[reuben_scratton]

When my mother died she had been completely unconscious for a whole week, but just 30 minutes before she died she opened her eyes and looked around the room. I was later told by a nurse that this is quite common when people are about to die. It seems to fit with the notion of one last burst of brain activity.

[sakopov]

People also inexplicably get better for a few days/weeks before they die. This happened with my grandfather who died of cancer and my great-grandmother who died of sepsis.

[sethammons]

"A candle flickers most violently right before it goes out."