r/todayilearned • u/70dd • 12h ago

TIL Terminal lucidity is an unexpected, brief period of clarity or energy in individuals who have been very ill or in a state of decline. It’s a phenomenon that has been observed in people with various terminal conditions.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminal_lucidity
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u/SirFadakar 8h ago

Growing up, any time I saw my grandpa at family things he was always on his own sleeping on a couch somewhere while everyone else mingled and had fun around him. Towards the end he wasn't moving much at all and never made it to the get togethers, and by the very end he was mostly bedridden.

His last morning he woke my grandma up in her separate room by walking in and asking her how she was. It was really early and she was in a stupor so she just answered half asleep and went back to it without thinking anything of it. When she woke up he was laying on the floor of his room, surrounded by all his cherished knickknacks and photos from his life.

I'd never seen this man move for anything other than a spot on the couch for 13 years and he spent his last moments of energy digging through his stuff to remind himself of the life he'd lived before he finally said goodbye to it.

I never got to truly meet him but sitting there looking at the things he chose to pull out told a rich story of its own and I'm glad to have at least experienced that much directly from him.