JoAnn R's NDE

Experience description: 

I had been coughing a lot and been sick...my mother took me to the doctor who sent me to the hospital. My doctor was Hans Lehman and I was in Ballard Hospital. I had pneumonia and trouble breathing.  After I had been in the hospital for at least a week and was not getting better, I had surgery to have mucus removed...my mother says it was a blockage between my bronchial tubes and my lungs. 

I was taken into surgery and a mask was put over my face and ether was dropped on the mask.  I was told to breathe it in.  The next thing I knew, the nurse was saying frantically "Breathe out, Honey" over and over.  I could see the doctors and nurses because I was looking down on them and myself. At this point things started to happen very fast and I was drawn through a tunnel toward a bright light.  There were other lights along the tunnel that were people.  I was very excited because when I got to the end of the tunnel I would know everything!!  I was moving very fast!!  I never did make it to the end of the tunnel.  I think I saw some things about my family's move to Anacortes that would take place in a year and I also saw a woman who might be me grown up.

I woke up in the hospital bed the doctor had pulled one of my teeth because it had been loose and I  had money from the tooth fairy.  I started to get better and eventually went home.  No one ever mentioned that I had stopped breathing during the surgery.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness?
            I think I was most aware when I was rushing toward the light and excited to get to know everything.

Was your level of consciousness and alertness during the experience different from normal every day consciousness and alertness?  I was moving fast and I was not walking or running...I was just moving.

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, brighter and just so different than anything else

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.)?            Uncertain
            I don't remember the sounds so much...I did remember the nurse telling me to breathe and I must have been asleep then

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

What emotions did you feel during the experience?
            I was a little bit scared of what was happening because it was so fast and I had no control over everything going so fast.  I was also excited to get to know everything.  I did not have much understanding of religion nor had I had any people I knew who had passed on...so the light felt like more of a source and the lights that were people were an encouragement.

Did you pass into or through a tunnel or enclosure?            Yes
            It was a tunnel that was dark with lights that were people...at the end was an incredible bright light.

Did you see a light?            Yes,             The brightest light I have ever seen...it was welcoming

Did you meet or see any other beings?            Yes
            The lights along the tunnel were people but I did not know them.  They were encouraging.

Did you have any sense of altered space or time?            Yes, everything was happening very fast

Did you have a sense of knowing special knowledge, universal order and/or purpose?            Yes
            I would know everything when I got to the end of the tunnel but did not get there

Did you reach a boundary or limiting physical structure?            Uncertain
            There was no boundary but I did not make it to the light.

Did you become aware of future events?            Uncertain
            I think I might have seen my family's move to Anacortes that happened in the next year...at the time of my experience my family was not contemplating such a move.  I may have seen myself as an adult.  All this was just glimpses.

Did you have any psychic, paranormal or other special gifts following the experience you did not have prior to the experience?            No
           
Have you shared this experience with others?            Yes
            I tried to tell my family about it when I went home from the hospital but they did not listen or seem interested.  I talked about it from time to time through the years but considered it a reaction to ether.  Not many people seemed very interested.  I met a woman who had had a near death experience herself and she was finally someone who was interested.  This is when I became convinced that I had had a near death experience myself and began to talk about it as a NDE.

Did you have any knowledge of near death experience (NDE) prior to your experience?            No
           
Were there one or several parts of the experience especially meaningful or significant to you?
            After having this experience...even before I knew it was a NDE...I thought of it as some kind of milestone in my life.  I felt I had lived through this for some reason.  When things got difficult or I felt like giving up...I remembered that I had lived through this illness for some purpose.

How did you view the reality of your experience shortly (days to weeks) after it happened:
            Experience was probably real
            I just did not know what to make of it.  I had no one to talk to and no frame of reference.  I was only 8 years old.

How do you currently view the reality of your experience:
            Experience was definitely real
            I firmly believe this was a NDE.  I think about it often and wonder at it.  I do not like hospitals and though I have had some surgery am very uncomfortable with it.

Is there anything else you would like to add concerning the experience?
            I was so young when I had this experience.  I did not have much understanding of religion or religious figures.  I did not know any people who had passed away to meet me in the tunnel.

Did the questions asked and information you provided so far accurately and comprehensively describe your experience?            Yes,          I think pretty well.

Please offer any suggestions you may have to improve this questionnaire:
            Perhaps some questions for someone who had this experience as a child.