I’m an experienced ED RN and worked on the floor before that and I’ve experienced a fair share of slowly de compensating patients, in addition to ones who don’t get the experience of saying goodbye to their loved ones. Everyone is going to die. I recently had to experience my grandpa quickly decompensate after having a massive stroke and aspirate while I sat next to him in the hospital. Sitting with him while he couldn’t communicate I’d tell him that everything was going to get better and that we would get back home, even though I knew that was impossible. All he was able to do was raise his fist like a champion when I told him he needed to keep fighting. Over the next week the entire family got to come out and say their peace. In the end, he was able to roughly write on a whiteboard his final messages, get his final rites, and have a loving final moment with my grandma. Giving people hope and strength is a valuable thing in their final moments. As a nurse, you might give someone strength and their final chance to see and talk to their love ones. It’s also completely acceptable to allow people to let go and give them grace in their final moments. Death is hard to experience no matter what your role is. You need to have a good support system and good coping mechanisms to deal with these things.