Grant F NDE

Experience Description

I was playing in a high school football game. It was the last Summer scrimmage before our regular season began. I played defense. I ran in to make a tackle on the running back for the other team. We hit face mask against face mask. With a loud 'pop,' my head snapped back with such force that I suffered a clean break horizontally (a 'Jefferson fracture') through my C-1 vertebra. I also chipped my C-5 and C-6 vertebrae, and suffered a massive concussion that covered the majority of my brain. Immediately after contact, my body locked up and I went into convulsions as I fell backwards. Doctor's later told me this was due to damage to my brain stem and that I technically should not have survived. In fact, they told me that my body seizing was a sign that the injury caused me to 'die' briefly. It was truly a miracle that I survived the injury at all, but I made a full recovery.

I still remember the exact moment of contact when the injury happened. I saw the other player's face. I felt the impact of our masks and my head whipping back. Suddenly, everything around me froze in time as I seemed to fall backwards in slow motion. I could see everything clearly, but with no color. Everything seemed to be in black in white, but frozen in time. I could still hear everything around me moving. I heard whistles from the referees, people panicking and yelling from seeing my body convulse. The crowd fell silent. My coach and team doctor were holding me down and communicating to each other. Yet, everything was visually frozen in time. All of this was going on as, I was still falling backwards and hadn't yet reached the ground. In fact, as my body felt like it was leveling out, I had the sensation that I began to float. I slowly began hovering upwards, towards the sky. I could see my own body, still frozen in time. I could see all around me and up to the sky as I floated towards the clouds. I felt no fear, just confusion. It was like I didn't know where I was, but I didn't care. I thought that I should care more about what I was experiencing, but nothing felt wrong. The feeling is hard to describe.

Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, my eyes opened and I was back in my body. I saw the team physician and trainer who were both hovering over the top of my face and holding me down. I had no idea what was wrong and was told not to move. I tried to move anyways, but couldn't even wiggle my fingers. After about 4 hours of lying on a wooden board in the emergency room, I began to get movement in my fingers and toes. I ended up making a full recovery after spending 6 months in a titanium body brace. I will always remember that day as the day I was lifted up toward heaven, only to be sent back down to my body. It wasn't my time yet.

Background Information:

Gender: Male

Date NDE Occurred: 08/31/2007

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes. Direct head injury. Massive concussion and broken neck. Clinical death (cessation of breathing or heart function)

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

Did you feel separated from your body? Yes I heard all of the commotion around me. As I 'warped' back into my body, everything seemed that it was carrying on in real time throughout my out of body experience. 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? More consciousness and alertness than normal. It wasn't so much a sense of enlightenment, but a higher level of what I could perceive. I saw my own body and everything around me from above. I was conscious, but I truly was not in my body anymore for a time.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? I felt entirely conscious and alert the whole time.

Were your thoughts speeded up? No

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? Everything seemed to be happening at once; or time stopped or lost all meaning.Time seemed to completely stop visually.

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 in the third person in a sense. I felt like a camera zooming away from my body towards the sky as everything moved so slow that it seemed frozen in time.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. My hearing was as if nothing had changed. I heard all of the commotion around me, but didn't realize that it was because of me being unresponsive.

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? An unusually bright light

Did you see an unearthly light? Yes Everything around me that I could see was in black and white. But, it was all very bright and seemed to become brighter as I floated upward. It was like a lens flare if you point your camera directly at a light.

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

What emotions did you feel during the experience? I felt no fear, just a bit of confusion. I also felt peace.

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? 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? I came to a barrier that I was not permitted to cross; or was sent back against my will. It wasn't so much a barrier, but I very suddenly seemed to shoot back into my body and wake up, like nothing had happened.

God, Spiritual and Religion:

What was your religion prior to your experience? Christian- Catholic

What is your religion now? Other or several faiths: I believe in God and am a spiritual person, but I do not consider myself a member of any particular religion.

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. I had always been a spiritual person. I believed in life after death and heaven. I don't know if that's truly where I was heading, but I know for sure that I left my body and was moving to another place.

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? An afterlife probably exists

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? Unknown

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? No

After the NDE:

Was the experience difficult to express in words? Yes It was as if all that was happening was nothing out of the ordinary. Yet, I knew something was off. It was both feelings at once - as if I were totally confused, but not confused at all.

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. I don't remember much about that day besides the actual experience I had.

Do you have any psychic, non-ordinary or other special gifts after your experience that you did not have before the experience? No

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes Immediately after, once I was stable and able to move again.

Did you have any knowledge of near death experience (NDE) prior to your experience? Uncertain. I had always heard different stories from people with near death experiences seeing a 'bright light at the end of a tunnel' for example. I knew that people often have unique, unexplainable experiences when they come close to death. But, Ihad never experienced it myself prior to my experience.

What did you believe about the reality of your experience shortly (days to weeks) after it happened? Experience was definitely real. It was too vivid to not have been real. There is no doubt in my mind that I had left my body.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real. It was too vivid to not have been real. There still is no doubt in my mind that I had left my body.

Is there anything else that you would like to add about your experience? Yes

Did the questions asked and information that you provided accurately and comprehensively describe your experience? Uncertain