Ana Carolina T NDE

Experience Description

My near-death experience 08/03/2006

The anesthetist's phone started ringing, ‘Answer the cell phone, answer the cell phone.’ He left the surgery room to answer it when he shouldn't have. The baby felt heavy in the belly and I came to know afterwards that this can be a sign that the blood flow is being cut off from the vena cava. In that moment, I began to feel very badly. It was just like my other three pregnancies, but the anesthetist in these other occasions, made a maneuver that relieved me during the procedure.

Since anesthetist was not in the room, I tried to talk with the nurse who was on my left side. I looked at her and tried to explain what I felt. Suddenly, she started to yell, “Mom, open your eyes! Open your eyes!” I thought to myself, “My eyes are open and I’m looking at the nurse.” At this moment, I felt my spirit shift back, as if my face was a mask. And yet I heard all that was happening in the room. A continual, high-pitch sound caught my attention.

I felt that I turned my face a little to the left and saw that the sound came from the vital signs monitor. In this moment, my spirit left my body. I was standing at the bedside watching the doctors and nurses working nervously. I heard heavy, fast footsteps coming from outside of the room. My spirit stayed parallel to my body but I continued hearing what was going on the in the room. The anesthesiologist entered the room, started to swear, and was very nervous. He ordered the nurse that used to be at my side to administer 5mg of ephedrine. The nurse yelled back, “I cannot!”, and the anesthesiologist responded “Give all of it!.”

At this moment, I found myself lying on a white bed with hospital railings. In this place, I felt an indescribably calm peace, almost like an absence of feelings. I looked more carefully and saw in the distance many people dressed in white, grouped together in an all white place. They looked like they were in a meeting. But nobody saw me and there was no one near me. I knew that I wasn’t supposed to be there. I heard my baby cry and felt a strong pull on my back, as if it fit me into something. It felt like I was rapidly descending. I leaned almost by the point of my head, like going down a roller coaster upside down. I then fit into my body. I felt a strong burning rising up my legs until it reached my head. I was back.

Then I heard the doctor or nurse who was with the baby ask the obstetrician if he could bring the baby to see me. She responded, 'Not yet.' Everyone left the room and went to another birth.

The obstetrician stayed there sewing me up. He finished, gathered some towels and threw them to me. I stayed in the room, cold, alone, naked and motionless. The clock was pointed in my direction. After much time, the first nurse passed by me and asked with concern, 'What are you still doing there all alone?' She took me to the recovery room. Nothing more was said to me.

Later, in the room, I made friends with the girl that was sharing the room with me. She had a baby after I had mine. She tells me excitedly that during her birth the doctors talked about another birth where the mother had died and came back. I let her finish and said, “You are telling my story.”


Background Information:

Gender: Female

Date NDE Occurred: 08/03/2006

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes Surgery-related. Childbirth. Spinal anesthesia Other: vena cava flow impediment, use of injectable ephedrine to return heartbeat blood flow was interrupted from the weight of the baby on the vena cava artery after anesthesia.

How do you consider the content of your experience? Both pleasant AND distressing

Did you feel separated from your body? Yes I was outside of my physical body and saw and heard what happened in the birthing room. After, my spirit was in another dimension and I felt my spirit and body fitting back together. I clearly left my body and existed outside it

How did your highest level of consciousness and alertness during the experience compare to your normal everyday consciousness and alertness? More consciousness and alertness than normal I had a better and higher perception of my space, where I was and a greater capacity to understand everything.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? The whole time.

Were your thoughts speeded up? No

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? No

Were your senses More vivid than usual? No

Please compare your vision during the experience to your everyday vision that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. The same or identical.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. The same or identical.

Did you seem to be aware of things going on elsewhere, as if by ESP? No

Did you pass into or through a tunnel? Uncertain When the spirit returned to the body, it felt like going down a roller coaster.

Did you see any beings in your experience? I actually saw them

Did you encounter or become aware of any deceased (or alive) beings? Yes I saw a group of people in white in the distance who looked like they were in a meeting.

Did you see, or feel surrounded by, a brilliant light? No

Did you see an unearthly light? No

Did you seem to enter some other, unearthly world? A clearly mystical or unearthly realm. I was in a place with a hospital bed and people dressed in white but it was not on Earth.

What emotions did you feel during the experience? Indescribable peace, absence of earthy feelings.

Did you have a feeling of peace or pleasantness? Incredible peace or pleasantness

Did you have a feeling of joy? No

Did you feel a sense of harmony or unity with the universe? I felt united or one with the world

Did you suddenly seem to understand everything? Everything about the universe. I understood what happens when you die and I feel that we are a spirit and not physical body.

Did scenes from your past come back to you? No

Did scenes from the future come to you? No

Did you come to a border or point of no return? I came to a definite conscious decision to return to life. I clearly thought that I was not meant to be there.

God, Spiritual and Religion:

What was your religion prior to your experience? Christian- Other Christian Spiritualist

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? No

What is your religion now? Christian- Other Christian Spiritualist

Did your experience include features consistent with your earthly beliefs? Content that was both consistent and not consistent with the beliefs you had at the time of your experience. It confirmed spiritualist beliefs of reincarnation and life after death and also things that I didn’t believe to be in a hospital after death with things spiritualists believe.

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Yes doubts turned into certainties. I feel I understand everything. I clearly see that people are my brothers. I love one by one.

Did you seem to encounter a mystical being or presence, or hear an unidentifiable voice? No

Did you see deceased or religious spirits? I actually saw them

Did you encounter or become aware of any beings who previously lived on earth who are described by name in religions (for example: Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha, etc.)? No

During your experience, did you gain information about premortal existence? No

During your experience, did you gain information about universal connection or oneness? Uncertain the sensation of peace brought a superior wisdom, a confirmation that we are spiritual and not a physical body.

During your experience, did you gain information about the existence of God? No

Concerning our Earthly lives other than Religion:

During your experience, did you gain special knowledge or information about your purpose? Yes during the experience I had the sensation of certainty that what spiritualism says is true.

During your experience, did you gain information about the meaning of life? Uncertain by going to the hospital, it gave the idea of continuity.

During your experience, did you gain information about an afterlife? An afterlife definitely exists After my spirit was in another place, I was in a hospital bed. I knew that someone should receive me but I saw people in white, who were in the distance and in a meeting. I concluded that I should not be there.

Did you gain information about how to live our lives? No

During your experience, did you gain information about life's difficulties, challenges and hardships? Uncertain by going to the hospital, it gave the idea of continuity.

During your experience, did you gain information about love? Yes peace mixed with unity and love.

What life changes occurred in your life after your experience? Slight changes in my life I feel the need to be more in the spiritual world than in the earthly world.

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? Yes I can understand qualities and foreign defects and I do not judge them.

After the NDE:

Was the experience difficult to express in words? No

How accurately do you remember the experience in comparison to other life events that occurred around the time of the experience? I remember the experience more accurately than other life events that occurred around the time of the experience.

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience? Yes I attract people wherever I go. If a place is empty, it soon fills up. I have certainty that I am capable of learning anything. I am trying to understand the changes and any gifts that may come along.

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? The whole experience is important.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes a few times.

Did you have any knowledge of near death experience (NDE) prior to your experience? No

What did you believe about the reality of your experience shortly (days to weeks) after it happened? Experience was definitely real Real.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real Real.

At any time in your life, has anything ever reproduced any part of the experience? No

Is there anything else that you would like to add about your experience? I precisely described the account.