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Back to Module 12: Last Hours of Living Significance of the Last Hours of Living

Significance of the Last Hours of Living

• Every one of us will die

• A few of us (<10%) will die suddenly


• Most of us (>90%) will die after a long period of illness with gradual deterioration until an active dying phase at the end

• The last hours of our lives may be some of our most significant. They provide the last opportunity to:

• Finish our business
• Create final memories
• Give final gifts
• Find spiritual peace
• Say good-bye

• Those who provide care have one opportunity to get it right. There is no second chance

• If managed well, the last hours can lead to significant personal and family growth


• If managed poorly


• Life closure may be incomplete
• Suffering may occur unnecessarily
• Family distress may continue long after the patient’s death
• Those who watch may worry that their death will be similar

• Experience with the dying process or death is uncommon

• While many professionals have seen a dead body, lay people rarely have


• Most of us have neither watched someone die nor provided care during the last hours of life


• Based on media dramatization and our vivid imaginations, most people have developed an exaggerated sense of what dying and death are like


• However, with appropriate management, it is possible to provide smooth passage and comfort for the patient and all onlookers

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