My MIL has been in the hospital for 2 weeks. She has insisted that she saw/heard several incidents, not related to anyone she knows, things that could have happened in the hospital, like a patient dropping something.

It could be one of the below

1. hallucination
2. overheard nurses talking about that incident and my MIL in her semi consciousness, thinks it happened in front of her
3. out of body experience and saw the event

She is barely lucid and will need hospice care.

Yes. My dad saw my deceased mom and was talking as if she was right next to him.

He passed away two days later.

This is a very well documented phenomenon. It is another reason I believe there is more waiting for us after we die.

Anesthesia, even many months ago, can cause hallucinations in elderly. It’s sad, my poor grandma had this for most of her last year.

My grandmother saw her parents, husband, and daughter about 24 hrs before she passed.

Professionally, yes this can be a common sign of someone passing soon. But I've also seen it in hospital induced delirium, as a reaction to meds, and from encephalopathy.

Anonymous wrote:In no particular order, it could be:

- Approaching demise.
- Medicine or anesthesia induced hallucinations.
- UTI.
- Dementia.

This!

Hospital visits are so disorienting to the elderly. I know for every day in the hospital it takes my mom 2-3ish days to get back to baseline mentally and physically. So for a night or two stay it’s a week and if she’s there for a week it’s the better part of the month till she’s readjusted.

Anonymous wrote:Deathbed visions of deceased loved ones is so common that hospice nurses are trained about them. It is not necessarily a sign of imminent death (like within 24 hours) but does happen near death (like up to three weeks out). I’m sorry.

+1
Both grandparents visited with dead relatives in their last days with hospice. I was a kid but found it strange and comforting to witness

In no particular order, it could be:

- Approaching demise.
- Medicine or anesthesia induced hallucinations.
- UTI.
- Dementia.

Yes. Nearing death seeing other dead relatives or calling their name.

Anonymous wrote:It is a sign of his nearing the end. Does he engage with you? Hospice told me it is a time when they have one foot in the next place. Somehow I found that comforting.

I agree that this is comforting, and it happened to my mom also in the months /weeks before her death (she had not been hospitalized).

Deathbed visions of deceased loved ones is so common that hospice nurses are trained about them. It is not necessarily a sign of imminent death (like within 24 hours) but does happen near death (like up to three weeks out). I’m sorry.

My sibling who is a palliative med doctor says: "Yes."

Yes, loved ones who have passed often come to guide the person to the other side. You can google this. It’s very common.

My mother had anesthesia and thought the tv was calling her in the hospital. It does mimic dementia in the elderly but it dissipated when we brought her home to her familiar surroundings.

Was he under anesthesia in the hospital?