Mortician

What's something about dead bodies that would surprise most people?

Asked by DRathzz almost 11 years ago

The two things that were surprising to me, and two things I am confronted with every day, were the smell and the sheer weight of people. The saying is "dead weight" for a reason. I put bodies onto a stretcher, put the stretcher in my van, unload the van at the funeral home, and put the body onto an embalming table at least once a day. Not only are they heavy, but the body on a stretcher or a table is at a strange height from the floor (just above my waist on myself, I'm a little short), so you have to be very careful not to hurt your back, shoulder, or elbow. And don't get me started on getting a body dressed for a funeral. Just imagine dressing an adult male in a three piece suit without any help from him, and without ripping or getting smudges on any of his clothing.

Then there's the smell. Even a person that has recently passed has an odor, especially once you move them around and jostle some of the gases inside of them. A decomposing body is a special kind of horrible smell, like very old chicken mixed with hot garbage. The smell is one thing that I'm very glad embalming takes care of.

Have you ever been involved in a case where they had to had to dig up a grave for a police investigation? What would a body dug up after 5+ years look like? Just a skeleton?

Asked by Aaron almost 11 years ago

I've never been involved in a disinterment personally, but my embalming instructor was involved in a case not long ago. He embalmed a very young girl and, about a year later, she was exhumed because it was suspected that one of her parents actually murdered her. After a year of being buried, she was still very much intact, and the authorities were able to gather the evidence they needed.

If a body is embalmed, it can last fairly intact for some time. It varies from person to person because of things like what condition the body was in when it was embalmed, whether or not the person had been on medications or had been a habitual drug user (especially methamphetamines, those can make embalming almost impossible), or how well the embalming fluid had been distributed throughout the body. There are no guarantees that embalming would prevent a body from decomposing for 10 years, 20 years, etc., but it does slow the decomposing process immensely.

How soon do you have to start to embalm a body to prevent it from decaying and making an open-casket impossible?

Asked by David1 almost 11 years ago

 It really depends on a lot of factors. A body that died this morning in their bed is going to embalm much differently than a body that died this morning in the ocean. Things such as heat, moisture, exposure to the elements or wild animals, & even the person's body fat can cause decomposition to speed up. The rule with embalming is always the sooner, the better. The goal is to preserve and even restore what you can. Embalming really is incredible, in that it can not only disinfect & preserve a body, but it also plumps tissues and restores a rosy quality to the skin.

As far as an open casket goes, as long as any odor is retained, and the deceased's face is viewable, it is acceptable to show the family and friends.

 

When you hear about cases where a guy wakes up alive in a bodybag or a morgue freezer, has there ALWAYS been a mistake made by someone, or is it actually possible for a body to exhibit no vital signs at all, and then regain them later?

Asked by Blueblood almost 11 years ago

I'm assuming that you're referring to the case that happened recently in Holmes County, Mississippi. Things like this almost never ever happen these days, because we have technology to moniter the most minute heartbeats, to check for the slightest breath, and to register every little pupil dilation. In this newest case with the Mississippi man named Walter Williams, they're hypothisysing that his pacemaker stopped, and then started again, and he came back to consciousness with the restart of his heart. Now, he was unconscious for about two hours (from what I understand), which means there has almost certainly been some harm done to things like his brain and vital organs from being deprived of oxygen for so long. The fact that he is alive at all really is a miracle. 

Honestly, I'm not a doctor or a coroner, and they are the people that make those final decisions about whether a person is truly dead or not. I know the first signs of a death, like the lips turning blue, no pupil dilations or contractions, no detectable pulse or breath, but a doctor, coroner, or a registered nurse must call the final time of death and diagnose the person as being dead. These people that make these kind of decisions do not make up their mind quickly or haistily in any way, so I do believe that when a person "comes back to life," that they really were originally not showing any detectable signs of life. 

What is "funeral college" like? Not trying to offend, but but what about being a mortician requires years of study? What was the single most difficult part of the program?

Asked by JessicaW almost 11 years ago

Funeral college was actually very enjoyable, but surprisingly difficult. Everyone that goes to school there is going to acheive the same goal, so it's easy to find study groups and classmates trying to memorize the same vocabulary words as you :) It's difficult because you're learning a broad range of subjects. It's American History, Pathology, Grief Psychology, History of Funeral Service, and your Embalming clinicals in one day, and you'll have an exam over 3 of those classes the next day. The curriculum is accelerated, so their expectations of their students are quite high.

Personally, the most difficult part of it for me was Accounting. Accounting, and waking up at 5am to drive to school every day, haha.

Do you do a little of everything when you work at a funeral home? (E.g. embalming, makeup, cremation) What if you specifically want to do one type of work? Are there majors or concentrations in certain areas you can choose when in school?

Asked by minsy almost 11 years ago

Almost everyone does a little of everything. I originally went to school mostly interested in mortuary cosmetology, only to find that profession is almost totally phased out because any funeral director who knows anything should be able to cosmetize a body. Employers look for the most useful person to hire; someone who is multitalented and does not have limitations to what they can or can't do. In school, eveyone is taught the same course load. Funeral college is technically a trade school, and (at least in my college) the courses are taught in an "accelerated learning" style, so you're taught 5-7 courses a semester, with a semester lasting 3 months, and 6 semesters total (18 months). Courses taught are:

• Principles of Anatomy I
• Principles of Anatomy II
• Principles of Inorganic Chemistry I
• Principles of Inorganic Chemistry II
• Principles of Embalming I
• Principles of Embalming II
• Principles of Embalming III
• Embalming Clinical Program (goes on throughout 2 semesters)
• Principles of Microbiology I
• Principles of Microbiology II
• Principles of Pathology I
• Principles of Pathology II
• Principles of Restorative Art I
• Principles of Restorative Art II
• Principles of Restorative Art III
• Principles of Accounting
• Computers in Funeral Service
• Funeral Service Management I
• Funeral Service Management II
• Funeral Service Management III
• Small Business Management
• Communication Sklls for Funeral Service
• Sociology of Funeral Service
• Psychology of Funeral Service
• Counseling/Grief Counseling
• History of Funeral Service
• Business Law
• Mortuary Law/Ethics
• United States History to 1865
• United States History from 1865
• English Composition
• Introduction to Literature
• Applied Business Mathematics
• General Psychology
• Comprehensive Survey and Review

How quickly did you get desensitized to death, or have you always been that way even before funeral college?

Asked by teletina almost 11 years ago

I think it's been a fairly gradual process. The first time I had ever seen a dead body wasn't until I'd been in mortuary school for almost 9 months. I knew that I wasn't going to be squeamish or anything like that, and you're taught to look at the deceased human body in a very scientific and objective way. Your goal is to make this person look, well... less dead. I've learned to take pride in my work, and there's a very accomplished feeling that comes with fixing whatever may be physically wrong with this person (abrasions on the face, repairing an autopsied body, etc.)

I remember in one of my first cases that I assisted in embalming, I noticed my eyes playing tricks on me. If I stared at the deceased person's chest for a few moments, it would look like their chest was moving up and down, but only for a second.