Jeffrey C NDE

Experience Description:

I heard my friends' voices; one said you better go and get his parents, this looks serious. Shortly after that I remember seeing myself lying on the road, next to the telephone pole - my hands were stretched up, pointing up to the sky, as I was still dizzy and falling - yet here I was already lying on my back! My friends were standing around me like looking down in a 'football' huddle Somehow I felt like I was on top of the telephone pole, watching this scene unfold.

I saw John start to run to the left, towards my house - I watched him until he came to the end of the building and turned to his right. I thought 'does he know where to go?' Suddenly I moved up higher - like up to the third or fourth level of the ten story mill building and the street of our ball game. I could see him still running until he came to the street I lived on - he turned left. It happened again - I had moved up in height to get a better view! I began to notice the rooftops of many houses, I could even see the church that was four city blocks away. I was like floating watching and also noticed the football huddle and my legs sticking out from it were getting smaller - yet I could still hear my friends talking to me - as if I was right there with them. I felt no pain and the 'humming' noise had stopped. I was very peaceful as I watched John run up the front steps into my house.

Soon, I saw my father, then mom, then John running down the four steps and heading towards the corner were we hung out. Then they turned the corner and continued towards us on Park Street. Soon I was much higher up - it felt like I was on top of the ten story building. I could see for miles, all around my part of town. I heard a siren, off to my right, but the mill was in the way. Suddenly I was way high up!!! Looking down on the ten story mill's roof and barely able to see the others or me in the street. I could see an ambulance coming up Church Street and turning left - heading to cross over the bridge and into our part of town. As I watched the lights flashing, I began to hear my mother's voice. She was saying, 'Jeffrey, please don't die.' This distracted me from watching the ambulance heading our way and made me look back, down at the street where they were. She said it over and over and over, I could hear my father saying it too. Soon, all of my friends that were there were saying it too (I have tears in my eyes as I am typing this...), 'Jeffrey, please don't die.'

I was thirteen years old; I did not understand what has happened, what I was seeing and why they are saying that. I am watching a movie of something that is happening yet don't understand. Suddenly, there is a very bright light, like when Uncle Cliff has his camera out - hard to see in the light - there I see her, an Angel, so beautiful - what is happening? Am I dying? She is pointing for me to look down and to her right. I looked and saw all of the people in the street. The ambulance is there. She gestures for me to look there again. I hear my mother, father, friends all crying out for me not to die (more tears while typing this). I see them place my body on the stretcher. Suddenly I am back in my body and can see everyone around me. I say, 'Don't worry mom. I am not going to die.' Everyone there starts to scream, cry, and jump up and down. Today, I guess that's when I returned to my body. I guess I could have gone in either direction, with the Angel, or back.

Mom and dad jumped in with me and we all went to Amsterdam Memorial Hospital. When we arrived, I saw our regular doctor and a bunch of nurses waiting for us in the emergency entrance. He checked me over and said to mom and dad, 'Please come into this office with me.' I was still lying on the stretcher, in the emergency room - yet, somehow, I could hear them all as if they were standing right next to me - even though I knew they had closed the door and were in a room far from me. I remember the doctor telling them my injury was too great for our small town hospital to help me. He said, 'Larry, (my dad) if you do not take him to Schenectady or Albany Medical Center he is going to die.' They left the room and came to me. Dad said we had to leave and I said I heard what the doctor had said and that we should go Aunt Theresa's hospital in Schenectady - where my aunt was the head nurse in the operating room. I rode in the ambulance with one person in the back talking to me. I remember saying that I was sick and going to throw-up - he gave me the trash pail and I did - it was all red blood.

The next thing I remember was Aunt Theresa standing over me with her white nurse's uniform on (she was crying). I said, 'Don't worry; I will be alright, now that I am here with you and your doctors.' They had me lying on a cold stone/steel table and were taking x-rays of my head. They kept saying, 'Hold this plate, don't move.' Left side, right side, on my back (I got dizzy while on my back) - then I said I was going to throw-up again. They gave me one of those stainless steel, u-shaped curved pans. The first 'hurl' filled it; I dropped it into a waste pail they gave me. I remember two or three or more, all blood, that was it for me.

The next thing I remember was thirty-two days later. After brain surgery, using a medicine flown in from France (first use in the USA). I had moments of flashbacks. Once I opened my eyes and my entire body was in an 'ice bed' all I saw was my feet, there were IV's going into both ankles. Another time I looked up and was surrounded by 'nuns' - I knew then that I had died and had gone to heaven (then I blacked out again). Another time I awoke and the doctor was taking out stitches from my forehead. I was counting each 'click' of the scissors but after 'one hundred', I fell asleep/passed out again. I was in a coma for thirty-two days.

I grew five inches in height over that month - they said it was from the medications from France. First time they were used in the USA. For the next five years, I used to go back to my doctor's every six months to do blood work and other things - it was all reported in the American Medical Association magazine.

Background Information:

Gender: Male

Date NDE Occurred: mother's day May 1961

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Uncertain Accident Direct head injury Life threatening event, but not clinical death It was Sunday afternoon and I was leaning my back, shoulders and head against a wooden telephone pole (this was third base - we were playing street baseball) looking up at a beautiful blue sky, a few white puffy clouds. Then I noticed an airplane and wondered where it was headed. Suddenly things went black/gray and a loud 'hum' began to sound in my head. I could not see anything, but felt I was losing my balance and was falling; the weird part was that I never hit the ground, just kept being dizzy and falling. It was not until four weeks later, I was told that the batter swung at the ball and let the bat slip and it hit me like a torpedo in the forehead while I was leaning against the pole, nowhere to fall down to. My head exploded. There was front and rear damage, popping out one of my eyes, and caving in my forehead. They tell me my nose looked like that of a hog/pig. At the time, I guessed a wire from the pole had fallen off and I was being electrocuted.

How do you consider the content of your experience? Mixed

Did you feel separated from your body? Yes 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 I was only thirteen, life went on you know. To this day, I can 'see and hear it like it happened yesterday.' I have an art pad and have drawn all of what I have told you in words.

Were your thoughts speeded up? Neither

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? Neither

Were your senses more vivid than usual? Neither

Did you seem to be aware of things going on elsewhere? Yes, and the facts have been checked out

Did you pass into or through a tunnel? No

Did you see any beings in your experience? Saw them

Did you encounter or become aware of any deceased (or alive) beings? Yes An Angel.

Did you see, or feel surrounded by, a brilliant light? A light clearly of mystical or other-worldly origin

Did you see an unearthly light? Yes With my Angel.

Did you seem to enter some other, unearthly world? Neither see # 3.

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

Did you have a feeling of joy? Neither

Did you feel a sense of harmony or unity with the universe? United, one with the world

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? A barrier I was not permitted to cross; or 'sent back' to life involuntarily

God, Spiritual and Religion:

What was your religion prior to your experience? Moderate I attended church every Sunday w/my parents & Tuesday afternoon religious instruction. All ways attended public school.

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? No

What is your religion now? Moderate Still Roman Catholic, attend church weekly.

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? Neither

Did you see deceased or religious spirits? Saw them

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? No

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? Yes There seems to be some 'sexual' prowess - that has followed me since then. I have researched 'frontal lobe' injuries in male adolescents and there does seem to be some truth in prior researcher - from my point of view - sex is very important to me.

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? I liked seeing the Angel. It helped me and my belief in the faith. It also made think that I was returned to my body for a reason. Was it to have 'my son?' Touched the lives of my school students? Adults I encounter? Why was I returned and for what purpose?

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes With my parents. They said to be happy with my recovery and to keep it 'between us.' Which is what I have done for over forty years. Mom has passed, dad is okay, but very old (eighty-seven) and does not understand what I am telling you about. My son thinks 'it's cool.' (What does that mean?)

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

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? When they replaced my forehead with this plate they used a thread like material to sew it into place with my skull. The x-rays remind me of a 'spiral notebook', you could buy at Wal-Mart. I have one of these on each of my temples, going vertically. On occasion, I do have this same bad dream. I am blowing my nose and a piece of wire comes out one of my nostrils. I began to pull it out and a pile starts to form on the floor. I generally wake up about then.

Are there any other questions that we could ask to help you communicate your experience? Follow up questions about my life after this experience - say for the next year, maybe the next five years? A life time follow up?