John M's NDE

Experience description: 

I was on board a large Catamaran in Key West Harbor, watching a motorboat race on the morning of Friday, November 13, 1994. Conditions were gusty. I was standing at the stern of the boat, looking to the rear, when the mainsail suddenly "jibed," that is, was brought around to the other side of the boat with incredible speed and force by a sudden change in wind direction, and the end of it caught me on the side of the head and knocked me off my feet and down a hatchway head first. Fortunately someone on board had a cell phone, and the Coast Guard were nearby because of the race, so they came and got me, and took me ashore and to the hospital. I can remember parts of this.

They checked me out in the emergency room, and gave me a CAT scan, which showed the multiple skull fractures, and the sinuses filled with blood, and so on. Then they hooked me up to an EKG machine in a side room. Outside there was a sudden noise of helicopters, and pandemonium in the emergency room. Right after my accident, a motorboat in the race had tipped over and the driver and throttle-man were trapped underneath for fifteen minutes. They were being brought in by helicopters. While they were trying to save these men (one of whom died)  they left me alone in the side room.

The next thing I remember is being able to be outside my body and to be able to fly around the room. I remember being delighted at being able to propel myself around. I went up to the ceiling, and looked at the light fixtures close up, noting the detail of them and how they were made. Then I looked down and saw my body still lying there, but there was a man that looked a little like a doctor leaning over it. I "flew" down for a closer look.

He was dressed in what at first seemed a lot like a hospital robe, but it was yellow, almost like it had gold in it. And he wore a "pillbox" type hat, which looked a little like the kind of cap a doctor wears in surgery, except this was more like a hat, and it had writing on it in an alphabet I did not recognize, but it might have been Hebrew, or something related to it. He held objects that looked like crochet hooks, and they were also gold or bronze in color, and was using them to do something to the side of my head where I had been hit. Then he told me (something like), "Well, you won't get too many chances to recover from something like this again. You must be much more careful in the future, or you won't be able to do what you have to do, and that won't be good." It was as if he didn't say it in so many words, but I understood it as complete sentences.

Then he said, "Now stop fooling around by flying around like that, and get back into your body, and ask someone for water and a blanket." I did what he said, and in an instant he disappeared, and I could feel myself zipping back into my body. Soon s nurse walked by and I asked her for water and a blanket. She brought the blanket (which felt really good) and let me wet my mouth with a little water. Then I went to sleep. Later they took me upstairs. Because of the confusion, I spent about nine hours in the emergency room.

NEW QUESTIONNAIRE

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     Skull Fracture

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness and alertness?    When I was watching the "messenger" and he was speaking to me.

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

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.)?  Uncertain      I could see clearly, even thought one eye was swollen shut, and the other eye was partially shut.

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 could hear what I was told, as if via ESP, not like regular hearing.

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

What emotions did you feel during the experience?            Amazement, delight, wonder.

Did you pass into or through a tunnel or enclosure?          No

Did you see a light?           No

Did you meet or see any other beings?           Yes     A man dressed in a robe and cap operated on me with brass-colored instruments, and warned me not to take unnecessary physical chances in the future.

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?          Yes     I remember the detail of the ceiling of the hospital room, because I "flew" up close to it. Later, when I went back there, I saw that it was as I had remembered it.

Did you see or visit any beautiful or otherwise distinctive locations, levels or dimensions?           No
Did you have any sense of altered space or time?   Yes
            I have no idea of how long the procedure actually took.

Did you have a sense of knowing special knowledge, universal order and/or purpose?     Uncertain            Certainly what happened was not what I would have expected, and if real, the universe is much stranger (and more complex) than most people have even imagined.

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     For a long time afterwards, I could see people's "auras," and seemed able to predict small events accurately.

Have you shared this experience with others?         Yes     After about one week, I shared what happened. Those I told seemed to accept it. In some cases they didn't want to talk about it any more.

Did you have any knowledge of near death experience (NDE) prior to your experience?    Uncertain            I'm sure I had heard about NDE experiences, from books and articles. My experience was different from those I had read about, so at first I didn't recognize the connection between what I had read and what happened.

Later I read a couple of books about NDEs.

Were there one or several parts of the experience especially meaningful or significant to you?    I have certainly been a lot more careful about not getting hurt, as I was advised to do.

How did you view the reality of your experience shortly (days to weeks) after it happened:            Experience was definitely real
            It was fresh in my mind, and as I recovered from the injuries, I became even more certain about what had happened.

How do you currently view the reality of your experience:            Experience was definitely real
            Later X rays showed no displacement of bone, even though I had sustained a severe blow to the head, and a great deal of CSF had leaked out through my sinuses and throat. I think the "messenger" had actually reset the bones, as I watched from the air, outside my body.

Have your relationships changed specifically as a result of your experience?           Yes
            I've tried to be a lot nicer and tolerant. Also calmer and braver.

Have your religious beliefs/practices changed specifically as a result of your experience?            Uncertain      They have changed a little, but it came afterward, and not as a direct result of my experience.

Following the experience, have you had any other events in your life, medications or substances which reproduced any part of the experience?         No

Is there anything else you would like to add concerning the experience?        Can't think of anything right now.

Did the questions asked and information you provided so far accurately and comprehensively describe your experience?         Yes

Please offer any suggestions you may have to improve this questionnaire:
            I have heard some people describe sort of an "electrical charge" in their bodies afterwards. There is some anecdotal evidence that they are no longer able to wear a watch without it malfunctioning. I wonder if there is anything to these reports, and what might be the underlying scientific cause, if any.

OLD QUESTIONNAIRE

Any associated medications or substances with the potential to affect the experience?     No

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 had a skull fracture from being hit by the boom of a large sailboat, as it swung around in a violent shift of the wind.

What was your level of consciousness and alertness during the experience?           I was dazed from the blow on the head, and I realize now that I was "in and out" of consciousness during the time in the emergency room, but I remember that my alertness during the experience was high, in contrast to the way I remember being before and after the experience.

            Was the experience dream like in any way?   I have had dreams where I flew, but this experience was much more vivid and realistic.

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

I felt that I was conscious, apart from the sleeping and unconscious body on the stretcher below me. I could move about by will, as if I were flying. I really enjoyed being able to do it, like a little kid thrilled with a new toy. I don't remember examining my appearance, or even thinking about it. I definitley remember reentering my body, remember positioning my "spirit body" to lie down with the physical one, and the the two rejoining.

Did you hear any unusual sounds or noises?           Not that I can remember.

Did you pass into or through a tunnel or enclosure?          No

Did you see a light?           No

Did you meet or see any other beings?           Yes

The only other being I encountered was the man who was working on my body, doing some kind of medical procedure, and who gave me the stern warning to be more careful in the future. He was standing there next to me on the stretcher, and seemed to be doing something with instruments that looked like there were made of bronze or a similar yellowish metal, and which were in the shape of crochet hooks. He seemed "put out" that I was flying about in a childish manner, and warned me to be more careful,  and told me to go back into my body and to ask for a blanket and water.

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

I am a lot more careful about physical risk that I was before.

Did you observe or hear anything regarding people or events during your experience that could be verified later?          Yes

I did have a chance to go back to that room later, and the light fixtures were as I had remembered them. Of course I could have seen this from the stretcher, but one of my eyes was completely swollen shut, and I couldn't see well out of the other at the time.