Gabriela L Possible NDE

Experience Description

I was home in my bed when I suffered from septic shock. I felt as if was about to leave my body. It was as I were standing on the bed, but I was levitating above my body. I had no idea that I was undergoing septic shock. I felt that something wrong was about to happen but I didn't know that it was so serious.

The sensation of levitating stopped after I was carried to hospital. During the following minutes I did not feel nothing abnormal. I felt only nervousness and anxiety over not knowing what was going to happen. After examining me, the doctors said that they had to perform emergency surgery. Then I felt panic and started to yell at the doctors, which is something completely abnormal and against my personality. I refused to submit to surgery. Then a nurse took my arm with a hard grip and said that if surgery was not done, I would die in less than an hour. Even with surgery, I had only a small chance of surviving. It was only then that I understood the seriousness of the situation.

The strangest thing was that instead of panicking even more (which was to be expected, since they had just told me that I would probably die) my reaction was the complete opposite of panic. I immediately felt normal, at peace and was calm. I signed the agreement to the terms of surgery and all the while, when I was being carried to the operating room, that sentiment of peace was there. Even the pains that I had felt during the whole situation had suddenly disappeared, as if I was one hundred percent healthy. This feeling despite having two perforations in the intestines and the organs were starting to fail.

In Portuguese:

Estava em casa na cama e entrei em choque séptico e senti como se 'eu' estivesse a deixar o meu corpo, como se o corpo estivesse parado na cama mas 'eu' estava a levitar sobre ele. Não fazia ideia que estava a entrar em choque séptico, sentia que algo de errado se estava a passar mas nunca pensei que fosse tão grave. Essa sensação de levitar passou após ter sido levada para o hospital e durante os seguintes minutos não senti nada de anormal, apenas muito nervosismo e ansiedade por não saber o que se estava a passar. Depois de realizar exames disseram-me que teria que fazer uma cirurgia de emergência e nesse momento entrei em pânico e comecei a gritar com os médicos (algo completamente anormal tendo em conta a minha personalidade) e entrei em negação recusando-me a fazer a cirurgia, foi então que uma enfermeira me apertou o braço com força e disse que caso não fizesse a cirurgia ia morrer em pouco mais de 1 hora e mesmo fazendo a cirurgia havia muito pouca probabilidade de sobreviver. E só aí percebi o quão grave era a situação, o mais estranho é que em vez de entrar ainda mais em pânico (o que seria de esperar visto que tinham acabado de me dizer que provavelmente ia morrer), a minha reação foi completamente o oposto do pânico, senti imediatamente uma e normal paz e calma, assinei logo o termo de responsabilidade para a cirurgia e enquanto fui levada para o bloco operatório, esse sentimento de paz manteve-se até mesmo as dores que senti durante toda esta situação, de repente passaram, era como se me sentisse 100% saudável (embora estivesse com 2 perfurações intestinais e com os órgãos a começar a falhar).

Background Information:

Gender: Female

Date NDE Occurred: 9/2/2012

NDE Elements:

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

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

Did you feel separated from your body? No 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 I was conscient the whole time

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? It stayed the same throughout the whole experience.

Were your thoughts speeded up? Faster than usual

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, 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? No

What emotions did you feel during the experience? Stress, anxiety, panic, Peace, calmness.

Did you have a feeling of peace or pleasantness? Relief or calmness

Did you have a feeling of joy? Happiness

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- Atheist

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? No

What is your religion now? Do not know

Did your experience include features consistent with your earthly beliefs? Content that was entirely consistent with the beliefs you had at the time of your experience. I didn't have any kind of religious beliefs and I didn't experience anything that I might consider as being related to religion.

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? Yes I definitely felt like a sense of superior knowledge, nothing specific. It was not like all of a sudden I could tell the meaning of life, but I just had an overall sense of knowledge.

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

During your experience, did you gain information about an afterlife? I am uncertain if an afterlife exists No

Did you gain information about how to live our lives? Yes That nothing you could have possibly done matters when you're about to die. There's no such things as regrets, it doesn't even matter all you have accomplished or all you own.

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? Slight changes in my life Regarding question 48b - I am currently greatly fearful in living my earthly life, but in the first year right after the experience, I completely lost all fears I might have had in the past.

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? No

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 less accurately than other life events that occurred around the time of the experience. There are some moments that I can't remember during the experience although I stayed conscious the whole time.

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

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes I first shared it with my mother right after it happened. But I've always shared with anyone who asks about it, I speak very openly about it. People's reactions are pretty normal and I don't think it influenced any of them.

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 never lost consciousness and I stayed aware the whole time. Also I didn't have any kind of visions or hallucinations which makes me feel like it was a real physical experience.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real. I view it the same way as I did right after it happened.

At any time in your life, has anything ever reproduced any part of the experience? Yes Sometimes when I have a panic attack that feeling of 'me' leaving my body sometimes comes through.

Is there anything else that you would like to add about your experience? No

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