Diane C NDE

Experience Description

First, a bit of background, I had left Quebec on April 30, 1983 to go learn English in Alberta. I was working as a family helper in a house in Wanham about three hundred miles North of Edmonton. It was a very, very small village and one day I bought a 'Mountain Dew' soda (in a green bottle). I was drinking with a straw and half way down I noticed there was a lot of filth floating in the bottle. As I was drinking with a straw, I drank all the concentrated contamination. I think my discomfort started there.

The next day I had abdominal pain and after spending a week in the local hospital, I was transferred to a bigger hospital and was then sent to the hospital in Edmonton.

After many tests, I was told there was blood in my intestines and I was given some powerful medication, which gave me very unpleasant side effects. My breathing was different.

I was hallucinating, I was hardly sleeping and I felt so weak and ill, I was sure I would die.

One day, I think the nurse was near me, I don't know if it was morning or night, but I took a deep breath and felt it would be my last. I was no longer breathing; I was still conscious and didn't miss the air at all. I simply stopped breathing and felt quite well. A few seconds later, I felt someone giving me mouth-to-mouth at least three times. At the same time (oh yes, I think it was very late in the evening) I heard noise in the corridor like a piece of metal furniture on wheels. I imagined that they were coming toward me to resuscitate me. Then, before they even came into my room - I lost it.

At that instant, I felt myself floating in the air, lying horizontally about three-quarters of the way up, that is to say a few feet from the ceiling. I wasn't moving at all and none of my senses was working. I was very content and would have wanted to stay there it was so peaceful. I was in danger but didn't know it at all. I saw a big tunnel right in front of me, very near and it was very, very brightly lit. The tunnel was at least ten feet in diameter and was just a few meters away from me. The light was very, very intense. It seemed to have a very thin veil in front of the entrance and there was an extremely bright light behind it. During all this time, I was still lying horizontally without moving. However, when I lost it at the beginning I felt that my eyes had opened as if I were dead. I think that during all of this experience my eyes were open. I could see five or six people who were all white, like the surroundings and I could only see the outline of their bodies in silhouette. It's impossible to say if they were men or women because everything was white and nothing else about them was identifiable.

I don't know at all how much time I stayed in that state but suddenly, I woke up and saw the five or six people around me for real. The doctors and nurses were at my bedside. I had tubes everywhere. At the time when I came to, I was told to take deep breaths and I started having abdominal pains again. I was given a morphine injection and I was sent to intensive care for the night. The next day I learned that I'd come very close to dying. It's an experience, which, even after twenty-seven years, still seems very vivid in my memory and I will never forget it. It's practically inexplicable to try to get others to understand how one experiences such an uncommon occurrence. It's the first time that I have the chance to tell my story in detail and I'm very pleased because it intrigues me a great deal!

Background Information:

Gender: Female

Date NDE Occurred: En août 1983

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? No Illness. Allergic reaction 'Illness, trauma or other condition not considered life threatening'

How do you consider the content of your experience? Wonderful

The experience included: Out of body experience

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? Normal consciousness and alertness As above.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? I was very lucid when I stopped breathing and when I had artificial respiration too. My eyes were closed. I knew that I wasn't breathing anymore but I felt fine and my body was telling me not to breathe. After the third mouth-to-mouth which I felt every time my abdomen inflated, I lost it and in a fraction of a second, I experienced what is described above.

Were your thoughts speeded up? Faster than usual

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? Everything seemed to be happening at once; or time stopped or lost all meaning I can tell you that time didn't exist. It seemed to be stopped.

Were your senses more vivid than usual? Incredibly more vivid

Please compare your vision during the experience to your everyday vision that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. My vision was very different because I can describe in detail the degree of brightness and the very precise outline of the people (who looked like ghosts). It's the enormous intensity of the light from the tunnel that struck me the most. I could see all the details of the whiteness without even moving, AND I was lying down.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. Just before falling into unconsciousness, I could hear all the noises, but once off into my experience, nothing, I could no longer hear anything at all.

Did you seem to be aware of things going on elsewhere? Yes, and the facts have been checked out

Did you pass into or through a tunnel? No

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 only saw the outlines of the five or six people who were at my bedside as though they were covered by the same piece of cloth - I very easily could produce a drawing on request.

The experience included: Void

The experience included: Light

Did you see, or feel surrounded by, a brilliant light? A light clearly of mystical or other-worldly origin

Did you see an unearthly light? Yes The light, of a maximum intensity was right in front of me but wasn't blinding me because it seemed to have a thin veil in front of it. I could still feel myself floating in the air, lying horizontally and motionless.

Did you seem to enter some other, unearthly world? No

The experience included: Strong emotional tone

What emotions did you feel during the experience? I was very calm, I felt very good, I wasn't afraid. It was perfect happiness. It's very difficult to explain. Never again in my life will I feel these same emotions. It's indescribable.

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

Did you have a feeling of joy? incredible joy

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

Did scenes from your past come back to you? My past flashed before me, out of my control

Did scenes from the future come to you? Scenes from the world's future

Did you come to a border or point of no return? I came to a barrier that I was not permitted to cross; or was sent back against my will

God, Spiritual and Religion:

What was your religion prior to your experience? Moderate

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? No

What is your religion now? Moderate

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? No

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? I actually saw them

Concerning our Earthly lives other than Religion:

During your experience, did you gain special knowledge or information about your purpose? No

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? Yes I'm definitely not the same person. Following this experience, I feel gifted with an interior strength bursting with energy, which permanently inhabits me. I am very different from others. I'm often told that I am mysterious. This strength helps me and accompanies me in my daily life.

After the NDE:

Was the experience difficult to express in words? No

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience? Yes I feel truly transformed since this experience. I often guess the thoughts of others and my life has really taken on another meaning. I feel much stronger and it seems as if an extreme power inhabits me. I feel very different from others but it's imperceptible. I also feel protected.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes I spoke about it with my bosses a few weeks after the experience. But it's the first time that I write it in such detail. I love it. I talked a little about it with my family about a year after coming back to Quebec. I would say that the people with whom I talked about it didn't listen to me religiously. Their reactions weren't explosive, the people didn't ask any questions, and it seemed to leave them indifferent. Maybe they didn't believe anything about this story but I did experience it as described.

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 I lived it as described and remember all the details as though it were yesterday even after twenty-seven years. I will always tell this story the same way and the experience was quite real, there is no doubt. Only the people who've lived such an experience can understand us. You have the impression of being nowhere, of being lost in the universe and of having quite literally left the Earth. It's very weird to explain.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real Because it's still very vivid in my memory, I remember everything and know that I lived this experience as described.

At any time in your life, has anything ever reproduced any part of the experience? No I don't think that I'll ever experience anything similar again in my life. It's impossible!

Is there anything else that you would like to add about your experience? I only hope someday to be able to share it with others who've been through it. It fascinates me and we can surely decode things thanks to these experiences.

Are there any other questions that we could ask to help you communicate your experience? I am convinced that people who have lived this experience would like to talk about it in public. The questionnaire seems comprehensive.