Experience Description

As a six year old child my appendix burst. I was rushed to the hospital to be operated on. All seemed to go well, then all of my sutures inside broke and I was rushed back to surgery. During emergency surgery, I felt as if I was levitating and I could look down at the operating table and see the surgeons working on me.

I felt very cold and just wanted to be warm again. I kept levitating higher, the higher I went the warmer I became. Then a woman started towards me, I became very frightened. I said 'Who are you? I don't know you.' She said that she was my grandmother's mother whom I had never met. She said, 'Everything will be okay, come with me.' I told her I did not want to go, she kept telling me to come with her. I kept saying, 'No, I don't want to go,' and started crying.

She left without me and I started to descend, the further down I went the colder I became.

That is all I remember, but after a long recovery I told my parents and doctors what happened. They dismissed all of it because I was a small child.

Background Information:

Gender: Male

Date NDE Occurred: 1948

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes Illness 'Life threatening event, but not clinical death'

How do you consider the content of your experience? Mixed

The experience included: Out of body experience

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? Normal consciousness and alertness Talking to the woman.

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

Were your thoughts speeded up? Incredibly fast

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

Were your senses more vivid than usual? Incredibly more vivid

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? Yes

The experience included: Presence of deceased persons

Did you see any beings in your experience? I actually saw them

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

The experience included: Darkness

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

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

What emotions did you feel during the experience? Frightened.

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

Did you have a feeling of joy? incredible joy

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? Everything about the universe

Did scenes from your past come back to you? My past flashed before me, out of my control

Did scenes from the future come to you? Scenes from the world's future I saw my parents worry.

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

God, Spiritual and Religion:


What was your religion prior to your experience? Moderate

Have your religious practices changed since your experience? No

What is your religion now? Moderate

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

Did you see deceased or religious spirits? I actually 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? No

Are there one or several parts of your experience that are especially meaningful or significant to you? I did not know the woman I spoke to.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes See main narrative.

Did you have any knowledge of near death experience (NDE) prior to your experience? Yes

What did you believe about the reality of your experience shortly (days to weeks) after it happened? Experience was definitely real No one can convince me this did not happen.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real Scary for a six year old.

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? Being a child no one believed me, sixty-two years later this experience comes to my mind as if it was yesterday.