How Hospice Nurse Julie Made Death Go Viral—and Life More Meaningful
Podcast Episode
Little did she know how much her life would change after being influenced by her tween nieces dancing on TikTok to start her own channel, talking about her experiences with death and dying as a hospice nurse. Originally believing that TikTok was for the age group of her nieces, Julie McFadden started to recognize that “people my age educating about space and talking about gardening and cooking.” Julie describes throwing up a few videos of herself talking into her phone’s camera, not even considering the lighting or quality of the videos, and quickly having a video go viral. She describes her online persona of Hospice Nurse Julie as “taking a mind of its own,” garnering over a million followers within the first year.
“I Knew There Had to Be a Better Way to Die.”
A direct quote from Julie’s New York Times Best Selling book, Nothing to Fear: Demystifying Death to Live More Fully, she harnesses her knowledge and experience from a collective 15+ years as an ICU and hospice/palliative care nurse to educate the masses about death and dying and to normalize the conversation around death and end-of-life decisions.
Julie realized that we all have one thing in common: we will all die, and we will all experience someone we love dying. Sounds obvious, right? Yes, but many people choose to ignore conversations around death and dying because it causes us to feel uncomfortable and creates unwanted tension in our bodies. But if we could demystify our beliefs around death and dying, we could alleviate much of the discomfort we feel when we are actively experiencing an end-of-life situation with a loved one. This is not some illusion to eliminate your grief or suffering when someone is dying. This is to equip you with tools and knowledge to better prepare yourself when you are faced with the loss of someone you love.
I See Dead People
Yes, you read that correctly. And yes, it happens. The term, coined as visioning, is when a dying person begins seeing dead relatives, pets, or loved ones. There is an important distinction to make: visioning is not caused by hypoxia, medication, or delirium. Visioning happens to people who are alert and oriented and fully aware of their surroundings, as Julie describes. This typically happens 3–4 weeks before someone dies.
When Julie sat down with Colton in a recent episode of Club Nurse, he asks her who she would hope to see if she was dying and had her moment of visioning. Julie reflected on hoping to see many different loved ones, but specifically reflected on losing a friend at a young age. Colton asked Julie about the similarities between visioning and the work that people do as a medium. If you want to hear a personal story Julie tells about going to a medium that will leave you covered in goosebumps, listen to the full episode as she recalls a moment when “20 years of grief fell off of me.”
Taking Ownership of Your Life
Julie is another example of a nurse who went against the grain and refused to listen to the fear-mongering of her colleagues who warned her about leaving her bedside ICU job to work as a hospice nurse. Along with demystifying death, Julie demystifies a lie that we are all fed from an early age—that we need to work a job that provides the best benefits in order to make it. This is simply not true, and Julie is here to prove that to you. “I am going to lose my skills.” “I am not gonna be a real nurse anymore.” These are the lies that Julie believed when she first exited her ICU nursing job, but soon found out how much more fulfilling her life was when she took ownership of her own livelihood, and how the life she lives today has surpassed her wildest dreams.
“One of My Greatest Gifts Is Being Sober”
In addition to the value that Julie provides to the world with her work around death and dying, Julie takes us through her journey to sobriety. Many nurses are burdened with the weight of addiction. Julie reminds the listener/reader that you are not crazy if you are struggling. You are not alone in the battle, either. Addiction—whether that is to alcohol or drugs or anything else—is something that so many of us deal with on a daily basis, and many times in silence.
Julie vulnerably shares her battle with alcohol and how she navigated through the treacherous waters to sobriety, and how much lighter her life is today because of her choice to quit drinking. Her approach and messaging around alcoholism and addiction is shameless and provides you with a sense of comfort, making you feel like you can also be vulnerable and share your struggles, too.
Catch the full conversation with Julie McFadden on Club Nurse.
Check out Julie's website and connect with her on social media:
- Instagram: @hospicenursejulie
- TikTok: @hospicenursejulie
- YouTube: @hospicenursejulie
