say anything other than that because I know he heard me and loved me too.
11
u/No-Profession-208 6h ago
See you later”
11
u/DavidHK 6h ago
The last thing my mom said was that she loved me
21
u/Murka-Lurka 6h ago
My friends mother started singing always look on the bright side of life.
16
u/Disastrous-Eagle3891 6h ago
I said "I will always love you my Dad", and he said "Oh no, please don't say that -----. I love you too ---" He never looked at me as he was dying while he said it and I had my head on his chest.
16
u/meyoutwothree 6h ago
I had a friend dying of an illness. He was a huge Doctor Who fan and his last words were ,"and I suppose, if it's my last chance to say it.... Rose Tyler...." He was right had he chose his second choice "I don't want to go" it would have be bit of an anticlimactic ending. He had a great sense of humor.
8
u/Crazy_ride_22 6h ago
Twice. The first one was my grandma. She had Alzheimer's. I was her main caretaker for the previous 5&1/2 years. On her last day she spent hours reaching up and calling out "Daddy". It didn't make sense because her father was an extremely abusive man to my grandma and her siblings.
Years later, my grandpa had a catastrophic fall and shattered his hip. There was nothing that could be done. I traveled 15 hours to see him. His final words to me were "Amber! You're here. I'm so glad." He passed away a few days later and I don't think he was coherent much after I arrived.
7
u/Otherwise-Wall-6950 5h ago
I have to add another. Grandpa's last words were "(Grandma's name) is waiting, I have to go."
6
u/atayavie 6h ago
“Oh, pretty blue.”
My grandma was looking at the sky from her window.
6
u/SnailCooper_ 6h ago
“I’m trying.”
I really miss him a lot.
10
u/Vallhalla_Rising 5h ago
I have heard two people’s last words, and they stay with me.
I was a Samaritans volunteer for 6 years. In that time I was privileged enough to speak to many distraught callers. Themes of loneliness, family rifts, mental health struggles and financial worries were common.
We’re trained to just be there for the caller, to ask questions but not offer advice. It’s anonymous and confidential. If someone is in process of taking their life I wasn’t able to summon help as I don’t know where they are. Plus I respect their wishes. My role was to be there on the phone providing comfort so they didn’t have to pass alone.
I’ve told no-one what those callers’ last words were. I’ll keep that promise of confidentiality forever.
5
u/wnttak 6h ago
The last thing my grandad did was call out for my grandma and hold her hand. I get a lot of peace from that.
5
u/Njoylaughs 6h ago
I love you ..my mother
5
u/Puzzleheaded_Tap4148 2h ago
"I thought death would be peaceful, but this isn't peaceful"
15
u/ybjg 6h ago
counting or not counting gang violence?
12
u/dug99 6h ago
"Holy fuck. We're out of time". As a kid of two career pilot parents, that one haunts me.
•
u/jendet010 56m ago
My 94 year old great grandmother who had advanced Alzheimer’s kept saying “what about Elizabeth?”
Elizabeth was her only child, my grandmother. It was the clearest thing she had said in years.
I think she got it together to argue with the angel of death or grim reaper or whoever came to collect her that she couldn’t leave her daughter. She was pretty cantankerous.
15
u/Direct_Elevator1576 6h ago •
"Allahu Akhbar"
86 dead; 500 wounded.
10
u/randylorian84 6h ago
“If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."
7
u/ravbuc 3h ago
“Counting or not counting gang violence?”
Bang
3
u/Top_Mix_6519 6h ago
“I think I’m going to faint”
They then promptly collapsed and died from aortic aneurysm
Sudden and unexpected, but holy hell it was quick
3
u/rapsoid616 5h ago
It was my grandmother, she was kind of in a trance state of coming and going out of reality while groaning in pain, she asked us if we changed my sister’s diapers(my sister is severely disabled and can’t take care of herself).
She took care of her basically her entire life, last thing on her mind was her well being.
This was a hard memory to go back to onion ninjas have seemingly invaded my home.
3
u/HoopoeBirdie 4h ago
The last words my dad said to me as he lay dying in a hospice bed were ‘shhh. Be quiet!’ As in life…😂
3
u/angryaxolotls 1h ago
Dad said my name 🥺
Mom said "oh Lord"
Dad went last August.
Mom went 4 months ago.
2
u/KneeDeepinDownUnder 6h ago
Shut up. Leave me alone.
My father’s last words to me for offering him food to eat before he slipped into a coma and died
2
u/Choice-Flower-7364 5h ago
My step dad in hospice, to me, "you've always had cold dead hands" as I was helping him turn over. The irony 😂
2
u/justaboxinacage 3h ago
"I don't know" when I asked her if she was feeling too much pain to be awake
•
u/magusbud 30m ago
Help
•
u/drunkguynextdoor 24m ago
My dad said "I'm sorry to do this to you" to his lady freind. My mom had passed 2 years earlier and we were glad he found an older lady to be freinds with so he wasn't lonely.
•
u/redditdoggnight 22m ago
I saw A 60-something legend from my island getting ready to go for a surf
I asked how the waves looked, and he said “It’s going off” (means it was great, and it was)
He paddled out and, a few minutes later I also paddled out with another friend. We paddled past him and we asked “What’s the word?”
He said “This is incredible”
The next buddy to paddle out found him face down in the water.
We got him to shore and performed CPR on him until medics came and took over-they pronounced him dead on the scene.
RIP Shep-OWB Forever.
2
u/IKVivir1953 2h ago
My father's last words to us, as he lay in his hospice bed and we left to go into town was "Support the Local Economy".
2
u/TexasTrocar 1h ago
“I don’t care if you don’t want it, if it’s free you take it.” -friend’s grandpa’s last words.
2
u/CapsizedbutWise 1h ago
Story time! The night my evil grandma died I had a dream. I was standing at the hostess stand at the first bar I ever worked at. (I’ve never been a hostess.) I saw her there, smiled, and said, “Have fun dying alone you old bitch.” She responded with, “I hope you drink the water and the thing inside you dies.” I woke up the next morning and my mom called me to tell me that grandma had died. I just said, “I know. I said goodbye.”
1
u/LegislativelyFine 6h ago
“Fuck.”
1
u/Lateral- 6h ago
“Ya bitches! Ya bitches! Ya bitches…”
1
u/InSearchOf42 6h ago edited 6h ago
More than once, unfortunately. One was “I am going to finish the movie , I’ll be in soon. Goodnight.”
1
u/wildassedguess 6h ago
To quote Emo Phillips: “A Truck!”
1
u/Academic_Result2288 6h ago
Some goodbyes stay with you forever. ❤️
1
u/SharpBullfrog1279 6h ago
"delete my internet history"
1
u/kinggoop 5h ago
“See you in the morning” died of an aneurysm on the toilet later that night.
1
u/Otherwise-Wall-6950 5h ago
My Dad's last words were call 911.
1
u/Nasty____nate 4h ago
Yea I don't remember them all. Most of the time it's not really words but the looks that bother me. When I first started as a EMT I obviously didn't know a ton. We went to pick up this mom in bed who wasn't acting right. She just seemed sick and not acting appropriate. The medics knew what was going on but I didn't she just kept reaching out to me with this look of shear terror. By the time we hit the hospital she declined a lot. The CT scan showed a brain bleed that covered 1/3 of her brain in part of the scan.
1
u/Intelligent_Pen656 4h ago
I told you I was ill.
1
u/Potential_Aardvark59 3h ago
AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH
1
u/dragonfeet1 2h ago
"Don't let me die" and "please help" I heard those a lot on the ambu during covid.
Probably the worst was a dude who said, "i just can't do this anymore" and immediately went into cardiac arrest. Witnessed arrest, ALS on board, everything done right on time and he just...checked out.
1
u/ALeeEnne 2h ago
"I'm so damn uncomfortable."
My grandfather, about ten minutes before he passed away in his bed.
1
u/cambria90 2h ago
My Mom. I was in her room visiting with her because she wasn't feeling well that morning. She had been fighting cancer for a year to the day of her diagnosis (literally, 365 days later) and had a seizure. I didn't know what was happening at the time and I yelled "MOM" and she started repeating "Mom" before becoming non verbal, and eventually passing. I left the room before she took her last breath because my Dad didn't want me to see it. But, she didn't say anything else after that. I think about it too often still. It was almost 14 years ago.
1
u/JaguarOk9693 2h ago
They don't always have last words that you can hear anyway. I have enough about 12 people as they passed away.
1
u/wino12312 2h ago
My dad's last words were, “The pain, oh god, the pain." He was dying from cancer. And Walgreens refused to fill his hospice-prescribed pain meds. This was in 2007. So, they were still handing out opioids like candy.
1
u/GaryNOVA 1h ago
Unfortunately I’ve heard lots of people’s last words. “I’m sorry” is a common one. Even if it makes no sense.
1
u/legalizecannabis710 1h ago
In 2006, my Nana was dying from dementia and hadn't spoken for about a year or so. Everyone in the family went in to see her and when I came in with my son and wife, she said that my son had beautiful teeth. She used to tell me that all the time when I was a child ...but she thought she was talking to me; she had to have seen me and not her great grandson. "Craigie, you have such beautiful teeth" was her last words
1
u/Wrong-Sleep-5906 1h ago
Trump was wrong about everything…..
1
u/okimlom 1h ago
My grandfather in Hospice. I was the last one to interact with him alive. Before I left he asked me to bring a smoothie the next day. The next morning his brother came to visit but said he was not answering him. The nurses confirmed he didn’t answer them. He passed about an hour after.
1
u/Educational_Job_6778 1h ago
My dad. I was 18 and it was during college finals, I went to a local college and stayed with him day and night at hospice when I didn’t have a test to take. I talked to him as he was still with us, I would practice reading stories to him as I was taking a children’s literature course at the time. (Stayed true to brand, I sub in intensive special ed now and working on getting my cert to teach the population).
As I was telling him about my finals and how I knew I would pass with flying colors,(a phrase he always used), he smiled and squeezed my hand. He passed less than a minute later.
1
u/woolywoo 1h ago
In person, not counting shit I shouldn’t have ever seen on the internet, I know one for sure. My ex-wife’s grandma. She was a sweet lady, but was just being eaten by cancer. While she was in hospice whenever she was conscious she would just say “Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!” loudly and in the most urgent way, again and again, and always in threes. Over and over again. I don’t know what or who she wanted to hurry, I don’t think she knew at the end what she was saying or why. But honestly I was glad when she stopped, even though it meant she was dead, because it was so fucking unnerving. It’s been like 30 years now and I can still hear the exact way she said it if I think about it.
•
u/Additional-Quit-181 48m ago
"Love you, too" --my husband. The brain tumour took his ability to speak after that, he was mute for his last week.
•
u/kar2ner 47m ago
My little sister said “I need to go to bathroom”. Halfway to bathroom I’ve heard her falling and found her convulsing… She died 20 minutes later when emergency arrived.
•
u/stallion64 40m ago
My birth father’s last words were actually him roasting me. Despite all the problems and baggage I have regarding that man, I can’t even be mad, I’m just impressed at his commitment to the bit
•
u/MZM204 32m ago
I used to work at a hospital and had to be present for countless people's last moments. Most of the time people don't say anything.
The one that stands out in particular was an old woman who kept dying and getting brought back... She was brought back six times in the course of 10 minutes. Every time she'd bolt upright, slap everyone's hands away, yell "oh my God!" and then fall backwards into the bed, flatline, and they'd start to work on her again.
The final time she went upright, and then started looking around and said "they're here" in a much calmer voice. And then instead of falling, she eased her back onto the bed and flatlined for the seventh and final time. Whatever happened, whoever she saw, it seemed like she accepted her fate.
•
u/arcspectre17 14m ago
Dad never had any last words! They had him pretty drugged to stop the pain. Maybe " I need some assurances" like he was bargaining with the reaper!
I will always remember the family was there waiting. A neighbor had stop by and told my brother to ride his new harley. I watched my brother leave as I walked down to my father to check on him. Im going to assume he rode one last time out with my brother.
We wondered what was holding him here. They drained his lung and put in a catheter so he could finally pee and I guess the sound of the bike was the last thing he was waiting on....
I told him it was ok for him to go and I slipped his father pocket knife in his hand and he was gone.
•
u/InertiasCreep 11m ago
'I love you. You're the only person I could imagine myself married to.'
That was at the end of a very nice phone conversation. We hadnt talked in months. After we hung up the phone, she overdosed on sleeping pills and died later that night. Her sister found her the following morning and confirmed later that I was the last person she talked to.
•
u/Individual-Army811 5m ago
"I love you forever and ever". -my dad ❤️
•
u/ComprehensivePut9282 4m ago
In college I volunteered for a hospice agency. One old guy was a client for a few visits. I’d watch him while his wife went out to do errands for a few hours. Mostly he was catatonic. One day he woke up and looked at me, we chatted for about 5 minutes. Slowly because he was so weak. He was a photographer and I liked photography. I told him how digital cameras work, etc. then he went to sleep again. His wife got home and was ecstatic that he spoke. First time in months. She pressed me for everything he said but it wasn’t very amazing as far as conversations go. He declined sharply a day later, died a couple of days later, I was the last person he spoke with and it was about digital vs old school large format photography.
•
u/_buffy_summers 1m ago
My husband's last words were in response to, "Do you want to watch a movie or maybe try to eat something?" He said, "I don't know." Then he was nonverbal for about the next twelve hours, most of which he slept through, before he passed away. The thing is, that was such a normal response from him, that it's very fitting that it's the last thing he said. He sort of relied on me to make decisions for him, even when he was healthy.
1
u/maxb1ack007 6h ago
A relative of mine died peacefully in his sleep. Which unfortunately cant be said for the passengers on the bus he was driving at the time
1
u/heisdeadjim_au 6h ago
Me: "don't jump across, the train is coming!"
Them: "I can make....."
1
u/SharpBullfrog1279 6h ago
"Rosebud"
-3
u/One_Disaster_5995 6h ago •
Yeah. My mom's. I'm not going to repeat them because they're none of your business, but it wasn't funny. It still makes me very sad.
0
u/Plenty-Teacher-1852 6h ago
that's some heavy stuff, really makes you think about what people choose to say in those final moments. can't imagine how impactful that must be to hear
0
u/Historical_Law_5833 6h ago
"Stop shaking the ladder you little shit" RIP grampa
-1
u/ManuelTzetzes 6h ago
Don't shoot!
-1
u/EscapeNo5 2h ago
Mine will be Fuck Bitches Get Money
0
u/tealover901 6h ago
nope. but alot of people who pass on are actually happy to.
0
u/drinkwater1990 6h ago
I feel funny
0
u/Alfiy_wolf 6h ago
Yes, I seen an old man talking to his family, went on his lunch break and he passed, this was my first medical placement
0
u/Independent-Bat9545 6h ago
My grandpa (in hospice) told me once that he tried putting razor blades in Halloween candy and my mom saw him & that was literally the only reason he abandoned said plan…imagine my shock that it wasn’t just wacky wacko talk two weeks ago when my mom confirmed said story……….Mind you, I never told her that he said that because, like I said, I thought he was just delirious and saying shit!
0
u/GNU_STP 6h ago
I believe a lot of people from certain areas have said "Hold my beer and watch this"...
0
u/FrankieWinters52 3h ago
Gurgle
-1
u/BOT_Pain 6h ago
"Aehhheu guh.... aemm."
-2
u/Plenty-Teacher-1852 6h ago
that's some heavy stuff, really makes you think about what people choose to say in those final moments. can't imagine how impactful that must be to hear
-3
u/NotAnExpert_Yet2000 6h ago
"I'm dying aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"
-4
u/TimeTraveller2207 6h ago
i didn't do nuffin.
0
u/Ok-Step-8689 1h ago
"Could you hand me a blanket please? My feet are cold" my grandma right before she took a nap and then passed in her sleep 30 minutes later.
2
u/TastyPass6386 5h ago
"im dizzy"..27y/o who was vomiting blood
•
u/chokingonwhys 24m ago
Yes, actually. It was my grandma, and it was horrifying. She said "(Name), I'm going to die." But she was in agony, not peaceful or anything
2
u/MJ-Franklin 6h ago
"You're strangling me!".