Pooja V NDE

Experience Description

I was diagnosed with Guillain Barre Syndrome (GBS) 7 days before the experience. I was put on life support in an ICU; intubated and on a ventilator throughout this period. On the 7th day of admission into the ICU, I remember going unconscious and realizing that my time to die had come. I could hear the monitor noise as I went unconscious.

I had a sense of floating in the vacuum or void. I felt absolutely no pressures or burdens. I felt a sense of calmness and peace that I had never experienced before in earthly life. I didn't feel any attachments to anyone or anything. Yet, this was not distressing, only peaceful. I was feeling light as a feather floating in the air. I remember experiencing this for about 30 seconds. While I was unconscious, I recall my sister calling out my name, asking me to come back. My sister was nowhere present near me in the ICU at this time. The medical staff who were present told me she was there.

I remember not wanting to go back since I was experiencing absolute calm and peace. After about 30 seconds, I recall coming back to my body, with monitors beeping around me, a group of doctors and paramedics surrounding me. They were trying to bring me back to consciousness and giving a sigh of relief after I became conscious. After that I was hurriedly taken to the CT scan machine along with the life support ventilator and tests being run on me. I remember falling unconsciousness multiple times during when I was in the ICU on life support but on none of those occasions I experienced anything to the above NDE. Every time I would fall unconscious and come back to consciousness within seconds.

After about 7 months of fully recovering from GBS, I went back to the hospital where I was treated. I wanted to meet the medical staff and to thank them. I asked the head of medical staff what caused me to die. The doctor stated that they could never figure out any exact cause, but their best guess was probably a blood clot in one of the limbs travelled to the heart which stopped oxygen supply to the brain and caused me to fall unconscious. GBS attacks the peripheral nervous system of the body and causes absolute paralysis of all the muscles in my body including respiratory muscles. Hence, chances of formation of blood clots were high due to non-movement of limbs for elongated periods of time. The doctor told my family that they were doing their best to revive me, but there was a good chance that I may not be resuscitated.

I never talked about my NDE to any of the medical staff since I was concerned that they may not believe me. I tried researching on the internet but couldn't find any reasons to explain what I experienced. When I resumed work, I was talking with a senior partner at the law firm who too had experienced a life-threatening event like mine when he suffered from GBS. He told me that he too had an NDE but his was more of an out of body experience. He could not explain his experience either.

I have been wanting to share my NDE with people close to me but I fear they may not understand or attribute some scientific reasoning behind it. However, I recall my NDE very vividly and the feelings I experienced during then.

Background Information:

Gender: Female

Date NDE Occurred: 30 December 2014

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes Illness Life threatening event, but not clinical death. My SPO2 levels to below 30 due to unexplained reasons and it was assumed that there was very low supply of oxygen to brain.

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

Did you feel separated from your body? Uncertain I recall hearing my sister calling out my name who was not present anywhere near me when I had the NDE. I was in the ICU and she was outside in the waiting area throughout this period. I'm not sure if she actually called out to me outside the ICU.

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 had normal level of consciousness except that I was medically unconscious.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness? All the time.

Were your thoughts speeded up? No

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? No

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. There was no vision. Just a white background. I do not recall seeing anything but just a white vacuum sort of scene.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. I recall hearing only my sister calling out my name who was not present anywhere near me when I had the NDE.

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? Yes I recall hearing my sister who was alive at the time of my experience. I did not see her though, but only heard her.

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? I felt very light, burden free, not attached to anyone or anything. Everything felt positive and peaceful.

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

Did you have a feeling of joy? Happiness

Did you feel a sense of harmony or unity with the universe? I felt no longer in conflict with nature

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

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? Yes I seem to believe more in a supreme power now.

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. I do not believe in the concept of hell o heaven. But I was uncertain about there being an afterlife after death. However, after my experience, I feel that there does exist an afterlife or at least an immediate pathway to afterlife which is full of Happiness, peace, calm and tranquility and you don't feel no emotions in a very postive way.

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Yes I became more compassionate towards others, less frustrated and more satisfied in life.

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? Uncertain. I remember feeling that I was certainly moving away from the worldly life and was in a different space which felt very peaceful and calm.

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? Uncertain. When I was having the experience, I felt being unattached or removed from all of life's burdens, problems, emotions and attachments which we experience in daily life - both happy and sad. Instead, I felt a sense of calm and peace.

During your experience, did you gain information about love? No

What life changes occurred in your life after your experience? Moderate changes in my life There have been no significant changes in the way I live. However, I know that materialistic things in life do not matter at all (including money and career)- these things will be left behind once a person dies. How we are towards others and how much time we spend with people we love is all that we will remember.

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 more accurately than other life events that occurred around the time of the experience Since I was in the ICU on life support, I remember having visual hallucinations on other occasions when I was fully conscious - I got to know later on these visions were just hallucinations - an actual disorder called ICU delirium. However, the NDE I experienced was definitely not a hallucination as I remember going unconscious and realizing that I was going to die but that did not feel painful at all.

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? The part where my sister called out to me and there was no one else from the family or friends was very meaningful since I never thought it would be my sister who I would see when I would die.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes It was about 7 months after the experience that I shared it with a senior partner at my law firm who also seemed to have had a NDE. He seems to have completely understood it. But I was very young at that point and probably did not take the NDE seriously. After about 2-3 years after the experience that I shared it with a close friend. However, the friend did not seem to get it and probably took it lightly. Since then, I have been very selective about this and recently I shared this with a colleague who had lost his brother to an accident a few years back. He seems to be still trying to make peace with his brother's death and specifically asked me if I have had an NDE. When I told him about my NDE and that at least to me death did not feel painful, he seemed to have felt relieved. I feel that finally my NDE seemed to have helped someone with some unexplained questions about life and death.

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 probably not real There was a lot going on at that point - a lot of medical stuff to be done, physiotherapy, speeding up teh recovery to get back to work as soon as possible. So I did not have the time or sense to take the NDE seriously.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real I have had years to think about the NDE and now that I have grown up ( now I'm 33, I had NDE when I was 24, I feel that the experience probably was more real than ever and it is now that it has got me thinking about life and death.

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? None.

Are there any other questions that we could ask to help you communicate your experience? None.