MY LIFE IN A MORGUE
“You work WHERE..?!”
The looks on people’s faces when they asked me where I work were absolutely priceless.
I’d cheerily reply: “In a hospital mortuary.”
You could almost see the cogs turning as they’d try to process what they’d just heard. It was pretty much the same each time, as if I’d said something weird (and to them, it was).
To me, however, it was my daily workplace, and therefore just as normal as any office or factory – normal, but I do concede, somewhat unusual.
Although I always understood the general unease of people who’d baulk at my answer, I always felt compelled to explain. Not to justify myself and my work, but to shed some reasonable light on the reality of it and its immense value.
Image via The Guardian
Death is such an intrinsic part of life, yet it is all too often ignored in our society.
It is relegated to the back of our collective minds, or passed over as if it doesn’t really happen. The idea of death is more or less swept under the carpet or locked away in a cupboard – that is, until we’re suddenly confronted by it and it’s out of our control.
Some people’s assumptions and preconceptions about working in a mortuary are spot-on. You certainly can’t say there’s anything pleasant about working with corpses, but to be quite honest, there’s nothing really that awful about it.
Sure, sometimes the fetid odour of decomposition and the viscous, syrupy mess of bodily spillages can be confronting, but in time you really do get used to it. You never grow to like these things, but you learn how to deal with them. It’s all part of the job.
A mortuary is a really fascinating place to work, and it involves the provision of an essential community service. It’s one of those things that carry the “someone’s got to do it” tag.
Every day, everywhere, life ceases, and there’s always going to be an interim period before burial or cremation (whether that be a few days or a few weeks). In the meantime, it naturally follows, that someone has to look after the dead, and I was happy for it to have been me.
There’s many an interesting story to be told.
One time, we had a 317 kilogram body to deal with – the ultimate exercise in logistics and effective teamwork.
Once the “how-to” plan was devised, it took six of us considerable time to manipulate the body in order to feed steel chains underneath. These chains were fed through lengths of garden hose to prevent the metal cutting through the flesh. Using a car engine hoist, the grossly obese corpse was then winched up and slowly manoeuvred across to a custom-built, reinforced coffin.
Burial in a double plot was the only option available to the family; cremation was out, as the coffin was just too big for the doors of a standard crematorium furnace.
There are sad stories too, like the case of the 40-something mother who had been admitted to hospital after suffering an aneurysm at a rock concert. She didn’t pull through, and was moved to the mortuary.
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28 Responses to this article
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B.H. September 17, 2012
I work with sex offenders… not much more to say about that really!
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Kaz September 17, 2012
That was interesting, thanks Colin. I agree, we do shield ourselves as a society from death. I just think the fear emerges in a different forms, such as obssesion with safety and risk avoidance, obssesion with health and youthfulness etc. I’m 35 and I’ve never seen a dead human body. I think there’s something a little weird about that in a way. Not that I’m going to wish for it…but you know what I mean. Its kinda unnatural.
I try not to shield my kids too much from the reality of death, where possible. No euphemisms like ‘gone to heaven’ or ‘gone to sleep’ or ‘passed on’. Just ‘dead’ will do. We have chats about what different beliefs there are about what happens (if anything) when you die, but that ultimately nobody knows. The main thing is to love and appreciate your life and loved ones here and now.
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Colin September 17, 2012
Thanks, Kaz. I agree, I think the best way is to be open and honest, and engage with your kids about the entire topic of life/death and the different beliefs that emerge. For something so intrinsic to life, our general avoidance of death conversations is only going to be detrimental. As you rightly point out, love and appreciation during life is a very important thing (and one we too often let slip).
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Red 60 September 17, 2012
My Uncle was a Professor of Medicine and took great delight telling us ‘children’ many tales from the morgue, so in a way in became second nature. Then when my Dad had his Bucks Party you guessed it , that’s where they held it… I think we need to talk more about not just the living but also what happens after death, because it will naturally happen to all of us, or to one of our loved ones at some time. That way we more ‘at ease’ when the time comes.
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Colin September 17, 2012
Absolutely. None of it is pleasant, but the inevitability of it all means we should at least be discussing the topic. Age-appropriately, of course. The more we open up, the more we’re bound to be at ease, and better prepared for what’s to come.
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The Huntress September 17, 2012
Great that you get satisfaction from your job! When I was a student nurse I had an opportunity to tour a hospital morgue (incidently the hospital I would go on to work at). The lovely young lady who guided us was clearly dedicated to her work and imparted such wonderful knowledge about her role. She told the story of how she came to work in a morgue (it was her teenaged desire to do so) and the time she had spent working with a chap who she admired so greatly and had taught her so much. It’s great to know that when we die we are in the hands of such caring and experienced individuals as yourself and this lady who carefully guided us.
I also agree that we need to be more open about death to our children. I remember taking my then 4 year old boy to the funeral of my beloved grandmother (his “old-nan”). I asked if he wanted to see her body and he said yes and my mother asked if she could take him in. I agreed and was surprised to see my mother return him to me crying…with laughter. My young lad had gone in to say goodbye to “old-nan”, took one look at her and said “Oh. Do you think we should call her an ambulance?”.
Bit late for that, sweetie.
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Colin September 17, 2012
Working in the mortuary was by far the most rewarding job I’ve done. For me, treating the deceased with care and dignity was just a natural part of it all. The souls had moved on, but the corpses were still worthy of respect. Thanks for the story of your son – too funny!
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anne September 17, 2012
Would rather work in a morgue than with those greedy people who think it’s a good idea to make themselves wealthy at other’s expense. At least the corpses have more heart.
When someone dies it is reassuring to know that there are people looking after their bodies who are respecful.
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anne September 17, 2012
That being said, people who work in morgues must see some pretty distressing sights. (I work with a lady who used to work in a morgue). I hope the staff are looked after.
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Colin September 17, 2012
Great point about the staff being looked after if need be. There was always the opportunity to walk away and take time out if a difficult situation arose. Having a good manager was a blessing too.
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JessB September 17, 2012
This was such a fascinating article about an area of work I have not often thought about. Thanks heaps for sharing Colin, and thanks for hosting Hoopla!
P.S. I wonder if ‘Odd Jobs’ could become a monthly series? Someone from a job others might think is strange, or which is simply outside of our experience. Just a thought!
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Colin September 17, 2012
Thanks, JessB, and yes, big thanks to The Hoopla for hosting!
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RES September 17, 2012
Many, many years ago I worked in Anatomical Pathology (aka the place where they do the autopsies of people that have died in hospital). When I looked at bodies it never bothered me, they always looked like they were asleep.The saddest ones were the babies that hadn’t made it.
It definitely was an interesting part of my laboratory training, and has made for many interesting conversations.
As I always say, someone has to do it. Thanks for letting others know about the job.
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Cheryll September 17, 2012
Thank you for sharing Colin, unfortunately death was thrown on my young children when they were 4,7 and 9 when their father, my husband was killed in a car crash. We had a family viewing the day before the funeral, I left it up to them if they wanted to go in to see their Dad, initially they all said no, so a friend took them to a nearby park whilst I went in to see my beloved husband. On their return they all decided that they wanted to see him, it was heart wrenching to say the least, however it gave me the opportunity to explain that the light had gone out of Daddy and they saw this for themselves. I found it comforting (and I believe they did too)to tell them that their Daddy was looked after by wonderful caring people in the ambulance, the hospital (morgue) and the funeral home. To this day I am grateful for those wonderful caring people that chose to do those jobs that somebody has to do. Seeing their Dad brought acceptance to my children as it does to adults and I believe children should be able to experience it, process it and accept it, obviously with someone supporting them through the whole experience so that it doesn’t become an ordeal.
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Colin September 18, 2012
Cheryll, thanks for adding your story. I think you’re spot on, that support is essential when dealing with death – whether that support be for children or adults. Avoidance just leaves the imagination to run wild with often inaccurate images of what has happened to the deceased. I’m glad you left it to your children to decide if they wanted to see their dad, and I appreciate how difficult it would have been, at such young ages. Even if people choose not to view the body, then support can come by way of talking about the loss and what it all means, and sharing feelings… and crying – I believe it’s important to let it all out. Thank you for your gratitude to the people who cared for your husband at that time.
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Wendy Green September 18, 2012
… “One of those jobs no one else will do?” … Does cleaning the bathroom for 40 years count???
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Dramaqueen75 September 22, 2012
Colin, I finally got a chance to read your story.
It is very comforting to know that good people, with care and respect, are working in our hospital mortuarys.
I found it very hard to leave my mum’s body in the hospital last year when she died. I was so sure that to the people in the morgue she would be business like but I was unsure if they would be kind and thoughtful.
I hope that someone like you death with the body she no longer could use.
Thank you for your story -
Rhoda September 23, 2012
And thank you from me too, Colin. It’s a comfort to know that the bodies of our loved ones are treated with respect.
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Colin September 23, 2012
Hi Dramaqueen75 and Rhoda, I think it’s a natural fear in many of us that the bodies of our loved ones may not receive the dignity and respect they deserve – especially when the family has limited access and control after death. I’ve had quite a lot of feedback about people feeling comforted that the bodies are still cared for properly after death, and I’m glad that aspect of reassurance comes through in the article. Thank you for your comments.
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Karen November 4, 2012
So true this story is amazing finally someone who is embracing that death is a part of life.
I will tell my story briefly my father died at aged 42 I was 7 years old from his 3 rd heart attack. He died during the night and apart from being told that he was dead – whatever that meant, he was gone. No one talked about him and I was not allowed to go to the funeral. Over the next decade or so I watched as my mother widowed at 42 grieve deeply. I was the youngest of 4 children and money was always an issue after his death. My teens and twenties were spent in a state of total insecurity as I thought that I would lose my mother and/or everyone close to me in the same way. I became a nurse and discovered that death was inevitable and sometimes a relief and its not being alive that’s good it’s the quality of your life too. I have seen and held the hands if many dying people and watched their families grieve. I am now at peace with myself and have shared these thoughts with my now grown up children. Colin your article is fantastic I only wish more people saw death in this way and made the most of their time when loved ones are still alive. Thank you.-
Colin (Twitter: @CollyLong) November 9, 2012
Thank you, Karen, for your kind words and also for sharing your story. You make a good point about the loss of your father, so young, setting up a fear of losing others around you, and the feeling of insecurity this can bring. Also, the loss of your father leading to monetary insecurity for your mother who was left to raise her family. Thanks for your comments.
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Paul - The Kind Little Blogger November 27, 2012
You’re very right, Colin. Death is something that should be discussed, like a whole swag of other inconvenient or inevitable truths. I was first seriously exposed to the concept of death through studying a degree in philosophy. It was eye opening being introduced to such a broad range of theories and ideas.
I suggest that everybody check out the series of lectures by Prof. Shelly Kagan on death. It intermingles the concept of death with a whole heap of philosophical schools and theories.
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Colin (Twitter: @CollyLong) November 30, 2012
Cheers for the input, Paul. Without a doubt, it’s essential to discuss the inevitable things in life. Fear (surely a big reason we don’t discuss death) has a lot to answer for, but all the non-discussion just perpetuates the fear – and what a bad cycle that all adds up to!
Thanks for adding the link – I’ll tweet it to help spread it around.
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Paul - The Kind Little Blogger November 27, 2012
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robyn May 18, 2013
IV been trying to find out how to gain work in a morgue.being hospital, or state . But find a dead end every time. No courses here in Perth. So anyone with information plus email me. Robynbeattie33@Gmail.com
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Colin (Twitter: @CollyLong) May 22, 2013
Hi Robyn, Might be different in different states, but I was an Operational Services Officer. Prior training in the area wasn’t required for my role. Technical Officer would be another general position that would be applicable. Beyond that, the area I was in here in SA was Surgical Pathology, so degrees in Medical Science are the go.
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