Desmond H NDE

Experience Description:

Hello, my name is Desmond. I am a young adult who suffers from Marfan Syndrome, which is a tissue disorder affecting the majority of my body. Info on what Marfan Syndrome in its entirety can be found at https://www.marfan.org/about/marfan

Up until I was 15 years old, I suffered from very weak tissue that connected the lens to my eye. This resulted in debilitating double vision. It wasn’t until I had two reconnective surgeries that I was able to have 20/20 vision. I previously had 20/300 and 20/400 vision.

I suffer from severe asthma and always carry a inhaler around. I also have an enlarged aorta, for which I take medication. This is why I had an aortic valve replacement surgery in 2014.

In 2013 I went in for an EKG (echocardiogram) to monitor if the aorta has grown any. After the test, my heart doctor told me that I would need an aortic valve replacement surgery since it had grown since the last test. I didn’t realize how risky of a surgery it was.

When it came time for the surgery, I was admitted to the hospital. The day before my surgery, a woman who was a social worker visited me and asked me if there was anything I wanted to do before my surgery. I laughed her off and said, 'no. Unbeknownst to me at the time that the social workers expected me to die during surgery and wanted to treat me to something as a last-minute pleasure. I just thought I was lucky.

I was scared the morning of the surgery, so I comforted myself with watching TV. At the appointed time, I was wheeled into the surgery room to receive anesthesia. I had said goodbye to my family.

As I write this, I feel sad in remembrance. I love my family very dearly.

I was unconscious until I woke up struggling to breathe during the operation. I had somehow suffered from an asthma attack during my surgery. The surgeons were unaware that this was a possibility, so they ran to grab a ventilator. I suffocated and died for a few seconds.

In the middle of suffocating, I began to feel relaxed and thought, 'I’m dying. This is it.' Suddenly, I saw myself on the operating table. Then I saw my mother crying. I said, 'I love you,' but she couldn’t hear me. I saw the surgeons frantically setup the ventilator and I saw my family in the waiting room.

The surgeons confirmed post-recovery they were doing what I saw them doing. My mother confirmed that she was crying, and my family being in the waiting room was also confirmed.

Next, I found myself in a Dark Place that NDErs call 'the void.' I call it the 'Dark Place.' My time in the Dark Place was without emotion or thoughts, yet I was sentient. There was nothing to see, feel, or know in The Dark Place. I did not experience any emotions during the experience. I lost my personality, memories, and emotions. All of a sudden, a very loud voice spoke to me out of nowhere. The male voice loudly and slowly said, 'God.' I was then immediately resuscitated and put under a medically-induced coma.

I was in a coma for two weeks. The first thing I said when I woke up was, 'I heard God!' But I do not remember saying it. I spent the next 4 months out of school to healing from the surgery. I couldn’t walk for a month and I have a huge scar on my chest.

Afterthought: I was an antitheist from ages 9 to 15. I hated the Christian God, yet I didn’t believe in his existence. It wasn’t until the months following my experiences that I believed a god existed. I didn’t believe in the Christian God until 2016 when, by religious process of elimination, I discovered that I heard the Jewish / Christian God (YHWH, Father, Jesus, Spirit). Each god in ancient and modern religion had / has a name. God said, 'God' to me as his name. God had a booming, Male voice, which is how the Bible describes his voice. I believe The Dark Place is Sheol, which is not Heaven or Hell. It is the Grave, the place of the temporary dead. Sheol is described in the Bible as darkness. I believe that since I did not stay dead and because my sin was not atoned for, I could not enter God’s presence.

The joy of knowing God exists. I believe that the naturalistic worldview is as false as it is existentially pleasing. Our lives are not terribly long and everybody will see God once we are dead.

Background Information:

Gender: Male

Date NDE Occurred: 12/16/14

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? No. Surgery-related Clinical death (cessation of breathing or heart function)

How do you consider the content of your experience? Entirely distressing

Did you feel separated from your body? Yes. 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 greater understanding of myself and the dead.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? During my out-of-body experience.

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. My vision during the out-of-body experience was a lot brighter and glossier.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. My hearing during the experience sounded muffled, but I understood the emotions from my family.

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? No

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? Some unfamiliar and strange place

What emotions did you feel during the experience? None.

Did you have a feeling of peace or pleasantness? No

Did you have a feeling of joy? No

Did you feel a sense of harmony or unity with the universe? No

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? Unaffiliated- Atheist. I was an atheist (more so an anti-theist) before my experience. I succumbed to the Problem of Evil and dropped the belief in a god years before my experience.

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? Yes

What is your religion now? Christian- Protestant I am a Christian. I believe the God that spoke to me was the Christian God due to circumstance, tone, and the God’s gender-tone.

Did your experience include features consistent with your earthly beliefs? Content that was entirely not consistent with the beliefs you had at the time of your experience.

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Yes.

Did you seem to encounter a mystical being or presence, or hear an unidentifiable voice? I encountered a definite being, or a voice clearly of mystical or unearthly origin

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? No

During your experience, did you gain information about the existence of God? Yes

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? No

During your experience, did you gain information about an afterlife? An afterlife definitely exists

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? No

What life changes occurred in your life after your experience? Large changes in my life. I am now very pious.

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? Yes, I now have a greater connection with my family due to my conversion.

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 My family. They were amazed and believed.

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 not real. I did not believe, or care to, immediately following my experience.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real. I view it as fact, and that it occurred.

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 do not expect everyone to believe. But nontheless, I share my story.

Are there any other questions that we could ask to help you communicate your experience? No.