Donni H NDE

Experience Description:

12/27/2004, approximately 12:15 am, I was brought to hospital by ambulance having severe chest pain, vomiting, numbness of right arm, etc. I was wheeled into the emergency room and the doctor knew right away, what was going on. I was hooked up to all the monitors and doctor was speaking to my wife in hallway when, from my point of view, the room began to spin and collapse into a funnel shape. I mentioned this to the doctor and my wife and then the lights went out, in my head that is. From here, this is my wife's account as to what went on as I was gone. I began to fall off the gurney as I was sitting up at the time. The doctor ran in and caught me before hitting the ground, threw me back on the bed, laying me flat and began CPR, all the while yelling 'Code Red'. My wife was looking at the monitors. She told me that everything was flat-line for quite some time. It took a bit of time for the hospital staff to respond to the Code, as the room was out of the way and around a few corners. The doctor's voice didn't carry out to the nurse station very well. I'll also say we were in the middle of a good sized snowstorm at the time so wind noise was a factor as well.

Once emergency room staff got into the room, they zapped me a couple of times before I came back and got things going.

From my point of view, once the room started to spin, it was collapsing in a funnel shape and spinning faster and faster as it collapsed, kind of like sucking everything into itself. Then I was in a field of dandelions in full bloom with the Grand Tetons in the background. I remember walking through the field looking up at the Teton range thinking to myself, 'What a strange view this is,' as I've been to the Tetons a number of times and there isn't any field that even looks close to that for many a mile. I had also noticed all the pain in my body had gone and my vision and become very sharp and clear, but also I couldn't see much out of the sides of my eyes, some type of tunnel vision going on.

Then I guess they were zapping me and I remember my wonderful vision in front of me being destroyed. The vision was stretched out of shape and focus, like stretching a rubber band around your finger to shoot. That kept getting more out of focus. Then I remember opening my eyes with a whole crew of people hovering over me. A nurse was calling my name. I went to try to sit up but they all pushed me back down and told me to be cool, lay still.

I then saw my wife and asked what had happened. They let her come over and she told me and I said no way. To which she had the doctor come over and he told me the exact same. To which a few of the nurses said the same. At that point, I had to believe them and one thing I'll remember forever is the doctor asking me if I saw the white light, to which I said no, but conveyed to him this story, and he tells my wife and I that I was there, meaning the other side.

Background Information:

Gender: Male

Date NDE Occurred: Dec. 27, 2004, 12:15AM

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes Heart attack Clinical death (cessation of breathing or heart function or brain function) Heart attack, dead for a few minutes while hospital staff responded.

How do you consider the content of your experience? Wonderful

Did you feel separated from your body? Uncertain I lost awareness of my body

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 As mentioned above although one part that was weird was somewhat of a tunnel vision thing as couldn't see much off to the sides.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? While I was looking at the Tetons, everything was extremely sharp and colors were very vivid.

Were your thoughts speeded up? Faster than usual

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? Everything seemed to be happening all at once

Were your senses more vivid than usual? More so than usual

Please compare your vision during the experience to your everyday vision that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. See above.

Did you seem to be aware of things going on elsewhere? Neither

Did you pass into or through a tunnel? Uncertain

Did you see any beings in your experience? Neither

Did you encounter or become aware of any deceased (or alive) beings? No

Did you see, or feel surrounded by, a brilliant light? Neither

Did you see an unearthly light? Yes See above.

Did you seem to enter some other, unearthly world? Neither See above

What emotions did you feel during the experience? Complete harmony with everything, not a care in the world and all the pain from the heart attack was gone.

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

Did you have a feeling of joy? Happiness

Did you feel a sense of harmony or unity with the universe? Neither

Did you suddenly seem to understand everything? Everything about the universe

Did scenes from your past come back to you? Neither

Did scenes from the future come to you? Neither

Did you come to a border or point of no return? Neither

God, Spiritual and Religion:

What was your religion prior to your experience? Liberal

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? Yes I'll say that I was raised in a fairly religious family, myself an alter boy, choir boy, church every Sunday with church school as well. On top of that, Eagle Scout as well. I stopped the church thing in my teen years as I found girls and drugs. I really lost my belief in Vietnam, as God wouldn't let those things happen to good people. Now, and for years, I believe something makes the world go round but to label it as God, don't really buy into that one. And since this event, more convinced than ever that the God thing and religion doesn't work.

What is your religion now? Liberal

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Yes I'll say that I was raised in a fairly religious family, myself an alter boy, choir boy, church every Sunday with church school as well. On top of that, Eagle Scout as well. I stopped the church thing in my teen years as I found girls and drugs. I really lost my belief in Vietnam, as God wouldn't let those things happen to good people. Now, and for years, I believe something makes the world go round but to label it as God, don't really buy into that one. And since this event, more convinced than ever that the God thing and religion doesn't work.

Did you seem to encounter a mystical being or presence, or hear an unidentifiable voice? Neither

Did you see deceased or religious spirits? Neither

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 Appreciate life more, know how quickly it can end, appreciate my wife and family more, and of course, the simple pleasures in 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? No

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? Not really any one part, just realize how fragile life really is, or I should say, it re-confirmed this to me as I learned that a long time ago in a little place called Vietnam.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes I shared all this with the attending doctor, my wife and a few nurses minutes after coming back as we waited for transport to differ hospital. The doctor and nurses all said the same, lucky to have been there when this happened, and also said they knew I had been to the other side and quizzed me about how it was for me.

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 look at what happened, know that I was dead for a few minutes and remember what I saw at the time, felt what I did at the time and know it was real.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real Same answer as above.

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 guess I'd add that, like being in combat, you can't really grasp the feeling unless you've been there and done it. Same as riding a motorcycle or hot air balloon ride not much common ground with people that haven't done them.