Travis S NDE

Experience Description

My wife and I had driven to the other side of the state the day before we were to pick up a puppy from the breeder. We had checked into a room at a bed and breakfast. We got dinner and brought it back to the room. We ate and I was socializing with the operators. We were outside smoking and learning about each other. I went back to the room and was speaking with my wife, when I started vomiting. I remember telling her that I was sorry. I remember my chair being tipped over and her yelling for help. The operators were then talking about calling 911. The next thing I remember is being put on a gurney and taken to the ambulance. Next, I remember being put on a helicopter. Then the paramedics were saying that they had to shock me. I'm assuming they did.

The next thing I saw was that everything was dark. There was no end to the darkness except for the light that was shining down from above and on to my body. There were paramedics all around my body except for my head. They were kneeling down while working on my body. I, on the other hand, was on both knees about 5 feet away. I kept yelling at myself, 'LIVE! Just keep fighting!' over and over.

I woke up in the intensive care unit (ICU) while intubated. The staff were telling me to relax as I was vomiting and trying not to drown. Then they gave me a shot. When I woke up the next time, I was no longer intubated. The nurse told me what happened. A couple of days later, I was moved into a regular room. Our friends drove out to pick up my wife and I from the hospital. We drove back to their home and stayed there for the night. The next day they drove us home. They stayed for a couple of hours before returning home.

I told my wife about the experience. I then went to sleep on the couch. I woke up at approximately 3 a.m. to see a hooded figure come from the entryway light fixture and float out to the end of the couch. I felt paralyzed as it crawled up my body. When it was directly over my face, I screamed loud enough to wake my wife from the next room. The figure vanished as she opened the bedroom door.

Background Information:

Gender: Male

Date NDE Occurred: 10/09/2018

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes Heart attack CPR given Clinical death (cessation of breathing or heart function) STEMI Heart Attack with 2 rounds of CPR, AFIB and a shock from paddles during Life Flight

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

Did you feel separated from your body? Uncertain 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 am never groggy. I am able to make conscious rational decisions within seconds of opening my eyes through years of training.

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

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. During the first event, I just kept yelling at myself over and over to just keep fighting. It seemed endless.

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 as any other day with the exception of everything being in black and white color.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience. I only heard myself screaming.

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? I actually saw them

Did you encounter or become aware of any deceased (or alive) beings? Uncertain During the second event, I saw a hooded figure come out of the entryway ceiling, light fixture. I could not make out any facial features.

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 During the first incident, everything was in black and white, almost a gray scale.

Did you seem to enter some other, unearthly world? A clearly mystical or unearthly realm. Everything was in black and white, gray scale. I knew I was on a life flight and I know there was insufficient room for all of the paramedics to be working on me in the positions they were kneeling in. I also know it would be impossible for me to be kneeling on both knees 5 feet away from my head on a life flight. I also did not see any walls or overhead.

What emotions did you feel during the experience? The first time was clearly the will to live, the second was a feeling of complete terror.

Did you have a feeling of peace or pleasantness? No

Did you have a feeling of joy? No

Did you feel a sense of harmony or unity with the universe? No

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 find myself looking for answers and explanations and examples.

What is your religion now? Unaffiliated- Agnostic

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

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? I encountered a definite being, or a voice clearly of mystical or unearthly origin. During the second event, I saw a hooded figure come out of the entryway ceiling light fixture. I could not make out any facial features.

Did you see deceased or religious spirits? I actually saw them

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.)? Uncertain During the first occurrence, I saw myself and the paramedics working on me.

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 definitely 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? Moderate changes in my life. I've reached out to a certified grief counselor specializing with veterans as well as friends with varying faiths (or lack of) trying to understand it.

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? Yes I'm less likely to care about changing anyone's mind about anything. People don't have to believe me.

After the NDE:

Was the experience difficult to express in words? Yes I just feel like I can't adequately explain it.

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.

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? For the first part, maybe that it seems like I willed myself to keep living and fighting. For the second part, it's like maybe I wasn't supposed to make it back.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes I started as soon as I was able to speak with my wife alone.

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 still believe that both the experiences were 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? That's the best that I can recall.