worst death you've seen

13 I'm feeling morbid. What is the worst death you've seen? I work in a MICU, so we don't get babies or gunshots (or babies with gunshots; they do in our ER, true story.) but we see some pretty dramatic stuff. A patient dying doesn't bother me too much because most of my patients are so sick that it is a relief to send them off to the happy hunting grounds. It is the family they leave behind that holds onto me and won't let go.
We had a teenager sent to us from the hem-onc floor because he was in ARDS. He'd been sick since he was 12, and now he was really sick. He was on the oscillating ventilator all night and his sats just kept dropping; 70, 60, 50. He coded just before change of shift and when he bradied down and half the unit ran in to crack the code cart that had been sitting there all night, his mother started yelling, no no no, and it still makes me cry just to think about. I don't think anyone who was there that night was unaffected; we usually don't get kids, and it hit too close to home for most of us.
I have a lot of respect for those of you that work in peds because I could not deal with something like that more than once in a lifetime. I had one other patient when I was working on a med-surge floor, who had been using crack and ran a stopsign with her baby and her seven-year old. The baby died (we couldn't get ahold of the trauma team all day because they were working on him) and she was my patient with two chest tubes, and the pediatric surgeon came down to ask me if I thought she was stable enough to go say good bye to her baby because they were going to take him off life support. It wasn't a death that I witnessed directly, but I went home crying for three days.
I have seen a lot of deaths, especially since I choose Hospice as my specialty 4 1/2 years ago. I can't think of one "worst" death, but just overall. Pulmonary deaths seem to be the worst, especially if they are awake. The people cannot breath, they know they are dying and they are usually terrified. Normally we have some control/warning when someone is in respiratory failure and we can sedate them, but when they throw a clot, it is awful. For the patient, the family and the nurses.

yeah, i work in a nursing home. Most of those are peaceful enough, a little crying by the family then out the door!

I agree with you , OP, the paediatric deaths are the worst. While I was a student, a little boy-only 2 years old-was admitted for a Duhamel pull through; he had lived with a colostomy almost since birth, as he was diagnosed very early with Hirschprung's disease.The night before the op, he was very active, and insisted on sitting on my lap most of the night. He was so beautiful, like a little blonde angel.The next night, the EN assigned to him called me just after handover and showed me the sheet under him...which was soaked in blood.Long story short, after having the regional ND RN, the surgeon and the consultant working on him most of the night, he was transferred to PICU, where he died the next evening.He was the only child of older parents, and I still tear up when I remember them coming to fetch his toys. I can still see those two broken people walking down the corridor, clutching an oversized teddy bear.

Wow. I can really empathize with you all. Witnessing a Young Life passing would truly be an emotional experience. The loving way you worded your comments is a tribute to both you and those you serve.I've been realitively lucky in my career, in that I've not had to deal with a gruesome death or the passing of One very young. The first I witnessed as an EMT when I was 22 years old- the drowning of a 24 year old Bargeworker. The last was of a 50 some year old who went into cardiac arrest while I was on Holiday. I guess the worst was an MVA back in 2000. He was banged up, but not bad.Dave

Wasnt a pediatric death but a young person who tried to take their own life. Unfortunately, they lived a little longer than they wanted and we spent some time trying to literally piece them back together (when I was a Surg Tech in the OR). They died on the unit shortly afterwards.

I have seen many deaths. The worst was when my 2 year old niece died in 2009. My mother (who is also a nurse) and I washed and combed her hair afterward. I'll never forget my sister begging us to do something about all that gunk in her daughter's hair(from the code).

my heart breaks when i read these stories. Make me want to leave work right now and go hug my daughter. One of the worst things i had seen was as a firefighter - a young child that has perished in a car fire. As a nurse - though this wasn't a death but it was awful - I had a patient that tried to commit suicide by putting a shotgun in his mouth - only he flinched at the last second and succeeded in blowing the side of his face off. He pulled through and after endless surgeries, enduring a "flap room" for weeks at a time, and practically becoming a resident on our floor he seemed to leave with a new appreciation for life. His journey was worse than any death i had ever witnessed on the floor.

Been a nurse a long time - seen a lot. The kids' deaths are excruciating. No doubt about it. I think if those don't affect us, we need to change jobs. You guys take care of yourself!

The worst I've seen was prior to becoming a RN. My twins were in the NICU (1980s), and there were a set of 24 weeker twins directly across from ours. Both of those twins had been paralyzed with pavulon and had chest tubes inserted (back then surgical procedures were routinely done without anesthesia). .babies lingered for about a week or so and then both passed away. I think back then the NICU care of micro preemies was so brutal d/t belief that babies at that gest age didn't feel pain. So many had horrific things done to them before they mercifully passed away. I could never work NICU after being in there as a "patient" and knowing too much about poor quality of life . So many ethical issues. .

39 year old male, admitted to my LTC facility for hospice/end of life care.Went to the local ER for chest pain, was told to 'take a seat and wait'.Suffered a massive MI, coded in the ER waiting room. Was left with severe anoxic brain injury. He was at our facility for about 2 months.Left behind a wife younger than myself at the time, and two small children.The young wife and small children left behind was difficult to see, something I am not used to and wasn't prepared to witness.I was his nurse at time of his death.Kudos to Peds Nurses, this man was way too young in my opinion and children would be a whole other world. I couldn't do it.

Quote from JPRloverNurseI have seen many deaths. The worst was when my 2 year old niece died in 2009. My mother (who is also a nurse) and I washed and combed her hair afterward. I'll never forget my sister begging us to do something about all that gunk in her daughter's hair(from the code).

Quote from INLPN9339 year old male, admitted to my LTC facility for hospice/end of life care.Went to the local ER for chest pain, was told to 'take a seat and wait'.Suffered a massive MI, coded in the ER waiting room. Was left with severe anoxic brain injury. He was at our facility for about 2 months.Left behind a wife younger than myself at the time, and two small children.The young wife and small children left behind was difficult to see, something I am not used to and wasn't prepared to witness.I was his nurse at time of his death.Kudos to Peds Nurses, this man was way too young in my opinion and children would be a whole other world. I couldn't do it.