1 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:50,875 We go about our daily lives hardly ever considering our final fate. 2 00:00:56,920 --> 00:01:00,959 Yet at every moment, we are surrounded by death. 3 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:05,756 Around 60 people will die in the United Kingdom before the end of this programme. 4 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:17,916 We seldom witness death. 0ften our only experience is from films and television, 5 00:01:18,040 --> 00:01:21,476 which can present it as a violent and painful event. 6 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:29,555 We are reluctant to face up to our own mortality, 7 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:34,800 to confront the truth that in the midst of life, we are in death. 8 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:46,516 In this final part of the story of the human body, we take a difficult journey to see what happens 9 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:50,519 when this mass of biological activity ceases to be, 10 00:01:50,640 --> 00:01:56,237 to see how all the previous ages of our existence are undone in the final act. 11 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:14,279 The processes of death in the human body are remarkable. 12 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:23,389 This is what it would look like if you could see the human body cool down over 24 hours. 13 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:31,637 Death comes not as a single quick event, but a slow winding down. 14 00:02:31,760 --> 00:02:36,550 It is difficult to say when every cell in the body ceases to have life. 15 00:02:39,840 --> 00:02:45,995 Long before we stop breathing, our brain may die, our personality lost for ever. 16 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:53,472 But the biology of death can seem cold, and distant from the human story. 17 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:25,908 (MAN, GERMAN ACCENT) I want to die at home because it is not nice to die in a hospital. 18 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:31,068 There's nothing in there, you're only a number there, you know. 19 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:33,839 At home you can die in peace. 20 00:03:34,760 --> 00:03:38,639 Herbie and his wife Hannelorre fell in love with Ireland, 21 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:41,832 and decided to move here from Germany in 1981. 22 00:03:42,960 --> 00:03:47,317 We started filming Herbie a year after he learnt he had a fatal cancer. 23 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:54,752 I was driving in the car to Loch Rae, and on the way to Loch Rae, I collapsed. 24 00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:59,629 I had pain in the stomach, here in this area. 25 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:10,956 Then we called an ambulance, and they took me to hospital in Galway. 26 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:15,471 The surgeon told Hannelorre it was very bad. 27 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:19,070 The tumour was the size of two soccer balls - very big. 28 00:04:32,160 --> 00:04:37,712 It's hard to get it into your head. When you first hear the news, 29 00:04:37,840 --> 00:04:41,753 it's like a shock, and you can't really think about it. 30 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:51,757 There's only a couple of months, and, all the ideas - it's terrible! 31 00:04:55,200 --> 00:05:00,274 It's now 0ctober. As the tumour expands in Herbie's stomach region, 32 00:05:00,400 --> 00:05:02,470 it threatens vital organs. 33 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:06,639 The doctors are amazed that his body has been able to cope for this long. 34 00:05:10,440 --> 00:05:14,433 A couple of months ago, we created this small garden here. 35 00:05:14,560 --> 00:05:20,715 I got from a good friend from Switzerland a couple of roses and planted them here, 36 00:05:20,840 --> 00:05:26,198 because when I die and get cremated, 37 00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:32,077 Hannelorre will put the ashes, afterwards, 38 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:34,839 around these roses that you see here. 39 00:05:34,960 --> 00:05:40,751 This is my greatest wish and my will, where I want to be buried forever. 40 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:45,395 And my spirit is around the land, and the house. 41 00:05:54,880 --> 00:05:57,678 The modern way to die is often hidden from view 42 00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:00,394 in the sanitised world of the hospital. 43 00:06:00,520 --> 00:06:04,911 But we have not always been so uneasy about confronting death. 44 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:17,634 In the Capuchin catacombs in Sicily, 8,000 bodies are preserved. 45 00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:26,478 Here, families would come to visit their loved ones. 46 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:29,876 To our eyes, this may seem a gruesome spectacle, 47 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:35,836 but to 19th-century Sicilians, death was not something to recoil from in fear and dread. 48 00:06:43,520 --> 00:06:46,592 Walking along these narrow corridors, 49 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:52,750 I must confess to feeling both fascinated and repulsed by this spectacle of death. 50 00:06:54,320 --> 00:06:59,633 For today it's death, not sex, which is the last taboo. 51 00:06:59,760 --> 00:07:03,150 But an understanding of what happens to us when we die 52 00:07:03,280 --> 00:07:07,671 can do much to ease our fears and dispel our anxieties. 53 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:14,353 The human body has many attributes which are unique, 54 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:19,349 but I think our ability to face our own death is perhaps the most remarkable. 55 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:26,119 - Are you comfortable there, Herbie? - Yeah, that's OK. 56 00:07:28,640 --> 00:07:31,313 Herbie, together with Hannelorre, 57 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:35,399 has decided to let us film the final moments of his life. 58 00:07:37,200 --> 00:07:41,876 I know I will never see this film in my lifetime. 59 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:46,790 (D0CT0R) No, it has spilled out a little bit more here, on top, 60 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:51,391 - hasn't it, over the last week? - Yes, yes. 61 00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:54,559 I like it that everybody can see 62 00:07:54,680 --> 00:08:00,471 that a human being can manage an illness like mine. 63 00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:04,479 Everybody can see in this film 64 00:08:04,600 --> 00:08:09,037 that there is a way to make the best of the end of your life. 65 00:08:09,160 --> 00:08:12,675 OK, that seems fine. Your bowel sounds are perfectly normal. 66 00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:16,156 How is your energy at the moment? 67 00:08:16,280 --> 00:08:18,874 I can walk around, so my energy's good. 68 00:08:19,000 --> 00:08:22,072 I can't lift much any more, I'm not so strong. 69 00:08:22,200 --> 00:08:26,876 Herbie receives regular visits from his local hospice workers. 70 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:29,389 They look after his pain control 71 00:08:29,520 --> 00:08:33,433 and help Herbie and Hannelorre cope with the prospect of his dying. 72 00:08:36,160 --> 00:08:39,675 They're gorgeous. They've gotten so big, haven't they? 73 00:08:39,800 --> 00:08:42,439 Oh, they're lovely. 74 00:08:44,240 --> 00:08:49,598 The hospice worker and I, we talk very close together, and we trust each other. 75 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:09,669 I'm not worried about when I die, tomorrow, today, in a couple of months. 76 00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:12,951 I know what's coming, and I face it. 77 00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:22,831 Death seems an entirely cruel and negative event, bringing loss and bereavement. 78 00:09:22,960 --> 00:09:28,592 Yet, from the very start, there is a fundamental link between life and death in our bodies. 79 00:09:41,120 --> 00:09:44,908 0ur bodies are built from organised colonies of cells. 80 00:09:45,040 --> 00:09:50,876 What we see when we look at ourselves are vast communities of cells, billions of them. 81 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:10,072 Each one plays a particular role - a heart cell, a muscle cell, a brain cell. 82 00:10:12,840 --> 00:10:17,470 In an incredible act of harmony and organisation, they work together, 83 00:10:17,600 --> 00:10:20,910 performing the functions of the organ they belong to. 84 00:10:29,520 --> 00:10:32,318 From the very start of our lives, 85 00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:37,389 this tireless dedication to duty often requires our cells to die. 86 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:48,158 Some cells in the foetus actually receive signals to self-destruct. 87 00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:53,991 Here, the developing hand grows as an enormous bundle of cells. 88 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:59,831 Then cells are systematically destroyed, sculpting the fingers and the gaps between, 89 00:10:59,960 --> 00:11:04,875 in much the same way a sculptor chips away a block of stone. 90 00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:10,632 From the very beginning of the human body's journey, death becomes an essential part of life. 91 00:11:13,080 --> 00:11:18,029 Under the microscope, we can see how cells are destroyed. 92 00:11:19,560 --> 00:11:22,870 This process continues throughout our lives, 93 00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:26,072 as cells become damaged, or just worn out. 94 00:11:33,440 --> 00:11:38,389 During the course of this programme, around a billion cells in your body will die. 95 00:11:42,320 --> 00:11:46,393 This programmed cell death keeps us healthy and alive. 96 00:11:46,520 --> 00:11:50,559 In this way we can think of death as part of the creative force of life. 97 00:11:50,680 --> 00:11:55,037 But do our own deaths play a part in the larger human story? 98 00:11:55,160 --> 00:12:01,156 Are we like cells in some cosmic machine, our deaths serving a greater unseen purpose? 99 00:12:01,280 --> 00:12:03,953 Well, sadly not. 100 00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:08,392 It seems that death is the price we pay for having sex. 101 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:19,237 When we have sex, we can create new life. 102 00:12:20,560 --> 00:12:23,711 But we do not just produce copies of ourselves. 103 00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:29,756 Each one of these babies is unique, the result of the particular mix of their parents' genes. 104 00:12:34,920 --> 00:12:37,798 Through evolution, winning combinations of genes 105 00:12:37,920 --> 00:12:41,356 get passed on from generation to generation. 106 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:45,677 This process, which we call natural selection, 107 00:12:45,800 --> 00:12:49,031 has speeded up our ability to adapt and evolve. 108 00:12:50,560 --> 00:12:53,233 Without sex, and the mixing of genes, 109 00:12:53,360 --> 00:12:57,399 we would never have evolved into such complex organisms. 110 00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:11,069 But as individuals, we do pay a price for such success. 111 00:13:11,200 --> 00:13:16,149 0nce you've had sex and passed on your genes, your job is done. 112 00:13:16,280 --> 00:13:21,308 You hand over the genetic baton and the relay race carries on without you. 113 00:13:22,400 --> 00:13:27,872 Your own fate is unimportant, and death waits to catch you up. 114 00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:36,356 So, it seems that we are just vehicles for our genetic material. 115 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:39,392 We die. 0nly our genes are immortal. 116 00:13:49,920 --> 00:13:54,948 With the arrival of winter in Ireland, Herbie's health gradually declines. 117 00:13:56,120 --> 00:13:59,999 He has good days and he has bad days. 118 00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:09,838 Hannelorre phoned this morning and said that you had a lot of pain. 119 00:14:09,960 --> 00:14:14,476 - Was it during the night or this morning? - It was the whole night. 120 00:14:14,600 --> 00:14:17,797 When he wake me this morning before 5 o'clock, 121 00:14:17,920 --> 00:14:23,790 I looked at him and said to myself, this is the time that he is dying, or something. 122 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:28,118 - He was so sick? - Everything was so different. 123 00:14:28,240 --> 00:14:31,835 His face, it was so strange to me. 124 00:14:36,680 --> 00:14:39,353 When I saw you, you were in agony. 125 00:14:39,480 --> 00:14:44,634 And this is only with the pain. I don't like the pain. 126 00:14:46,360 --> 00:14:50,558 I was so frightened...it's unbelievable. 127 00:14:52,080 --> 00:14:58,679 I was thinking, it's the end, it's the end of...his life, 128 00:14:58,800 --> 00:15:01,872 but he was lucky enough. 129 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:04,468 He's a very strong person, 130 00:15:04,600 --> 00:15:07,034 and he fights. 131 00:15:14,240 --> 00:15:18,711 - I hope I'll see the springtime. - Oh, but you will. Why won't you? 132 00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:23,436 - Keep doing what you're doing now. - I had a couple of bad moments. 133 00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:25,710 Very bad. 134 00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:28,115 Very, very bad. 135 00:15:28,240 --> 00:15:31,437 A couple of weeks ago, 136 00:15:31,560 --> 00:15:35,599 at that time I thought I was dying, honestly. 137 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:42,199 Ever since, I've had this syringe driver here, because of the pain. 138 00:15:42,320 --> 00:15:47,713 The syringe driver. It just runs automatically, 24 hours. 139 00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:52,197 When I have trouble with pain, I can give myself a boost. 140 00:15:54,080 --> 00:15:56,071 Now I get a bit extra. 141 00:15:59,280 --> 00:16:04,673 When I'm in pain, it is very, very bad. 142 00:16:04,800 --> 00:16:09,237 I get in a bad mood, and feel low, you know. I can't do anything, 143 00:16:09,360 --> 00:16:11,555 neither lie down nor sit. 144 00:16:11,680 --> 00:16:14,035 No matter what, 145 00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:19,154 I have to have this medication. I can't do without it any more. 146 00:16:23,120 --> 00:16:25,839 Modern advances in pain relief 147 00:16:25,960 --> 00:16:29,396 mean that we can now control many aspects of dying. 148 00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:34,958 And our modern medicine has also changed many of the causes of death. 149 00:16:41,640 --> 00:16:45,633 Better health care, combined with better nutrition and cleaner water, 150 00:16:45,760 --> 00:16:49,833 mean that we now live twice as long as we did a hundred years ago. 151 00:16:49,960 --> 00:16:54,954 We are more likely to die from the diseases of old age, such as cancer, stroke, 152 00:16:55,080 --> 00:16:57,958 and the number one killer, heart disease. 153 00:16:59,560 --> 00:17:04,475 Today, heart disease kills a quarter of the population in the western world. 154 00:17:04,600 --> 00:17:08,639 The most violent form is the heart attack. 155 00:17:08,760 --> 00:17:14,596 'He wanders to the outside. He's gotta look on his backside. He hit the 40.' 156 00:17:14,760 --> 00:17:18,878 (AMERICAN ACCENT) I was sitting in this chair watching a football game on television. 157 00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:27,273 I got my first surge of pain from my heart to the right side of my chest. 158 00:17:30,600 --> 00:17:35,355 The pain started to travel in my back, to my back area, 159 00:17:35,480 --> 00:17:37,835 and I figured that it was a heart attack. 160 00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:46,308 The human heart pumps 7,500 litres of blood a day. 161 00:17:51,440 --> 00:17:57,709 These small arteries, less than a millimetre wide, supply blood to the heart muscle. 162 00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:04,509 Here, a tiny blockage is hampering the supply to one of the arteries. 163 00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:08,358 They had me on the table at about 12 o'clock, 164 00:18:08,480 --> 00:18:12,075 and I watched on a monitor as they went through each of my arteries. 165 00:18:12,200 --> 00:18:14,760 It was one little clot that caused all that problem. 166 00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:19,952 The patient starts to feel a variety of symptoms. 167 00:18:20,080 --> 00:18:23,959 I literally felt the pain start from the centre of my chest, 168 00:18:24,080 --> 00:18:28,676 and I felt the whole thing go down both arms. 169 00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:36,193 It was almost like my chest was in a vice and I was being crushed 170 00:18:36,320 --> 00:18:41,030 as the vice was being turned, tighter and tighter. 171 00:18:41,160 --> 00:18:42,559 (HIGH-PITCHED BEEP) 172 00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:45,717 When the cardiologist came in, he had seen my EKG, 173 00:18:45,840 --> 00:18:49,879 and he went into the hall with the other doctors and interns and so on, 174 00:18:57,640 --> 00:19:02,634 Severe attacks can lead to cardiac arrest, where the heart stops beating altogether. 175 00:19:04,680 --> 00:19:08,832 Now, the blockage stops the flow of blood. Starved of oxygen and glucose, 176 00:19:08,960 --> 00:19:14,398 it is only minutes before the heart muscle dies. Time is running out. 177 00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:21,792 Electrical instability causes the heart to beat erratically. 178 00:19:21,920 --> 00:19:26,232 As the heart quivers, it is unable to pump the blood around the body. 179 00:19:26,360 --> 00:19:28,396 This is the critical moment. 180 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:35,675 Without a supply of blood, the brain fails within five minutes. 181 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:46,475 Then breathing and respiration stops. Death is moments away. 182 00:19:56,320 --> 00:20:00,029 In a few moments, this beating human heart will be stopped, 183 00:20:00,160 --> 00:20:04,438 this time not by a heart attack, but for an operation. 184 00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:12,830 The patient is no longer breathing. A machine takes over the task of the heart and lungs. 185 00:20:17,080 --> 00:20:20,516 A small electric current breaks the heart's rhythmic beat, 186 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:24,713 leaving it quivering, as if gripped by a heart attack. 187 00:20:24,840 --> 00:20:26,876 (SURGE0N) OK, that's better. 188 00:20:27,000 --> 00:20:29,833 - Now the heart's just twitching? - Just flickering. 189 00:20:29,960 --> 00:20:32,474 This is a heart bypass operation. 190 00:20:33,600 --> 00:20:37,832 While the heart is not moving, the surgeon can reroute blood vessels 191 00:20:37,960 --> 00:20:42,988 to parts of the heart muscle where clogged arteries are restricting the flow. 192 00:20:43,120 --> 00:20:45,759 Another stitch, please... 193 00:20:47,520 --> 00:20:51,877 The bizarre thing is, that if I saw somebody in this condition outside the operating theatre, 194 00:20:52,000 --> 00:20:57,916 I'd think they were dead. He's no pulse, he's not breathing, and the heart's not beating at all. 195 00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:01,553 A little bit towards me, please. 196 00:21:01,680 --> 00:21:06,708 Yet, in a short time, this patient will be awake and chatting with his family. 197 00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:14,318 These days, we can't decide that a person is dead just by seeing if their heart has stopped. 198 00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:17,113 Instead, we look to the brain, 199 00:21:17,240 --> 00:21:20,232 and to one vital part - the brainstem. 200 00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:29,999 Buried at the back of the head, the brainstem is a relic of our ancient past. 201 00:21:30,120 --> 00:21:34,910 Millions of years ago, this was all the brain our distant ancestors had. 202 00:21:35,040 --> 00:21:41,036 They were primitive creatures; in fact, it is still called the reptile brain. 203 00:21:41,160 --> 00:21:45,597 Evolution has buried it under layers of a more complex brain, 204 00:21:45,720 --> 00:21:48,075 but it is still the foundation of life. 205 00:21:52,120 --> 00:21:54,509 It controls our most basic functions: 206 00:21:54,640 --> 00:22:00,192 keeping our heart beating, breathing, regulating blood pressure and the body's temperature. 207 00:22:03,080 --> 00:22:06,152 That's why, when the brainstem dies, 208 00:22:06,280 --> 00:22:10,432 doctors can be certain that a patient is clinically dead. 209 00:22:16,920 --> 00:22:20,071 (W0MAN) I had to take them out of the water this morning. 210 00:22:21,240 --> 00:22:24,038 (HERBIE J0KES IN GERMAN) 211 00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:29,276 Isn't he horrible! 212 00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:31,991 (HERBIE) Now we're ready for Christmas. 213 00:22:33,600 --> 00:22:36,034 (HANNEL0RRE) Happy Christmas, Herbie. 214 00:22:41,480 --> 00:22:46,838 Christmastime was really nice, as Herbie was feeling so well, and friends came. 215 00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:52,432 We had a lovely dinner, and Herbie had three glasses of champagne. 216 00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:04,950 But when the new year started, he got weak and he got depressed. 217 00:23:05,080 --> 00:23:08,436 I thought that every day he was going downhill. 218 00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:21,235 This was for me very disappointing and sad. 219 00:23:21,360 --> 00:23:26,718 I wanted... I decided to get an injection... 220 00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:32,073 You know, I didn't want to live any more feeling like this. 221 00:23:32,200 --> 00:23:36,239 You know, normally I'm not a man who gives up so quickly, never. 222 00:23:37,080 --> 00:23:41,039 But at that moment I wanted to give up. 223 00:23:42,120 --> 00:23:44,270 So, I asked the nurse, 224 00:24:03,560 --> 00:24:06,677 And I agreed with this. 225 00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:09,633 My feeling is, 226 00:24:11,240 --> 00:24:16,837 I have maybe only a couple of weeks to live, that's my real feeling. 227 00:24:16,960 --> 00:24:18,916 (ALARM S0UNDS) 228 00:24:34,080 --> 00:24:35,877 Oops-a-daisy. 229 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:37,718 Now. 230 00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:41,673 Up... So. 231 00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:43,995 One moment. 232 00:24:44,120 --> 00:24:46,190 - There. - OK? 233 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:52,791 First I have to stand up for a moment, for a while, 234 00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:58,199 to walk around and get everything settled 235 00:24:58,320 --> 00:25:01,551 before I can move around a little bit now. 236 00:25:04,600 --> 00:25:09,037 When someone dies, we miss all the things which make them human: 237 00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:15,554 their personality, their unique identity, their emotion and warmth. 238 00:25:15,680 --> 00:25:19,958 What is that sense of being, that consciousness which goes? 239 00:25:20,080 --> 00:25:23,038 Is there a place in our brain where it can be found? 240 00:25:24,680 --> 00:25:29,037 In this experiment, we will be able to see the brain at work. 241 00:25:30,520 --> 00:25:34,752 A hundred and twenty eight sensors pick up tiny electrical signals 242 00:25:34,880 --> 00:25:37,872 emitted as my brain cells fire. 243 00:25:39,120 --> 00:25:41,953 This is the pattern produced when I am relaxed. 244 00:25:42,080 --> 00:25:46,232 All this activity is simply the result of doing nothing. 245 00:25:49,720 --> 00:25:53,349 As soon as I open my eyes, the brain leaps into action. 246 00:26:02,240 --> 00:26:07,598 Even the simple task of watching television involves my brain in millions of actions. 247 00:26:18,600 --> 00:26:22,070 A single second stretched into a thousand steps 248 00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:25,909 shows swirls of activity sweeping all over my head. 249 00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:35,188 First, the information travels to the back of my brain. 250 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:41,798 From there, the activity moves through the short-term memory areas, 251 00:26:41,920 --> 00:26:46,914 and then to the front of the brain, the part actually involved in thinking. 252 00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:54,115 The question is, can we find a single part of the brain that gives me my sense of myself, 253 00:26:54,240 --> 00:26:56,834 that makes me Robert Winston? 254 00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:01,994 Well, it seems that the brain is just a bit more complicated than that. 255 00:27:02,120 --> 00:27:05,829 In fact, it appears to work something like an orchestra. 256 00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:08,713 There are areas that do different things: 257 00:27:08,840 --> 00:27:13,038 the string section, the conductor, the brass players. 258 00:27:13,160 --> 00:27:18,757 But the output - the music, if you like - isn't just about the areas that work, 259 00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:22,077 but about the order that they work in. 260 00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:27,595 Just as an orchestra can produce an infinite variety of music, 261 00:27:27,720 --> 00:27:30,314 depending on which instruments play, and when, 262 00:27:30,440 --> 00:27:33,557 so, too, the brain can produce limitless results, 263 00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:37,719 depending on the sequence in which the clusters of brain cells connect. 264 00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:48,473 But the brain has more than a hundred musicians making music. 265 00:27:48,600 --> 00:27:52,513 If you counted the connections between cells, just on the surface, 266 00:27:52,640 --> 00:27:55,916 it would take you 32 million years. 267 00:27:58,400 --> 00:28:02,916 This sheer complexity leads scientists to believe it is our brain, 268 00:28:03,040 --> 00:28:09,479 taken as a whole, that creates our conscious self, the self we lose when we die. 269 00:28:21,520 --> 00:28:24,114 - Hi, Herbie. Look who's here. - Hello, Dr Murphy. 270 00:28:24,240 --> 00:28:26,310 - Hello, Herbie. How are you? - Nice to see you. 271 00:28:26,440 --> 00:28:29,876 Good to see you, always. I come out here to get cheered up. 272 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:32,594 It keeps me away from ordinary patients. 273 00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:35,673 Any complaints? 274 00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:41,033 Herbie's tumour presses against vital organs, such as the liver and kidneys. 275 00:28:41,160 --> 00:28:43,993 That's good, Herbie. That's lovely, no change. 276 00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:46,031 They keep our cells healthy 277 00:28:46,160 --> 00:28:49,311 by regulating the delicate chemical balances in the body. 278 00:28:49,440 --> 00:28:52,159 Show me your pulse, Herbie. It's very important. 279 00:28:52,280 --> 00:28:54,874 If these organs fail, the balance is lost, 280 00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:58,117 and the body can no longer sustain life. 281 00:28:58,240 --> 00:29:00,310 Is your brother coming to see you? 282 00:29:00,440 --> 00:29:04,353 - My brother is coming tonight. - So that'll be fun. 283 00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:09,395 - Maybe it's the last time I'll see him. - Oh, I don't think so. I hope not. 284 00:29:11,480 --> 00:29:14,552 I feel it myself, it's coming to the end now. 285 00:29:14,680 --> 00:29:17,558 - You think that? - I feel it, yeah. 286 00:29:17,680 --> 00:29:22,913 - And that doesn't worry you unduly? - No, it doesn't worry me. I KNOW it. 287 00:29:23,040 --> 00:29:25,395 I think you're extraordinary. 288 00:29:25,520 --> 00:29:28,557 - Sunday's his birthday. - It's your birthday? 289 00:29:28,840 --> 00:29:32,116 I didn't know that. So what age will you be? 290 00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:37,473 - Sixty-three. - Sixty-three. Not a bad age. 291 00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:53,958 I'm absolutely delighted that I can see another springtime. 292 00:29:54,080 --> 00:29:59,473 The season has changed. The weather is a little better, the sun is coming out. 293 00:30:00,920 --> 00:30:04,708 Anyway, I'm a man, I like nature, 294 00:30:04,840 --> 00:30:08,913 the flowers and the trees, when they start to bloom. 295 00:30:16,880 --> 00:30:19,713 I never know what will happen tomorrow. 296 00:30:19,840 --> 00:30:23,913 The tumour in my belly is a time bomb. 297 00:30:24,040 --> 00:30:27,715 A real time bomb. I never know what will happen tomorrow, 298 00:30:27,840 --> 00:30:30,832 and I enjoy the moment, every day. 299 00:30:38,360 --> 00:30:42,512 We can never know what it's like to die. 300 00:30:43,560 --> 00:30:46,518 But some people have come very close to death, 301 00:30:46,640 --> 00:30:49,757 only to revive at the final moment to tell the tale. 302 00:30:49,880 --> 00:30:53,839 Their near-death experiences might offer some insight 303 00:30:53,960 --> 00:30:57,270 into what happens in the dying brain. 304 00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:06,597 I was in a motorcycle accident in which I suffered a fractured skull 305 00:31:06,720 --> 00:31:09,029 and numerous broken bones in my head. 306 00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:22,955 It was at that point that I felt myself separating from my body 307 00:31:23,080 --> 00:31:26,072 and entering into the near-death experience. 308 00:31:31,720 --> 00:31:35,713 I became aware that I was in a tunnel, there's no other way of describing it. 309 00:31:35,840 --> 00:31:40,356 You couldn't see it, you could sense it. And then, down in the distance, 310 00:31:40,480 --> 00:31:46,271 you could see this little speck of light, which gradually got bigger and bigger, 311 00:31:46,400 --> 00:31:50,359 as it would if you were in a tunnel, and there's light at the end of it. 312 00:31:52,480 --> 00:31:56,837 (W0MAN) We travelled at some great speed and distance through the tunnel. 313 00:31:56,960 --> 00:32:00,919 Everything that ever was, is, and will be 314 00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:03,918 was contained in this radiance. 315 00:32:08,640 --> 00:32:12,599 Nearly all who have come close to death give the same accounts 316 00:32:12,720 --> 00:32:16,554 of out-of-body sensations and tunnels of light. 317 00:32:20,600 --> 00:32:24,275 Similar experiences are also reported by fighter pilots 318 00:32:24,400 --> 00:32:28,678 when, subjected to massive acceleration, they lose consciousness. 319 00:32:29,480 --> 00:32:33,189 Video tapes are on, platform and gunwale have been secured. 320 00:32:33,320 --> 00:32:34,753 Flight deck is ready. 321 00:32:45,920 --> 00:32:49,037 This is the world's largest centrifuge. 322 00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:52,835 It is used to investigate the effects of high G forces on pilots. 323 00:32:56,040 --> 00:32:58,600 Subjects can be spun so fast 324 00:32:58,720 --> 00:33:02,554 that the blood drains from their brain and they black out. 325 00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:09,715 OK, the run will begin on my mark. Three, two, one, mark. 326 00:33:16,520 --> 00:33:19,592 We feel that our investigation of loss of consciousness 327 00:33:19,720 --> 00:33:25,670 is about as close as you can get to investigating that next state, death. 328 00:33:43,480 --> 00:33:48,429 As the subject enters G-L0C, a gravity-induced loss of consciousness, 329 00:33:48,560 --> 00:33:51,233 their experiences are recorded. 330 00:33:51,360 --> 00:33:53,510 I can't get to the damned thing. 331 00:33:53,640 --> 00:33:57,679 - Is there a light loss? - Shit, I don't know where I am. 332 00:33:59,080 --> 00:34:01,992 The sensations that we have associated with blackout 333 00:34:02,120 --> 00:34:05,032 nearly always include a tunnelling of the vision 334 00:34:05,160 --> 00:34:10,712 down to a central point where you just have light ahead of you. 335 00:34:16,160 --> 00:34:20,312 So why do extreme G forces and near-death experiences 336 00:34:20,440 --> 00:34:23,193 produce the effect of seeing tunnels of light? 337 00:34:26,520 --> 00:34:31,878 While the brain is starved of oxygen, neurones which deal with vision fire at random. 338 00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:35,117 This creates the sensation of bright light. 339 00:34:36,960 --> 00:34:42,159 As there are more neurones devoted to the centre of our visual field, and less at the edges, 340 00:34:42,280 --> 00:34:46,956 the light appears to be brightest in the centre, creating a tunnel effect. 341 00:34:48,040 --> 00:34:51,555 Had I had the choice, I would never have wanted to leave. 342 00:34:51,680 --> 00:34:53,955 This was just so perfect, so wonderful. 343 00:34:54,080 --> 00:34:58,119 Can't describe it, it was just total love, 344 00:34:58,240 --> 00:35:01,994 happiness, bliss, knowledge. 345 00:35:02,120 --> 00:35:05,999 Three, two, one, pressure. 346 00:35:06,120 --> 00:35:08,873 Just try to relax, you're 100%. 347 00:35:11,840 --> 00:35:15,355 I've had about 35 loss-of-consciousness episodes. 348 00:35:20,120 --> 00:35:24,398 Nearly all of those have been such that they are very pleasant, 349 00:35:24,520 --> 00:35:26,476 and almost give you a sense of euphoria. 350 00:35:30,720 --> 00:35:33,359 The sensations of euphoria may be 351 00:35:33,480 --> 00:35:38,998 because the brain releases opiate-like substances to relieve the acute distress and pain. 352 00:35:44,200 --> 00:35:50,036 These produce hallucinations in the parts of the brain that deal with memories and emotions. 353 00:35:50,960 --> 00:35:56,318 This research has certainly allowed me to have a much greater understanding 354 00:35:56,440 --> 00:36:02,470 and reduction in the fear associated with losing consciousness and then dying. 355 00:36:12,240 --> 00:36:17,553 I believe when I'm dead, I'm dead, and that's it. 356 00:36:17,680 --> 00:36:24,028 There is no other life. There is nothing. When you die, you have gone, for ever. 357 00:36:24,160 --> 00:36:29,234 You can say, dust to dust. Dust, it's what's left - nothing. 358 00:36:29,360 --> 00:36:32,033 A handful of ash is left. 359 00:36:37,320 --> 00:36:40,790 (HANNEL0RRE) Monday. It was just a normal day. 360 00:36:40,920 --> 00:36:44,469 We had breakfast together. 361 00:36:44,600 --> 00:36:46,636 Just like every day. 362 00:36:49,520 --> 00:36:53,798 When we went to sleep, everything was normal. 363 00:36:56,240 --> 00:36:59,994 On the Tuesday morning, Herbie called me around 5 o'clock. 364 00:37:00,120 --> 00:37:06,559 He said - his breathing was very heavy, and he was feeling very uncomfortable - 365 00:38:17,360 --> 00:38:20,955 When I talk to him now, do you think he can hear me? 366 00:38:21,080 --> 00:38:25,756 The hearing is the last thing to go, even when they cannot speak. 367 00:38:25,880 --> 00:38:28,314 That's why it's so important never to say anything 368 00:38:28,440 --> 00:38:32,672 that you wouldn't say if they were in their full senses. 369 00:38:32,800 --> 00:38:36,236 People who have recovered from being at death's door have told 370 00:38:36,360 --> 00:38:39,397 how they heard every single thing that was said. 371 00:38:39,520 --> 00:38:43,069 It's most important never to...you know. 372 00:38:52,360 --> 00:38:55,511 (HANNEL0RRE SPEAKS GERMAN) 373 00:39:19,240 --> 00:39:22,471 Herbie wants something. He's reaching there, for the holder. 374 00:39:22,600 --> 00:39:26,718 In the final hours, Herbie receives visits from friends. 375 00:39:26,840 --> 00:39:31,709 Brendan and his young daughter, 0rla, come to see him for the last time. 376 00:39:32,360 --> 00:39:34,430 Just put those into Herbie's hand. 377 00:39:34,560 --> 00:39:39,156 Hold his hand, because he's lovely and warm. 378 00:39:40,840 --> 00:39:44,719 If I was loaded with morphine I think I'd be pretty warm, too. 379 00:39:46,560 --> 00:39:49,757 Herbie hasn't got long for this world, I suppose. 380 00:39:49,880 --> 00:39:52,838 But he can hear you when you speak to him. 381 00:39:52,960 --> 00:39:55,872 (BRENDAN) He's been preparing for this for a long time. 382 00:39:56,000 --> 00:39:59,629 (HANNEL0RRE) Sing him the song about the heather. 383 00:39:59,760 --> 00:40:02,115 - Why not? - Yeah, please. 384 00:40:02,240 --> 00:40:06,199 You know the chorus? Will you go, lassie, go? 385 00:40:06,320 --> 00:40:09,517 - Yes. - OK. 386 00:40:09,640 --> 00:40:14,634 Oh, the summertime is comin', 387 00:40:14,760 --> 00:40:19,959 And the leaves are sweetly bloomin', 388 00:40:20,080 --> 00:40:25,473 And the wild mountain thyme 389 00:40:25,600 --> 00:40:31,755 Grows around the bloomin' heather. 390 00:40:31,880 --> 00:40:38,433 Will you go, lassie, go? 391 00:40:38,560 --> 00:40:44,590 And we'll all go together, 392 00:40:44,720 --> 00:40:50,317 To pluck wild mountain thyme 393 00:40:50,440 --> 00:40:56,037 All around the bloomin' heather. 394 00:40:56,640 --> 00:41:02,715 Will you go, lassie, go? 395 00:41:09,160 --> 00:41:13,551 The last time I walked in here, I did the same. I'm not going to be deprived now. 396 00:41:13,720 --> 00:41:15,312 Herbie, take care. 397 00:41:36,280 --> 00:41:39,033 Hello, Doctor Murphy. It's Peggy, the nurse with the hospice. 398 00:41:39,160 --> 00:41:43,119 I'm with Herbie at the moment. He's very rattly at the moment. 399 00:41:46,200 --> 00:41:49,988 By morning, Herbie's breathing becomes increasingly noisy. 400 00:41:50,120 --> 00:41:52,315 It's a very common condition. 401 00:41:52,440 --> 00:41:56,274 It doesn't trouble Herbie, and is easily helped by medication. 402 00:41:56,400 --> 00:41:59,551 - I don't think he has pain, it's... - No, no, it's not pain. 403 00:41:59,680 --> 00:42:05,676 It's only this rattling, and this shaking. It just started. 404 00:42:05,800 --> 00:42:10,794 It just started today, this morning? Just before I came in? 405 00:42:10,920 --> 00:42:13,957 He was shaking like this. 406 00:42:14,080 --> 00:42:17,868 - Is this normal? - It happens. It does happen. 407 00:42:43,240 --> 00:42:45,435 Hey, love. 408 00:42:45,560 --> 00:42:47,915 (SHE SPEAKS GENTLY IN GERMAN) 409 00:42:54,160 --> 00:42:57,038 Happy? Mmm? 410 00:42:59,560 --> 00:43:01,710 (SPEAKS GERMAN) 411 00:43:34,040 --> 00:43:36,270 Now you're in peace. 412 00:43:36,600 --> 00:43:38,795 Now you're in peace. 413 00:43:40,440 --> 00:43:43,477 Now you're in peace... 414 00:43:50,840 --> 00:43:54,594 Mary...Herbie's just died. Yeah. 415 00:43:56,400 --> 00:44:00,154 OK. Yeah. 416 00:44:20,000 --> 00:44:23,197 (HANNEL0RRE SPEAKS GERMAN) 417 00:44:24,160 --> 00:44:29,917 Cause of death is this inoperable huge cancer that he had, retroperitoneal liposarcoma. 418 00:44:30,040 --> 00:44:34,750 His heart gave away, then his lungs failed, his liver failed, his kidneys failed. 419 00:44:34,880 --> 00:44:40,830 General failure, due to the effect of the cancer over the last one and a half years. 420 00:44:40,960 --> 00:44:44,111 It's extraordinary that he has lived so long. 421 00:44:49,680 --> 00:44:52,399 (SPEAKS GERMAN) 422 00:44:52,520 --> 00:44:56,035 (HANNEL0RRE) Afterwards, when they laid him down, 423 00:44:58,520 --> 00:45:02,672 he was so peaceful-looking, he was really nice-looking. 424 00:45:03,760 --> 00:45:06,194 I couldn't cry. I couldn't cry. 425 00:45:06,320 --> 00:45:08,959 It was just... 426 00:45:11,360 --> 00:45:13,078 nice. 427 00:45:13,200 --> 00:45:17,318 For me it was a relief that Herbie is now in peace, 428 00:45:17,440 --> 00:45:21,513 and everything is over, for him. 429 00:45:21,640 --> 00:45:25,394 Not for me, but for him. 430 00:45:27,320 --> 00:45:29,754 I was happy for him. 431 00:45:46,640 --> 00:45:51,509 We find it hard to contemplate our own deaths, 432 00:45:51,640 --> 00:45:55,792 to imagine that one day we will no longer live in this world. 433 00:45:59,120 --> 00:46:04,478 But there is a way in which our bodies continue after we die. 434 00:46:05,080 --> 00:46:08,117 The cells in our bodies are made up of atoms 435 00:46:08,240 --> 00:46:11,118 which have existed since the start of the universe. 436 00:46:11,240 --> 00:46:15,074 They are constantly being exchanged and recycled, 437 00:46:15,200 --> 00:46:21,150 so what today are our bodies were once parts of plants, animals, trees - 438 00:46:21,280 --> 00:46:23,236 indeed, other humans. 439 00:46:26,200 --> 00:46:31,877 And in the future - well, this journey that each of us takes from birth to death 440 00:46:32,000 --> 00:46:35,913 is just one tiny step in a much bigger journey, 441 00:46:36,040 --> 00:46:41,273 part of an endless repeating cycle, from life to death. 442 00:46:44,600 --> 00:46:49,549 For the summertime is comin', 443 00:46:49,680 --> 00:46:54,435 And the leaves are sweetly bloomin', 444 00:46:54,560 --> 00:46:58,872 And the wild mountain thyme 445 00:46:59,000 --> 00:47:03,232 Grows around the bloomin' heather. 446 00:47:03,360 --> 00:47:08,229 Will you go, lassie, go? 447 00:47:08,360 --> 00:47:13,434 And we'll all go together. 448 00:47:13,560 --> 00:47:18,111 To pluck wild mountain thyme 449 00:47:18,240 --> 00:47:22,791 All around the bloomin' heather. 450 00:47:22,920 --> 00:47:26,959 Will you go, lassie, go? 451 00:47:27,080 --> 00:47:29,992 Dear friends, it was Herbie's wish 452 00:47:30,120 --> 00:47:31,872 to read his epilogue 453 00:47:32,000 --> 00:47:37,279 before we spread the ashes around the roses. 454 00:47:37,400 --> 00:47:43,953 In 1981, my wife Hannelorre and I decided to go to live in peace and harmony in Ireland. 455 00:47:44,080 --> 00:47:49,518 (HANNEL0RRE AND HERBIE) I can look back on many fulfilling years with her. 456 00:47:49,640 --> 00:47:54,953 (HERBIE) And I thank her, deeply, for sharing her life with me. 457 00:47:55,080 --> 00:48:01,872 My wish is that all my friends and neighbours live together in peace, 458 00:48:02,000 --> 00:48:05,356 without jealousy and animosity. 459 00:48:07,000 --> 00:48:10,276 May you all hold me in good memory. 460 00:48:10,400 --> 00:48:14,678 (BRENDAN) Will you go, lassie, go? Sing it like Herbie would. 461 00:48:14,800 --> 00:48:18,270 And we'll all go together. 462 00:48:19,320 --> 00:48:23,711 To plant wild mountain thyme 463 00:48:23,840 --> 00:48:28,356 All around the bloomin' heather. 464 00:48:28,480 --> 00:48:32,871 Will you go, lassie, go?