An end-of-life nurse captured global attention after revealing the emotional, gut-wrenching “deathbed regrets” her clients have shared – and now she’s using those confessions to remind people that “tomorrow is not promised.”
Hadley Vlahos, who goes by the name @nursehadley on TikTok, has dedicated her life to caring for people as they approach death. Her honest and lighthearted insights into what people truly reflect on at the end of life have touched millions – and made many rethink their own priorities.
Now, the 30-year-old hospice nurse – who’s “been at the bedside of hundreds of people before they die,” is revealing the most shocking confessions she’s heard from her dying patients – and sharing the life-changing lessons she’s learned while walking alongside those facing their final days.
Failed to express love
According to Vlahos, one of the most painful regrets she hears from her patients is not expressing love while they still had the chance.
“I’ve had a lot of people tell me they would quickly say bye to someone, and their then-spouse suddenly dies. Or it would be the last time they would speak to friends or family,” she said, per the Sun.
“They say that they wish they would have told people how much they loved them.”
It’s a haunting reminder that some of life’s most meaningful words are often left unsaid –until it’s too late.
Money can’t buy a lavish death
“Don’t chase material things. Chase happy memories,” said Vlahos, the author of “The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life’s Final Moments.”
Recalling the one moment she truly understood that material possessions mean nothing at the end, Vlahos stressed that no matter how rich or poor, everyone faces the same reality in their final days.
“I remember leaving this ginormous mansion,” the end-of-life nurse shared, “and [the woman] was in her hospital-style bed, realizing that you can’t take things with you when you go.”
From one lavish estate to a crumbling home, the truth was the same.
“I left her home to go to another house where the walls were falling down, and she was in the same hospital bed. But all that mattered in the end was the people around caring for her. They were both dying – no matter what their money situation was.”
Perfect time is now
Another message that struck Vlahos came from patients who never had the opportunity to enjoy the life they worked so hard to build.
“I was getting a lot of patients who were in their 50s and 60s who had worked their whole life – and they didn’t even get to retire,” the hospice nurse explained.
The theme of waiting – and regretting it – appeared again during a visit with a man who had once dreamed of becoming a doctor.
“He was looking back and thinking eight years was too long but then realised that eight years passes regardless,” she said, adding that the patient reminded her to “stop waiting for that perfect time, start now.”
Do things for yourself, not others
One of the most striking regrets the hospice nurse ever heard came from a woman who admitted she had spent her entire life trying to impress others.
“She told me, ‘Do things for yourself, not others,’” Vlahos recalled. “This woman was always concerned about what her friends thought and at the end of her life she was the only one alive and realised she didn’t do what she wanted to do.”
Vlahos shared that the woman spent years upgrading her lifestyle, buying cars and houses to maintain appearances – but she wished she “didn’t want to have to keep up and impress others.”
Choices, the nurse expressed, the dying woman deeply regretted in her final days.
More time with loved ones
And, the message Vlahos hears most often from dying patients –especially older men – is “spend less time at work and more time with family.”
This regret transcends generation and gender and reflects a painful realization for many: that the years they spent chasing promotions or paychecks were often at the expense of precious time with loved ones.
According to the hospice nurse, in their final days, many people have admitted they sacrificed time with their loved ones in pursuit of careers and financial stability, only to regret what they missed.
“A lot of people felt they didn’t know their kids at all,” Vlahos said, per the Sun. “They thought some things were necessities – but realized they weren’t. Maybe they could have worked 40 hours instead of 60.”
These confessions are a powerful reminder of how easily time can slip away – and how priorities can shift when facing the end of life, she explained, warning people to live with no regrets as “tomorrow is not promised.”
What regrets, if any, do you think you’ll have when you’re nearing the end? Please let us know your thoughts and then share this story so we can hear from others!
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