End of life and bereavement support worker here. And clearly, after a post I saw this morning, this STILL needs to be said; when the nurses and doctors agree that it's time for the big gun painkillers and sedatives ( like a morphine/midazolam driver), they are NOT giving up on your relative or trying to "finish them off". It means your beloved has reached a point where consciousness is unimaginably painful, and we don't want to see them suffer anymore.