John H Probable NDE

EXPERIENCE DESCRIPTION:

I was resuscitated and could hear and speak, emergency room personnel kept calling my name, "John, can you hear me?" I answer to my middle name, "Scott" and informed them of this. I had no visual experience of this time. I was later informed that doctors had considered surgery to alleviate pressure on the brain from the fluid, but it was not performed, I was comatose for four days. I awoke, strapped to a bed with IVs running into my left hand, to the doctor who is a noted neurosurgeon. He is an eccentric, cosmetically dyed hair, black and white curls and wire-rimmed glasses. He was probably 6" from my face and I asked, "Who are you, where are we at, and why am I here?" He has a reputation for horrible bedside manner and went into a not-so-hospitable dialog about me being head-injured, brain-damaged, and not even knowing who I was. He also stated that I had no memory, it being erased by the head-injury. Being military, my response was, "My name is John Hill, Chief Warrant Officer 4, US Army, Cobra Pilot, again, who are you, where are we at, and who the "hell" are you? AND, if your putting anything through that IV that grounds me, I DO remember the meaning of the words "Law Suit"!

I again lost consciousness and awoke in a much-more disoriented state. I knew who I was, but was having the normal memory and time relative problems of most head-injured. I could not remember if events had happened 2 days or 2 years ago. I was in the Watertown Hospital for 2 weeks and then medivac-ed to Walter-Reed AMC for admission into the "Vietnam Era Traumatic Brain Injury" program. I left the ambulance under my own power and was sitting in reception when the Physician's Assistant, Cpt. Richard entered and called "Hill, looking for a quadriplegic laying around here on a gurney named Hill" I stood up and walked to him and said, "Don't know if Im the "Hill" you're looking for, but that's my name". Here you must understand the military perception of Warrant Officers, total authority in their field and without error! At the time there were only 4 grades, now 5, but it's a given that you should not conflict with a Warrant! It becomes comical sometimes, but that's not what we're discussing. So, he looked at me, and then my military ID and said, "Says here you were dead too, you W4s just don't listen!"

So, I was admitted to the "Vietnam Era Traumatic Brain Injury" Program at Walter-Reed. I received an initial MRI to validate the findings of the CAT-Scan performed in New York, which indicated 70-90% brain damage, validated. I was also tested for five days to establish base-line readings regarding a variety of subjects, but most notably, memory. That done, I returned to Ft. Drum, NY in time to assist as a logistician in the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew cleanup. I was initially assigned a PULHES "S" (psychological) profile of "2", diminished memory and accountability. That was removed after 4 weeks due to my performance of duty, being observed by my flight surgeon. I was permanently grounded, but still being an aviator and being part of the traumatic brain injury protocol at Walter-Reed, I was naturally being closely watched. Before my return for subsequent testing in July, 1993, I was assigned higher-level duties as the 10th Aviation Brigade S-4 (logistician) and was totally immersed in activities in Somalia, never going there, but in total support logistically. This was a challenge to my memory, having a security clearance that was re-instated and the safes being taken to Somalia, I had the rely on memory. I was the Chief Movements Officer, Comptroller and Logistical Actions Officer for all operations in Somalia. I was also involved in operations after the Blackhawk was shot down.