Edward B Possible NDE

Experience Description

My case is a medical oddity in that I am probably the only person on Earth to survive intact. I was without a pulse or breathing for an hour and a half; only CPR revived me and saved me. I have a unique perspective, having worked as an ER RN for 20 years when my event occurred. My case is unbelievable to any medical professional. If I did not have the doctors’, nurses’, and ECMO perfusionists’ records to back it up, it would not be possible. (Note: ECMO - Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is a therapy that enables the technology associated with CPB to be utilised in intensive care units. ECMO can substitute the function of the heart and lungs.)

My case has been presented at ECMO and acute and critical care conferences, and I often hear that it was providence or, depending on one’s religious belief, whatever you choose to call it. The story would be much easier to document verbally. It is very complex medically and unexplainable. My story has made national news, but all the stories only tell 10% of it. Google “Ellie Breech CPR” and there are pages on it that again only tell 10% of the complex story. ESPN did probably the best, but it is really about the importance of out-of-hospital CPR.

I worked the overnight shift in the emergency room on Christmas Eve, came home on Christmas, and had family time. I ate a container of blueberries and went to the basement to nap, as I have for decades. About half an hour later, my wife went to the kitchen just as I was taking my last breath. She came down to check on me and I was my body was blue from lack of oxygen. She called for my daughter, who is rarely home because she is a major student athlete and was getting ready for a run. My wife saw my condition and handed her phone to call 911. She immediately put me on the floor and performed CPR for 9 minutes and 40 seconds until the emergency Medical Service (EMS) arrived.

When help arrived, the chart said “no shock advised.” I was in PEA and converting to asystole (Note: Pulseless electrical activity (PEA) is a condition where the heart has electrical activity but does not produce a pulse, while asystole is the complete absence of electrical activity in the heart, often referred to as a "flatline.") In the hundreds of codes I have worked in the emergency room as a nurse, I have only seen a couple of people survive long enough for transfer to the ICU. I had never seen anyone come through the doors in an out-of-hospital arrest survive in PEA or asystole. I did survive without side any bad side-effects. The EMS worked on me for 47 minutes in the basement; they all knew me well. I would get occasional thready pulses during code, but I would instantly re-arrest. I was on an automated CPR machine, which is absolutely brutal on the body, but it works.

After an hour of being coded in the basement, I got some pulses, was loaded into the ambulance, and went back into asystole/flatline. Then arrived in my department just four hours after handing it off to the next shift. EMS managed my code very poorly. They had three suction devices, but none worked. This caused severe aspiration from vomiting and inhaling. They did not place the airway correctly; it was placed backwards so every time I vomited it went into my lungs. My emergency room team coded me for another 20 minutes before pulses returned. I was clinically and biologically dead this whole time, for an hour and a half. After I was properly intubated, my oxygen saturation never got above 70% for over 8 hours. They kept working on me and my oxygen improved, but my blood pressure dropped due to severe vasoplegic shock. I was on every vasopressor available, and nothing helped until they consulted another hospital and tried a methylene blue drip. Then I was stable enough to be transferred.

I spent 22 days in the critical care unit with 10 days being intubated and on ECMO. No doctor had ever seen a chest x-ray like mine, even in textbooks. That is a brief explanation of my event and circumstances. I was biologically and clinically dead for an hour and a half.

I have no recollection of choking or anything before the arrest. However, I do recall a vivid experience that I describe clinically as a hypoxic dream. I remember being in a beautiful, tropical place. I was underwater, walking and moving while breathing water. It was a very relaxing and comforting experience. There was no light, no gods, or tunnel. I was not religious at the time, and still am not. This is why I believe my experience was not religious.

The dream continued and then everything just switched off. It wasn't black, was not like sleeping, and was not like anesthesia or being knocked out. Everything was simply off, as if I were dead. I have a vision in my head of my daughter performing CPR and EMS coding me, but I think it’s a confabulation of my mind; given that I have worked hundreds of codes in my job.

Somewhere during the experience after being transferred to the critical care unit, my first moment of consciousness occurred through hearing. I could hear everything around me; I recognized the voices and was comforted by how well everyone was handling my death. I knew I was dead. I felt no anxiety or stress; it was very comfortable and I was fully accepting. I recall wondering when my hearing was going to turn off like every other sense had. I recall thinking that hearing was always the last sense to go. I was even thinking that I might hear them harvesting my organs and cremating me, and that was strange.

From that point, I could hear everything the whole time I was intubated and on ECMO. My sister told me I did nothing wrong and that Ellie, my daughter, was okay. She said I had aspirated and that Ellie had performed CPR on me; this was the moment I realized I was not dead.

I believe I had self-induced multiple NDEs before my dying and that is why mine was atypical compared to others I have read or watched. My experience was so different; I don’t know if it’s because I was truly dead for a long time or what.

Let me briefly explain what I mean by self-induced NDE. I have been a user and proponent of psychedelic drugs since the 1980s. I truly believe that my experiences with macro-dosing psychedelics for over 35 years preserved my brain from massive injury. All the NDEs I hear about, I can easily recreate with large doses of psychedelics and nitrous oxide. That combination, I guarantee, will make you see the light, go through a tunnel, and encounter the dead and God. I have experienced this combination numerous times. That is why I believe it has something to do with hypoxia and neurochemicals interacting to induce the experience. This is why mine is different: my death lasted so long that I made it through the hypoxic chemical storm and everything turned off where my body was completely dead.

(Note: NDERF does not advocate using unauthorized psychedelics without intense medical supervision. This last paragraph is only included for scientific purposes as this is what the experiencer reports)

Background Information:

Gender: Male

Date NDE Occurred: 12/25/23

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes Choked on blueberries so hypoxic went into PEA and asystole arrest for an hour and half Clinical death (cessation of breathing or heart function) Choked on blueberries; became so hypoxic my heart stopped

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

Did you feel separated from your body? Uncertain I have a vision of watching them code me at my house, but I don't know. 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? Normal consciousness and alertness. It was dream like experience it was comforting and calm and definately distracted me from the chaos that was happening during my arrest

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? I don't understand the question, but it was a comforting, dreamlike experience with odd events occurring around me while I was underwater and breathing.

Were your thoughts speeded up? No

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? No

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

Please compare your vision during the experience to your everyday vision that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. Dreamlike compared to normal.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. It was a dreamlike experience; hearing felt normal.

Did you seem to be aware of things going on elsewhere? 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? A clearly mystical or unearthly realm. It was a dreamlike state of being underwater, breathing water.

What emotions did you feel during the experience? It was calm and comforting; I felt no pain, and it was very relaxing.

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? 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- Agnostic None. I have no religion then or now.

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? No

What is your religion now? Unaffiliated- Agnostic

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

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? 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? No

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? No

During your experience, did you gain information about an afterlife? No

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 now live a life of great gratitude and love.

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? Yes I have to live my life giving peace, love, and joy back to the universe. I was on the receiving end of the best humanity has to offer, and I need to give that back.

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

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? No not really. It was a calm beautiful reassuring experience/dream

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes I have shared my experience at nursing conferences with the medical team and professionals who worked with me, but not much about the NDE; it was mostly clinical.

Did you have any knowledge of near death experience (NDE) prior to your experience? Yes I have an archaeology degree and am also a psychonaut with a great interest in the mind and all its potentials.

What did you believe about the reality of your experience shortly (days to weeks) after it happened? Experience was probably not real I feel it was a hypoxic, chemical experience, and I think that's what NDEs are. I had mine, and everything turned off; I was fully dead and depleted of all oxygen and life.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was probably not real

At any time in your life, has anything ever reproduced any part of the experience? Yes Described in narrative above

Is there anything else that you would like to add about your experience? I want to talk to science and people about this. My story needs told

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