A palliative nurse recorded the most common regrets of the dying and published them as a book titled 'Life lessons from the dying'. It's not surprising to see what made the list. But what occupies a dying person's mind is illuminating in the sense we can use this as a reference point to lead better and more fulfilling lives. Here, then, are the 5 most commonly occurring 'death bed regrets' with relevant excerpts from the book.
Courage : "This was by far the most common regret. The patient wished he had shown courage in sticking to his choice of doctor/hospital which usually turned out to be the right decision eventually, after several horrible tests and misdiagnoses by other doctors the family took the patient to"
Love : "Most of the male patients said they had a romantic interest in one of the female doctors/nurses and 'she was so pretty and caring', that it was 'deeper than a crush' and that 'it could develop into something wonderful if only I had more time and my family wasn't around so much.'"
Health : "Most patients obviously did not like what they were dying of and said they'd rather die of something else. Bungee jump gone wrong, stroke from excessive sitcom marathons were some popular choices."
Work/Insurance : "Some patients couldn't afford the hospital charges and passed away earlier as a result. It's the author's own regret that they could have made more money or got more insurance cover so she could have completed her interviews with them."
Laughter and Happiness : "One guy wished he hadn't laughed so hard when he heard his friend had a 'butt condition' because he ended up contracting one too, as if by karma. On happiness, most patients said they really liked the painkiller buzz ('woohoo') and said they regretted not using these earlier recreationally."
Courage : "This was by far the most common regret. The patient wished he had shown courage in sticking to his choice of doctor/hospital which usually turned out to be the right decision eventually, after several horrible tests and misdiagnoses by other doctors the family took the patient to"
Love : "Most of the male patients said they had a romantic interest in one of the female doctors/nurses and 'she was so pretty and caring', that it was 'deeper than a crush' and that 'it could develop into something wonderful if only I had more time and my family wasn't around so much.'"
Health : "Most patients obviously did not like what they were dying of and said they'd rather die of something else. Bungee jump gone wrong, stroke from excessive sitcom marathons were some popular choices."
Work/Insurance : "Some patients couldn't afford the hospital charges and passed away earlier as a result. It's the author's own regret that they could have made more money or got more insurance cover so she could have completed her interviews with them."
Laughter and Happiness : "One guy wished he hadn't laughed so hard when he heard his friend had a 'butt condition' because he ended up contracting one too, as if by karma. On happiness, most patients said they really liked the painkiller buzz ('woohoo') and said they regretted not using these earlier recreationally."
