Bonnie J's NDE

EXPERIENCE DESCRIPTION:

            The event of May 17 1977 was the fulfillment of a promise made to me by an Angel or the Virgin Mother when I was a small child on my parent's farm in Nebraska.  My claim is this:  I woke in the middle of the night to a vision of a lady at the foot of my bed.  She was dressed in blue with stars around her; a bright light emanated from behind, below and above her.  She said to me, "Joyce before you reach the age of 24 you will be given a choice to live or die".  I remember that vision as if it occurred just last night when it fact it occurred at least 50 years ago.  I remembered it somewhat while I was a child but as I neared my twenties each year a couple of months before my birthday I would wonder if I would actually live to see my birthday. 

So, on May 17, 1977 I was 3.5 months away from my 24th birthday.  I was in wonderful health and I thought 'I'm going to make it to my birthday without event.'  Then the boat accident happened - a fluke.  It was a clear day in May, only 2 boats were on the huge lake that day - the one I was riding in and the other occupied by a doctor and a nurse (we later found out when they reached shore to do triage on me)  No wind, the lake was calm, the surface of the water was as smooth as a mirror.  

At first I did not know why the driver of the boat didn't see me.  I was screaming and waving my arms - then I 'just knew' the boat was going to hit me so I maneuvered my body into a horizontal as best I could hoping to keep the bow of the boat from hitting my head.  The last thing I remember prior to the NDE was saying the prayer, the Our Father (I was not terribly religious at that time) then feeling the impact of the boat in my side, having the wind knocked out of me and swallowing water.  

The next thing I sensed was a surreal feeling of floating high, high in the sky.  I had all of my senses though I felt I no longer had a body. All around me was bright, bright light and I sensed so much love I felt as if I'd never ever felt before - quiet, peace, serene contentment, no pain, now worry, just a tremendous sense of BEING - of me BEING.  I hear (sensed) love, joy, peace, contentment. I floated without seeing anyone (relatives that had passed away).  But, if this makes sense, I FELT God's presence. 

Then I sensed (heard - I hesitate to describe the event with our human terms because I never HEARD anything yet I know I was asked) a question. The question was:  'Are you ready Joyce?'.  I struggled with the answer and then I was shown my graveside.  The grass around my burial plot was vivid, vivid green, the sky was blue, there was a gentle breeze - I even heard a bird sing. People were leaving the coffin for their cars.  The only 3 people left by my coffin were my husband, my daughter then aged 3 and my son then aged 17 months. AT THAT MOMENT I KNEW I could not leave my children - I telepathed my answer, "NO". 

The next moment I saw myself being propelled through the water towards the surface of the lake, I remember watching the water part above me. I remember seeing the sky as the water opened in front of me. I remember being propelled with such force that I actually bobbed up and down (like a buoy) when I reached the surface. 

I saw my husband driving from the boat into the lake looking for me (yes, I actually had been submerged).  I tried to scream, tried to wave my arm to get his attention and that of the driver of the boat (my sister). I could not - I remember thinking - 'I'm going to have to save myself'.  So I swam to the boat (I don't remember how far the boat was from me). The doctor and the nurse (in the second boat) saw the accident - they had radioed (phoned - don't know which) for an ambulance then went to shore - met us at shore.  

My full life vest - the kind that is like a jacket that buckles around the waist and chest and has a belt was tore and waterlogged. I remember floating again and numerous times the nurse (or doctor) shaking me, slapping my face asking me to 'stay awake' - I remember hearing them - I don't think I ever opened my eyes.  

I was taken to the hospital in a torso pressure bandage because I constantly moaned about my right side. In the emergency room the laceration to my thigh was fixed, the docs deemed my right elbow was not crushed - the doctors intended to send me home. I didn't want to go home because of the pain in my right side - they sent me to the x-ray - where when the pressure bandage was removed I coded. I suffered lacerations to my liver, my right kidney, a 5 inch hernia to the right muscle wall BUT, and this of all things saved me - my skin did not tear - it was intact. Internal bleeding was so bad the doctors chose to not operate - they believed they could not control the bleeding if they operated so months later, after the edema dissipated I had surgery to put my muscle wall back together.  

The story does not stop there - I then had the premonition that my time on earth would be finished once my children were settled in their lives - my children are in the early to mid 30s, 1 married, 1 will be married (for the 3rd and I know final time) this June. 1 has found her life career, the other is just now finding his - a budding idea but one in which I know he will be fulfilled and happy.  I cannot shake the feeling that I will not be here for long - perhaps 57 - 2.33 years...sounds dumb I know BUT so did the vision I had when I was a little girl......

Was the kind of experience difficult to express in words? No      

At the time of this experience, was there an associated life threatening event?          Yes     I was water skiing.  The boat pulling me hit me after I feel from the water skis.  The boat speed approximated at 35mph. I took the brunt of the impact from the boat on my right side - abdomen. Full body life jacket was lacerated and at the time I was revived, completely water soaked. First laceration was neat my jugular vein (right neck) - last laceration was my right thigh (propeller cut). Massive internal damage - lacerated liver, right kidney, right side muscle wall completely severed.  The only reason I am here is because the skin did not break - there was only a slight raised red ridge on my skin caused by the impact of the boat. The doctors said if my skin had cut open I would have lost my internal organs in the lake.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness?    From the moment I sensed peace, joy, love, contentment and was floating - when I knew I did not have a body but I was still totally ME

How did your highest level of consciousness and alertness during the experience compare to your normal every day consciousness and alertness?    More consciousness and alertness than normal

If your highest level of consciousness and alertness during the experience was different from your normal every day consciousness and alertness, please explain:            From the moment I sensed peace, joy, love, contentment and was floating - when I knew I did not have a body but I was still totally ME

Did your vision differ in any way from your normal, everyday vision (in any aspect, such as clarity, field of vision, colors, brightness, depth perception degree of solidness/transparency of objects, etc.)?  Yes     I saw with my mind not my eyes. Clarity was amazing - as if seeing colors, objects for the first time.   My husband, children at my grave were solid, very real - I could hear their cries, see their tears and also SENSE their pain. I sensed my husband's overwhelmed feeling about the children and KNEW he could not raise them as they needed to be raised ----THE ONLY REASON I ANSWERED THE QUESTION WITH A 'NO'

Did your hearing differ in any way from your normal, everyday hearing (in any aspect, such as clarity, ability to recognize source of sound, pitch, loudness, etc.)?
            Yes     hearing was not as we experience it in our every day life - I SENSED the words rather than heard the words.

Did you experience a separation of your consciousness from your body?     Yes

What emotions did you feel during the experience?            A PEACE, JOY, LOVE, HARMONY, RAPTURE THAT I KNEW I WAS WITH GOD

Did you pass into or through a tunnel or enclosure?          No       I was simply THERE....not tunnel, enclosure - I was simply WITH GOD

Did you see a light?           Yes     EVERYTHING WAS A LIGHT - THE SKY WHITE THAT IS THE ONLY THING I SAW UNTIL I WAS SHOWN MY GRAVESITE

Did you meet or see any other beings?           Yes     NO DEPARTED RELATIVES OR OTHER 'DEAD' PEOPLE, JUST MY HUSBAND AND CHILDREN AT MY GRAVESITE

Did you experience a review of past events in your life?    No      

Did you observe or hear anything regarding people or events during your experience that could be verified later?          No      

Did you see or visit any beautiful or otherwise distinctive locations, levels or dimensions?            Uncertain      ONLY MY GRAVESITE.....

Did you have any sense of altered space or time?   Uncertain      I DON'T BELIEVE TIME EXISTED ON THAT LEVEL.......I DID NOT HAVE A SENSE OF TIME....I SIMPLY REALIZED I WAS WITHOUT A BODY - THE ONLY CHARACTERISTIC I HAD WAS MY ABILITY TO PROCESS THOUGHT

Did you have a sense of knowing special knowledge, universal order and/or purpose?     No      

Did you reach a boundary or limiting physical structure? No      

Did you become aware of future events?       No           

Did you have any psychic, paranormal or other special gifts following the experience you did not have prior to the experience?     Yes     I sense change, trouble, illness, outcomes etc with respect to people I know and myself. I know when an object is going to break.  I don't know when or how or why I just know.  My family, when we are not joking, say I am 99% right with respect to what I tell them; my friends call me an angel. I seem to be put in places where people are in need - they tell me I 'fix' them - show them a different road to travel, way to think, belief in themselves, ways to come to a decision.  With respect to 'knowing something' I knew I wouldn't finish a tour of employment offshore - that 'something' would bring me home well before my 24 months abroad was over - and it happened in the exact timeframe I outlined. I know when a car is going to break down before it does so. I know what a person needs - and I help them find peace, happiness.  I seem to be helping others - at the same time I feel a great unsettledness in my life....like I am coming to the end of why I am here.

Have you shared this experience with others?         Yes     As soon as I was well enough.  And through the years I've shared it with people who were in 'need' and 'needed to know' that God is with us....and loves them and is helping them through their difficulties, grief, sorrow, challenges.   Awe, wonder, amazement. Yes, as a result of my sharing and my continued support of them during their trials - when the trial passed they tell me they could not have endured the hardship without me - they call me an Angel. The funny thing is - I have no sense of what it is I give to give such comfort or clarity or hope or whatever it is I give these people.

Did you have any knowledge of near death experience (NDE) prior to your experience?    No      

How did you view the reality of your experience shortly (days to weeks) after it happened:            Experience was definitely real    Absolutely real given the doctors said I should not be alive for the following reasons:

1) my life vest was completely water logged - I should have sunk rather than surface

2) my skin should have split wide open from the impact of the boat