Exploring the veil: The profound visions of the dying, unveiled by Dr. Kerr
A palliative care physician, who has been researching what happens at the end of our lives for years, shared his knowledge and experience. Doctor Christopher Kerr answered the question that has haunted the living for centuries - what does a dying person see, is it a light at the end of the tunnel?
25 April 2024 20:07
While most of us try to avoid thinking about death, Dr. Christopher Kerr from Buffalo, New York, decided to build his career around this topic, following in his father's footsteps and becoming a doctor.
The palliative care physician says that patients at the end of life usually have visions or dreams that help them reconcile with life decisions—either through a poignant memory or completely fantastical images. Often, these visions or dreams also introduce patients to a feeling of "love, reunion, and reacquaintance with a loved one."
"It's fascinating," says Kerr.
In the case of criminals experiencing visions before death, they are related to their past. "We had a forty-year-old who spent most of his life in prison. He was addicted to drugs and had neck cancer. He dreamt peacefully, was serene, and then started crying because he had nightmares that all the people he had wronged were stabbing him with knives. When he woke up, he asked to meet his daughter to express his love and apologize. Then he died peacefully," Dr Kerr shares in the Next Level Soul podcast.
According to Dr. Kerr, patients on their deathbed "do not deny the bad and painful events but refer to them and use them in a very interesting way".
He also talked about another patient who, as a teenager, participated in the invasion of Normandy. He suffered from PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) all his life and never received help. One day, he managed to fall asleep - in the dream, he experienced "the best day of his life - the day he was discharged from hospital". He dreamt he was lying in a clinic in Normandy, and at some point, an unknown soldier approached him, saying, "it's not time yet, we will come for you". Shortly after, the man died peacefully in his sleep.
The research team at the Hospice and Palliative Care Centre in Buffalo, where Dr Kerr works, published many studies on the subject and documented over 1500 end-of-life stories, many of which were recorded on video.
It's different for children on their deathbed
Kerr explains that children have entirely different experiences than adults because they understand death to a lesser extent - they have no concept of finality and imagine meetings in the afterlife. In their visions and dreams, they often see animals telling them they are loved and not left alone.
"Children are creative and have a vivid imagination," the doctor emphasizes.
For example, he describes the story of a little girl whose imagination turned the hospital room into a castle. There was a pool, a piano, lots of animals, and a window through which warm light entered. "When I asked what the castle represents, she said it's a safe place," says the doctor.
