Evelyn vH NDE

Experience Description

I fell during gym class and fractured my skull. They took me to the nurse’s office where I would come to just long enough to vomit and then pass out again. This happened several times. I remember seeing the man who worked for my father sitting on a chair next to the cot that I was laying on. My father never liked me and he couldn't be bothered to go to the school when they called him so he sent his employee. My stepmother was at the hairdresser's at the time and they were unable to get hold of her. In the ambulance, I remember my father's employee sitting near the head of the gurney that I was laying on. He was pressed against the wall between the front and the back of the ambulance and looking through the little window in the wall. He asked the driver if he could turn the siren off because it was making me nervous. He had not turned to look at me once. He was nervous, not me. I found that funny. Anyhow every now and then things would go black but later I would be aware of everything around me again. I remember when the ambulance got to the hospital, a man opened the back door and pulled my gurney out of the back of the vehicle then everything went black again.

The next thing I remember is being pushed down a long hall at a great speed. When we reached the end of the hall the person who was pushing my gurney almost came to a stop and made a sharp turn into this big room. It reminded me of the school cafeteria because there were a lot of curtains lining the wall to the right of the doorway. Once my gurney was completely in the room, the person pushing it turned it sideways and started pulling it, head first, to an area to the left of the door. The gurney came to a stop in front of this massive metal thing. I was fascinated by it and likened it to a big, metal dinosaur. Of course, today I know that it was an x-ray machine but I had never had an x-ray before that so I had no idea what it was at the time. I was busy studying the massive machine when clanging noises drew my attention away from it. By the way, the x-ray machine was to my right and partially beyond the head of my gurney. At that point, in time I was facing the door, way down and to the right of the gurney.

The clanging noises were coming from behind the gurney and to the left. The noise drew my attention away from the dinosaur and I turned to see two men in hospital uniforms scurrying about. Both of them appeared to be rather short, around 5'4’ to 5'6’ tall. One was white with a very light complexion; he had blond hair with a receding hairline. The other appeared to be of Hispanic descent. He had black hair, darker skin, and was balding too. The white man was the shortest and he was a little heavier for his size than the dark haired man was but they were both trim. One man wore a watch with silver; stretch band on it and the other wore one with a black, leather band. I used to be able to remember which man wore which watch but that part of my memory has faded with time. The men were fooling around with some things that looked like hand-held black boards or slates. I got really excited because a hand held black board and chalk had been my favorite Christmas present when I was about four or five years old. I was curious as to what they were doing with them. It didn't make any sense to me since neither of them had any chalk. What good is a black board without it?

While still watching the two men, a noise down by the door drew my attention away from them. I turned and looked to see an Indian (from India) doctor come in with my father's employee following close behind. How I knew that the man was a doctor is beyond me, but I somehow knew it. The doctor and the other man stood against the wall where the curtains and windows were. The doctor was looking my way and the man who worked for my father was actually trying to interest him in buying a car. Strangely enough, I could feel what the doctor was feeling even though he kept a straight face the whole time. He was angry and disgusted with the man for even thinking about selling a car when I was lying on the other side of the room, possibly dying. In any case, I had no interest in the two of them and I turned back to see what the two men with the black boards were doing. Shortly after that, I heard another noise coming from the door so I turned back toward it. It was my stepmother. She walked into the room with a ‘please, someone give me some good news,’ look on her face; stopping several feet in front of the doctor and my father's employee. The man who worked for my father looked scared so he turned to the doctor as if to say, ‘you tell her doc.’ The doctor then told my step-mother that they didn't expect me to make it through the night. At that point, my stepmother let out a horrible scream and started to faint. The man who worked for my father ran up and caught her so that she wouldn't hit the floor.

I was ticked. I couldn't understand why the doctor would have told her something like that. I yelled, ‘Don't listen to him, Mom. Look at me. I'm fine.’ For some strange reason she couldn't seem to hear me. I kept yelling but she paid me no mind. Then, without even thinking, I said to myself, ‘Oh, she can't hear me like this.’ I have no idea why I said that or what I meant. I must have somehow known that I was in some form other than physical. How I knew it, I do not know. All that I can figure is that the form that I was in must have been familiar to me. Perhaps that is why I was not scared when I realized that I was in some form other than human. In any case, the second that I said that I felt as though I were being sucked down through a vacuum cleaner hose. I could actually hear the air swirling around me. Then I had a really hard crash landing into my body and the second that I got back in it I started squirming: looking for a way back out. I kept saying that I wanted out of there because my body was so cold, hard, heavy and confining.

Strangely enough, I had not given any thought to how I felt while out of my body until I got back in it and had something to compare it to. While out of my body, I felt free; as though I had no boundaries. It seemed that I was part of everything and everything was part of me; as though we melted together and were one but at the same time, I was still a separate entity. I know that sounds confusing, but that is how I felt. Plus, there was this wonderful sense of warmth; not like the warmth of temperature but rather the warm of love. The closest thing that I can relate it to is when my daughter was four she came in to go to the bathroom. I was sitting on the sofa at the time. When she was done, rather than going right back out to play she ran over to me, threw her tiny arms around my neck, and for no reason at all said, ‘Mommy, I love you’ when she did that, the warmest sensation swept down me from my head to my feet. Still trying to find a way back out of my body, the sound of my stepmother crying caught my attention once again. I totally put my discomfort aside and started trying to calm her down again. I tried to open my mouth to call to her but for some reason my mouth wouldn't open. I had no idea why but I assumed that it had something to do with my fall. I figured that since I couldn't talk, I would just wave my arms back and forth until I got her attention. I figured that if she saw me waving my arms she would know that I was okay and stop crying. Unfortunately, my arms would not move. It felt as though they were encased in cement and no matter how hard I tried I could not so much as budge them. Undeterred, I decided that if my arms would not move, I would just kick my feet until she noticed but they too were as heavy as cement and I could not move them. At that point, I began to get frightened and I turned my attention back to me, forgetting about my stepmother.

I tried to wiggle the toes on one of my feet but they too, were immovable. Then I tried to wiggle the ones on the other foot and they followed suit. At that point, I panicked, thinking that maybe I was paralyzed by the fall. Instantly everything went black and that is all I remember until I woke up almost a month later. When I woke up, I saw my stepmother sitting on a chair next to my bed reading a magazine. I looked over and said, ‘I'm hungry, can I have something to eat?’ She was in shock. She jumped up and ran out to get a nurse. The nurse checked me and then called the doctor. For the next few hours, a barrage of interns, doctors and nurses went in and out of my room. I felt like a freak in a freak show that was on display. When the activity died down, I was relieved to finally have some time alone with my step- mother. I apologized for having made her cry. She was confused and asked what I was talking about. I explained how she cried after the doctor told her that I wasn't expected to make it through the night, when she first arrived at the hospital. My stepmother kept saying that I couldn't have known those things. She said that I went into a coma in the ambulance before I ever got to the hospital.

I had no idea what a coma was, but I knew that she was wrong. We argued about it for a few moments and then to prove that I was right I told her exactly what she was wearing when she had arrived. To this day, I remember it. She had on a sleeveless, baby blue, knit jumper that had a low waist. There was a band around the waist that sat on her hips and from the band down there were pleats all around. I explained that she was carrying her white, patent leather purse and wearing matching high heels. At that point, she got a horrifying look on her face and again insisted that I couldn't possibly have known that, and then she said that she didn't ever want to talk about it again. So we never did. After I went home, I would get the feeling that someone was watching me while I was doing my chores. I would turn and there my stepmother would be, just staring a hole in me. I would ask her to please stop it and she would just shake her head and walk away saying that I was not the same person ever since my accident (meaning the fractured skull). Interestingly enough, after the fracture, I started seeing and/or hearing ghosts but that is another story. In any case, I have no fear of death at all because of this experience. In fact, I look forward to feeling that free and warm again.

Background Information:

Gender: Female

Date NDE Occurred: 1962

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes Accident 'Life threatening event, but not clinical death' I fractured my skull and was in a coma. I thought I had a good night's sleep but my step-mother said that I had been in a coma for almost a month.

How do you consider the content of your experience? Both pleasant AND distressing

The experience included: Out of body experience

Did you feel separated from your body? Yes I saw and heard everything that was going on around me; behind me, in front of me and beside me while in the ambulance as well as the x-ray room. My step-mother said that I could not have known what she had been wearing when she first arrived at the hospital nor what went on in the x-ray room because I had been in a coma. 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 It was the same. I was the same curious, 11 year old while out of my body that I was while in it.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? Off and on between black outs.

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. The same

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. The same

Did you seem to be aware of things going on elsewhere? No

Did you pass into or through a tunnel? Uncertain I felt as though I were being sucked down through a vacuum cleaner hose. I could actually hear the air swirling around me.

Did you see any beings in your experience? No

Did you encounter or become aware of any deceased (or alive) beings? Yes I was aware of the people around me in the ambulance and x-ray room.

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? Curiosity, compassion, anger, discomfort and fear.

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

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? Everything about myself or others I suddenly realized that I was in some other form besides a physical one and that was why my step-mother couldn't hear me. I have no idea how I realized that or why I wasn't scared when I did.

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 importance did you place on your religious/spiritual life prior to your experience? Unknown

What was your religion prior to your experience? Other or several faiths My parents never spoke about God or religion in our home. However, we were forced to attend Catholic School for one year, when I was in the third grade. I didn't understand any of it. All I learned from that year was that we have something that is called a soul and that it went to heaven or hell when we died. Honestly, I didn't even understand what heaven or hell was. I thought that after you were buried your body got up out of the coffin, with the soul inside and that it went to one of these places. Personally, I hated that year of my life as well as the ritualism of the Catholic Church. To make matters worse I had the Nun from Hell as my teacher. She had had my half brother as a student years earlier and they clashed. she actually had him expelled from the school. I think she punished me because of her hatred for him. She terrorized me every day and used to pull my hair all the time as well as crack me across the knuckles with a ruler even though I never did anything wrong. I was too horrified for anything that I was being taught to sink in. In fact that was the only year of my life that I wound up having to go to summer school in order to pass. so going to a Catholic school that year did nothing to add anything for my knowledge of religion. Plus they still did mass in Latin so that too hindered in my learning or understanding anything.

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? Yes We never spoke about God in our house, while I was growing up. But the experience had a lot to do with my seeking out God once I was married and out on my own. I have a tremendous amount of faith today.

What importance do you place on your religious/spiritual life after your experience? Greatly important to me

What is your religion now? Christian- Other Christian Christian-Baptist

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 I had no beliefs at the time and I had never heard of a nde or out of body experience until some 20 years later.

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Yes Not immediately after but once I married and left home, I began seeking God out on my own. I do not believe that my faith would have been as strong had it not been for my experience.

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? Yes Yes, I realized that I was not in a physical form and it felt very natural as though I had exerienced it at some point before.

During your experience, did you gain information about universal connection or oneness? Yes I felt lie one with the universe. It was as though I were part of everything and everything was part of me. Yet, I still felt like a separate entity. It just doesn't make any sense when I try to describe it.

Did you believe in the existence of God prior to your experience? Unknown

During your experience, did you gain information about the existence of God? No

Do you believe in the existence of God after your experience? God definitely exists

Concerning our Earthly lives other than Religion:

During your experience, did you gain special knowledge or information about your purpose? Yes I knew that I could not communicate with those in the physical world while I was out of my body: in the state that I was in, whatever that was.

Did you believe that our earthly lives are meaningful and significant prior to your experience? Unknown

During your experience, did you gain information about the meaning of life? No

Did you believe in an afterlife prior to your experience? Unknown

Do you believe in an afterlife after your experience? An afterlife definitely exists Yes I realized that I was no longer in a physical form yet I felt like exactly the same person.

Did you fear death prior to your experience? I moderately feared death

Do you fear death after your experience? I do not fear death

Were you fearful living your life prior to your experience? Unknown

Were you fearful living your life after your experience? Not fearful in living my earthly life

Did you believe that our earthly lives are meaningful and significant prior to your experience? Unknown

Did you believe that our earthly lives are meaningful and significant after your experience? Are meaningful and significant

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

Were you compassionate prior to your experience? Moderately compassionate toward others

During your experience, did you gain information about love? Yes while out of my body I felt the warmth of love all around me.

Were you compassionate after your experience? Greatly compassionate toward others

What life changes occurred in your life after your experience? Large changes in my life I am extremely spiritual now (not religious). I have no fear of death at all, just how I am going to get there! I do so hate pain. I believe my experience had a lot to do with both of these. Large changes in my life

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? Yes Yes My step-mother was scared of me after I told her about it.

After the NDE:

Was the experience difficult to express in words? Yes Sort of: trying to explain what if felt like while out of my body is sort of difficult but I did the best that I could.

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 more accurately than other life events that occurred around the time of the experience It always stuck out in my memories because of how strangely my step mother acted where it was concerned. Had it not been for that, I might have well forgotten about it.

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience? Yes I started seeing ghosts right after I went home from the hospital. They would visit me at night in small groups. The last time that I saw a group of them together I was scared to death by the way one of them looked. I don't know if I somehow blocked them out or if they just decided I was a waste of time but they stopped materializing to me. There have only been three times after that that a ghost had appeared to me; however, my children can testify that there has been at least one ghost in every house that I have lived in as an adult. There was even one incident concerning a demon and it was the most frightening experience of my life.

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? Yes, the fact that there is life outside of the human body. While out of my body, I felt the warmth of love all around me. I realized that I was no longer in a physical form yet I felt like exactly the same person. I realized that I was not in a physical form and it felt very natural as though I had experienced it at some point before. I felt like one with the universe. It was as though I was part of everything and everything was part of me. Yet, I still felt like a separate entity. It just doesn't make any sense when I try to describe it.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes As soon as I awoke from the coma I shared it with my step-mother and she got very upset with me. So I didn't share it with anyone else until I was in my 30’s.

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 knew it was definitely real and I couldn't understand why my step-mother didn't.

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

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 am also not afraid of surgery because of my experience. If I went under the knife and never woke up again, I would have no qualms about it. I am not suicidal at all, but I so look forward to getting out of this old body again. It always stuck out in my memories because of how strangely my step- mother acted where I was concerned. Had it not been for that, I might have well forgotten about it. I had no beliefs at the time and I had never heard of a NDE or out of body experience until some 20 years later.

Are there any other questions that we could ask to help you communicate your experience? Gear questions more toward OBE's too.