There are two moments in life everybody experiences but won't remember: the moment we're born and the moment we die.
Before the end is near and so we face the final curtain there's often time for a last moment to speak, whether it's to say goodbyes to loved ones or to impart some crucial last pearl of wisdom before the end.
Some only get a snatched moment to acknowledge what's happening to them before the end.
However, some people's last words reveal a great deal about them, including information nobody had known until then.
Advert
On a Reddit thread which was asking nurses what they'd heard in the last words of their patients, one said there was a man who kept saying the number '22' over and over again.
Not even his family knew the reason why, and the nurse only found out the day before he died as he suddenly gained clarity of mind to explain why he'd bene repeating the number.
They wrote: "Took care of a WW2 veteran with dementia. He would say the number '22' over and over and the family never knew the significance of it.
"The number didn't line up with any significant events or dates that they were aware of.
"The day before he died his mental state became incredibly clear and he started telling the staff '22 men. I killed 22 men over there'.
"Poor guy. He lived with that anguish for 50+ years."
Someone else offered them comfort, saying something like that 'will take its toll on you' over the years.
Another shared a similar story of treating a war veteran and said that in one hour with the man they heard so much he'd 'never told anyone, not even his wife'.
Other nurses shared their own moments where they witnessed someone's last words, including people admitting to crimes and terrible family secrets.
Some of the stories weren't quite so morbid, as one nurse recounted how a devoutly Catholic woman gave them 'some very questionable advice' that she'd need three men in her life, 'one for the money, one for love, one for the boom-boom-boom' by which she meant sex.
Another nurse added that they'd looked after a 90-year-old man who confessed to his family in what he thought were his final moments that he'd actually had an entire other family besides them.
The nurse then added 'he lived another two years', which must have been a hugely awkward last stage of life.
Joe Harker