David S NDE

Experience Description

While in the back of an ambulance during transport from one hospital to another, my heart stopped.

I don’t remember being put in the ambulance or very much of what took place between the time of having the stroke and my NDE. I also do not remember very much of what took place after the NDE and the following day. For some reason the NDE is really the only thing I remember clearly.

I was in the back of the ambulance and I remember the typical 'out of body' experience. I was above and looking down at myself on the stretcher. I did not see what was happening to me or what the paramedic was doing. Instead, I saw my mom, who had passed away only a few months prior. She was sitting down. She was not upset or panicked. Rather she had a sense of being very calm and she had a quietness. Somehow we spoke to each other or rather she spoke to me. She told me that there wasn’t anything she could do to change the outcome of what was going on and that what happened was out of her control. She told me that whatever was going to be, that I wouldn’t go through it alone because she was going to be there with me.

The next thing I remember was looking up at the paramedic over top of me. A couple of days later, I woke up in the Johns Hopkins Nero center. When I could finally talk, I reluctantly told my friend what happened. Luckily, she was an emergency room nurse and was with me when I had my stroke. As I began to tell her what had happened in the back of the ambulance, she stopped me with this look on her face. She took a notebook from the drawer in the bedside table and showed me a picture. She said when I first got into the room, I asked her for something to write on. She didn't realize what the picture was until I started to tell her. I had drawn a picture of what I saw about what had happened in the back of the ambulance. It was a picture of me lying on the stretcher and my mom was there with me.


Background Information:

Gender: Male

Date NDE Occurred: 05/22/11

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes SAH Stroke. Clinical death (cessation of breathing or heart function). HSAH stroke bleeding at brain stem. I was partially stabilized and in transport from one hospital to a Neuro Trauma Center.

How do you consider the content of your experience? Neither pleasant NOR distressing

Did you feel separated from your body? No 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? Normal consciousness and alertness. Not too sure how to explain

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? During the NDE

Were your thoughts speeded up? No

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? Everything seemed to be happening at once; or time stopped or lost all meaning. Time seemed to have stopped or didn’t matter. Things were moving forward but it wasn’t 'time.'

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. Not too sure how to explain

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. There was no noise. Everything was silent

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

Did you pass into or through a tunnel? No

Did you see any beings in your experience? No

Did you encounter or become aware of any deceased (or alive) beings? Yes My mom

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? No

What emotions did you feel during the experience? Calm, peace, a little concern

Did you have a feeling of peace or pleasantness? Relief or calmness

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? No

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? No

God, Spiritual and Religion:

What was your religion prior to your experience? Christian- Other. Christian Raised and lean toward being Catholic but really just more Christian

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? Yes I think my belief is stronger

What is your religion now? Christian- Other Christian

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. I was raised to believe in god and heaven but I was very skeptical at the time. I was even skeptical to try to explain it to someone else.

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Yes I believe when we die we do continue in some way to exist. It feels like we are reunited with loved ones. We have our same appearance, though my mom did look like a younger self when I saw her.

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

Did you see deceased or religious spirits? No

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? Yes I felt that there was a place other than here. Where my mom was/is. There was No tunnel, low light, no clouds or fantastic scene.

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? No

During your experience, did you gain information about the meaning of life? Yes To love and take care of each other

During your experience, did you gain information about an afterlife? I am uncertain if an afterlife exists. I felt that if I were to die I would have going to where my mom was, which I suppose is heaven.

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? No

During your experience, did you gain information about love? Yes

What life changes occurred in your life after your experience? Slight changes in my life

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? No

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 as accurately as 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? No

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes

Did you have any knowledge of near death experience (NDE) prior to your experience? Uncertain I didn’t really give it any thought and if I did, I would have accepted a 'medical/scientific' explanation.

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

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was probably real

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