Witnessing death

I like some of the other users in this thread work in a hospital. Comparatively, I as well have gotten use to seeing death. While weight that accompanies someone's death tends to linger even upon desensitization to death itself, generally after prolonged exposure your just able to push any death to the back of your mind.

I did not witness yet, maybe, the future is unknown is us. But my grandpa died around like 4am and he was at a nursing home. When I got there, he was pale and such. I felt really sad. He cant really speak english well, Chinese mostly and I was like his favorite grandchild. I think around age 90 or 80 something.

No, I can't see the thestrals yet. I don't know how I would take it. Over time, it feels as if I have developed some kind of 'shell' separating my emotions from the surface, and effectively making me unable to express the most negatives one, who keep simmering and raging beneath the shell for far longer than it is healthy for them to...

When I was fifteen, my ninety odd neighbour passed away. We didn't know for weeks apparently, but when my brother had spotted flies gathering on his window, we hesitantly cracked it open to see ( and my fucking god, smell ) his decaying corpse. Flies were everywhere too, worse still it as the dead of summer so the heat and humidity didn't help either. When the ambulance arrived and they carried the body out, we could literally smell it from inside our flat. It's never left my nose, good grief.

My brother was murdered. I wasn't there to see it happen, but I was there when they decided to take him off life support. I didn't feel much except that I wished it had been me. I stopped trying to be happy that day. The hardest part was forgetting what he looked like.

And before anyone asks, I know for a fact it was murder.
You don't forget the moment you look into someone's eyes and realize there's nothing behind them.

The last two deaths I've witnessed have been my last two ex's mothers.

The first one died of a drug induced heart attack while we were eating dinner; long terrible story.

And the second died peacefully(as peacefully as dying of cancer and having what makes you you taken away through meds) with her family surrounding her.

I haven't seen death personally, but since I've spent plenty of time in the hospital I have met and made friends with people who are terminally ill. It is very sad, seeing what you have, complaining, only to see that the person right next door is dying of cancer or something worse. Makes you feel like crap once you realize your own circumstances. It also makes you appreciate life a little bit more. Seeing those terminally ill patients be so cheerful, putting on a smile, even when death is closing in sooner than they want it.

@peltors first comment: ROFL. I only have nightmares of people dieing. It's always someone I don't even know and they always look at me.thank god it isn't more lucid than that.

When I was 15 I was visting my friends dad in hospital with my cricket team, which he coached. He had pancreatic cancer that had metastisised to his lungs, so we knew he didn't have long left; but he was like a father to some of the kids on the team so we wanted to be with him. It wasn't dramatic, he just fell asleep and passed away about half an hour later. We all decided we would mourn him at the end of the season when we'd spread his ashes on our central wicket.

An emotional affair, changed my life for the better, but thinking about it still makes me a little angry that people as good as he was died while there are scumbags that still live.

It's horrible. My dad died in my arms, from a heart attack. His face at that moment is something i will never forget. But i was able to start classes a week after, and i broke down just one time in class, a teacher was talking about his grandfather and how he died so it got me emotional.

I saw an old lady jumping off a seventh floor; i was walking and people started looking up, so i did the same. The lady waved her hand and jumped. All i felt was horror and shock to the noise, -Thanks God- you couldn't see the corpse from the street.

Yes, but total strangers.

Some were quite brutal- so it was quite shocking, but only in the moment.


If ever it was someone that I cared about, it might be different- we'll see whenever that time comes.

I've watched as a man was crushed under a rolling boulder. I've helped pull stillborn foals out of their shrieking mothers. I've found a woman who had electrocuted herself with a toaster in a hotel bathtub. I've seen my hiking partner kill a deer with a rock and a Bowie knife so we wouldn't starve. And I've stood fear-frozen as a man's head was kicked off by a stallion.

I've witnessed death, from the silent to the ear-splitting and from the painless to the excruciating. It never gets easier to watch it happen, but each time I find I recover just a little more quickly from the shock.

It was a cold January, the 23rd, three years ago, if I recall correctly. I was coming home from school and noticed there were many people in the living room. When I came in, one of them told me,

"Andrew... your grandmother is dead."

My grandmother was already frail during the days leading to her death, and one or two days (IIRC) before she died, she requested for her favorite food. I still remember seeing her laid down on her bed inhaling from an oxygen tank, making that request. She was already out of the hospital at that time, and waited for Death's embrace at home. When the news was broken to me that day, I remained silent that whole night. Even though she took care of us for along time, I felt emotionless for the first few days, because I hardly show sadness.

Looking at her before I said goodbye to her for the last time, it reminds me that I would die someday, as well.

As a nurse , I reported in when a death did happen. Basic cleaning and grooming tasks.
I did not see the grim-reaper only his victims.
Respect nursing BEFORE you get there.

Nope and when i do see it I probably wouldn't be phase.

Yes I have...as a U.S soldier in the army one of my best friends since high school whent in with me...our platoon was in a hostile area trying to drive out terrorist cells from civilian homes...there was an ambush and our sargent got hit in the leg and my best friend who was a PFC started dragging him out of the line of fire when he got hit with five rounds and dropped...he died before the medic even got to him...I was horrified I returned fire but not because it was the right thing to do but because I wanted revenge even after the firefight my heart felt cold and my brain was blank almost like I wasn't even in realilty and my feet felt so heavy I could hardly move...and just mailing his family was unbearable

I did see a guy commit suicide a few years ago, he jumped off the very top of the apartment complex, me witnessing a death of a person didn't really effect me mentally, but the moment the guy hit the ground, my heart beated slowly but really hard, it was like my heart was either about to explode or pop right out of my chest.

If it's just the death of animals, I've seen plenty. And when I say animals, I don't mean small, insignificant animal like insects and such, but mostly mammals, like cats, dogs, cows, sheep and more. Heck, I've slaughtered countless number of goat, sheep, cow and other livestock. Why? Because that's my field of profession.
I used to feel awful when I cut the neck of those cute cows and sheep, but as time passes, I don't feel a thing anymore.
As for human, I've witnessed the death of me dear grandfather (awesome person, he's one of my personal hero), my uncle, and the most tragic of all, one of my friend. This friend here, he died in an accident, right in front of me. He was run by a truck when we cross the road. It appears that the driver is sleepy or something, and he lost control of the truck. I managed to dodge in time, but my poor friend couldn't avoid it in time.
Ugh, I didn't even want to remember the condition of his body.

yes.

It was horrible to watch, to be short. :D

I did once. I was standing on the sidewalk when some guy stepped out into the road and got hit by a truck.

It was a rather disturbing experience. But on the plus side I'm always careful while crossing the street.