David H NDE

Experience Description

I was in the Marine Corps, at the recruit training depot in South Carolina. I was a squad leader and by this time in the training it was quite normal for a drill instructor to discipline the squad leaders instead of the squads. Then, the squad leaders would discipline members of the squad for whatever infraction had been committed.

In this particular incident, the drill instructor determined that the platoon was not marching in step properly. So, he brought the platoon to a halt. He demanded that the squad leaders and the private who carried the platoon's flag must go into a nearby field. Once there, they must do calisthenics-like push-ups, sit-ups, and "mountain-climbers." The drill instructor apparently did not see the large fire-ant mounds all around the field; or perhaps he did see them and this was a common practice of his. Regardless, we followed his orders. The ants were all over us. They particularly attacked my hands, wrists, and forearms by biting and stinging.

Afterward, nothing seemed particularly unusual. It certainly hurt, but I pushed on with the day. It was not until the next morning that it became apparent there was a problem. All of the members of the platoon were all standing in line. The recruits on the opposite side facing me, had a look of shocked horror on their faces. I was swollen and covered in hives. I could not wear my boots properly because my feet barely fit into them. After we finished breakfast, a junior drill instructor saw me and immediately sent me to the Senior Drill Instructor who then sent me to the "Branch Clinic."

It was a very long walk to the clinic, especially for someone so swollen and in so much pain. I really should not have been ordered out into the darkness alone, but I followed my orders. I arrived at the clinic and a Corpsman was performing triage. He saw me and immediately took me into an examination room where there was a stainless steel table. People were rushing all around, and there was certainly a sense of urgency at play. I was told to lie down on the table, and within seconds went into anaphylactic shock. I was an 18-year-old kid in a lot of pain, and convulsing violently. I was scared out of my mind. I can still remember the pain of it all and the fear of whatever unknown thing was happening to me.

I would be told later that my body was bouncing off the table where one could have seen moments of daylight between my body and the table. If I had been just one minute slower getting to that clinic, all of this would have happened on the side of the road with no one around to help.

Instantaneously, it went quiet. It was dark. There was no more pain and I could feel nothing at all. I could still hear because I heard people talking; they said, "we're losing him", "keep working", "get oxygen on him", "tank is empty sir", "get another one", "aye aye sir".

Then suddenly I could see. Then, it was as if I was floating above myself, looking down on my lifeless body. I could see people dressed in white working on me. A couple of people were wearing blue. I saw an oxygen tank being wheeled into the room. Another machine, on a wheeled table was being moved beside me.

Suddenly, I no longer saw the room or any figures in the room. Everything was solid white, like a warm bright light, and it surrounded me. I felt completely weightless, as if I had no physical form. I felt at total peace. There was just a warm, comforting light all around. I no longer heard anything. I did not hear any dead relatives calling to me; no one was beckoning me to walk into the light. Nothing like that happened. Yet, I did feel like I was somehow moving and possibly being pulled deeper into the light. As quickly as the light had come, it left me, and it became dark again.

I remember nothing else until I woke up in the back of an ambulance.

Someone later told me that I was in a helicopter, but that is not my memory.

I just remember opening my eyes and seeing someone in uniform sitting nearby and telling me that we'd be at the hospital soon. Then it was dark again. The next time I woke up I was in a bed, wearing blue pajamas and had no idea where I was. Next to me was a bag that said "Trach Kit."

One of the corpsmen who worked on me came to visit me soon after; he had taken a personal interest in me because I was the first person he ever saw die and the first person he ever saw come back from death. I told him everything that happened to me and what I had felt during the experience. I told him everything that I saw happening in that room "as I floated above my body." He said that I described it all perfectly. I had described the tank being rolled into the room to replace the empty one and the EKG machine being moved in and set up next to me were two things that definitely happened after my heart had stopped. I asked him how long I was gone. He told me that, "the printed readout from the EKG machine recorded 22 seconds but it took a while to get it hooked up and running." He estimated that from the time they lost my pulse to the time they got the EKG machine connected was probably 2 minutes. I assume that I was dead for 2 minutes and 22 seconds.

Over the years I have never met another person who has flatlined, I had never heard of an out-of-body or near-death experience prior to that event in 1982. I had never heard of any white light experience. Some people say whenever I talk about it, that it was because of a lack of oxygen to the brain; that my heart no longer pumped blood so the oxygen was not reaching my brain; or that I hallucinated.

My gut feeling is that there is life after death, that the soul leaves the body and lives on. Maybe I'm wrong, but I can tell you for certain that there is great peace in knowing that I can be in great pain at the time of death, and when I actually died there will be no more pain. My last thoughts were not of fear, but they will be peaceful. When I saw and felt that light, I never looked back. I never thought no, I don't want to die or that I wanted to go back. I was just at peace.

What happens after the white light? I unfortunately cannot say from experience, I can only speak from faith. I believe my soul was transitioning to a place of eternal peace.

Background Information:

Gender: Male

Date of NDE: 08/00/1982

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes
Anaphylactic shock after hundreds of fire ant bites

How do you consider the content of your experience? Entirely pleasant

Did you feel separated from your body? I clearly left my body and existed outside it
As I wrote about, I was gone, no heartbeat, no breathing. Events were occurring and I later was visited by someone who was in the room and he said I remembered everything perfectly, which should have been impossible. He knew I was clinically dead when those things happened.

How did your highest level of consciousness and alertness during the experience compare to your normal everyday consciousness and alertness? I'd say I was still aware of what was going on for about 30 to 45 seconds after my heart had stopped and I went from dark to light. That is based on my memory of things playing out in my mind; that is about how long I was seeing and hearing. I could see people working on me from an above perspective and could see my lifeless body, but then all I saw or cared about was the light that surrounded me and the warmth and the peace that I felt.
What I saw, in those 'floating' out-of-body moments, is etched into my memory forever; it has been 48 years since it happened and I can still see and hear it all.

At what time during the experience were you at your highest level of consciousness? More consciousness and alertness than normal

Were your thoughts speeded up? No

Did time seem to speed up or slow down? Everything seemed to be happening at once; or time stopped or lost all meaning
Yeah, that might be a way to describe it. I certainly didn't care about time and I didn't care about what I was leaving behind. I felt no sadness for my death and had no thoughts about anyone like family or girlfriend back home. Just absolute peace. Tranquility. Felt a lot like Heaven might be described, no more pain nor tears nor fear, just peace. A comforting peace.

Were your senses more vivid than usual? No

Please compare your vision during the experience to your everyday vision that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience Above, you asked about thoughts sped up; there should be an option that says not sure, maybe. When I heard two and a half minutes, that seems short, but when I count it out one, two, three, it seems like an eternity. Maybe I had no concept of the speed of my thoughts; I've never really contemplated this. As for vision, I do not recall any effect on vision.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience Nothing really different about hearing, only that once everything went from the pain, fear, and convulsions to a dark, painless peace, which was just before the out-of-body experience which was just prior to the light, I was still hearing. I heard things right up until everything went to white, at which time I no longer saw nor heard nor even cared about what was going on in the room.

Did you seem to be aware of things going on elsewhere? No

Did you pass into or through a tunnel? Uncertain
I do not have a memory of a tunnel. I died, there was a momentary darkness, then a weightless, floating, out-of-body experience, looking down at the room. Then it changed to a feeling of being surrounded by a warm bright light. I felt no boundaries, it felt infinite to me.

Did you see any beings in your experience? No

Did you encounter or become aware of any deceased beings? No

Did you see or feel surrounded by a brilliant light? An unusually bright light

Did you see an unearthly light? Uncertain
I'm just uncertain what you mean by 'unearthly'. It was bright, it was warm and it was completely surrounding me. I did not sense it was coming from any specific direction; it was as if it was from all directions, all-encompassing. I suppose in that respect, it would be unearthly since I've never felt that on earth.

Did you seem to enter another world? No

What emotions did you feel during the experience? I've never recalled specific happiness or joy, just peace and no more pain. I was violently convulsing and in a lot of pain, a teenager not knowing what was happening, then suddenly no pain, no fear, just peace.

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

Did you have a feeling of joy? No

Did you feel a sense of harmony or unity with the universe? No

Did you suddenly understand everything? No

Did scenes from your past come back? No

Did you reach a boundary or limiting physical structure? No

Did you come to a border or point of no return? No

God, Spiritual and Religion:

What was your religion prior to your experience? Christian - Protestant
Not a regular churchgoer, but I believed in God and Jesus, though I had never really studied the Bible prior to the event.

Have your religious practices changed? No

What is your religion now? Christian - Protestant
I'm not a regular churchgoer. I call myself a sinner saved by grace, but I am confident in my own faith that when I died, my soul left my body and had I not been brought back to life by medical personnel, my soul would have continued on somewhere. I am certainly confident that there is some mechanism built within us that allows our final thoughts to be peaceful and free of pain; that it is not something random, but it is by design. Only a loving creator could do that.

Did your experience include features consistent with your earthly beliefs? Content that was both consistent and not consistent with the beliefs you had at the time of your experience
I had never heard of an out-of-body experience until I had one. I had never heard of seeing a white light until I saw it. If you had asked me if I believed such things were possible, I'd have looked at you funny and laughed.

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? Yes
No one can tell me there is no soul, no life after death. I can't explain it all, I can't prove anything to anyone, only that my heart stopped, I stopped breathing, my body went completely limp, a bunch of medical people worked on me and brought me back, and that if I'd been one minute later that morning, I'd still be dead. Those things are documented somewhere. What I saw, what I felt and heard, to me, it's proof; to most people, it's explainable by anything other than God. When I ask those detractors, 'Why do you suppose everyone who experiences near death has such similar stories?' 'If it's all random, we should all have very random experiences, shouldn't we?' No one ever comes back and says 'I was playing in the Super Bowl and I just caught the winning touchdown.' If we are all hallucinating, how is that the hallucinations are so similar? They usually just shrug.

Did you seem to encounter a mystical being or presence, or hear an unidentifiable voice? No

Did you encounter or become aware of any beings who previously lived on earth who are described by name in religions (for example: Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha, etc.)? No

During your experience, did you gain information about premortal existence? Uncertain
If you are asking if the existence of reincarnation was revealed to me, no, no thought of that at all.

During your experience, did you gain information about universal connection or oneness? Yes
If by this you mean did I feel God, only in retrospect, not in the actual moment. Did I believe it was godly, or heavenly, or spiritual in that moment? I don't think I had a conscious thought about it then. I was not in the experience thinking about God, but looking back after the fact, and thinking about what I did feel, the peace, the warmth, the total lack of fear, I do believe that it could have only come from God, only from a loving creator. Whether or not I was about to pass into Heaven, or Paradise, or Sheol, or any other specific place, I do not know from the experience, only now, through my faith.

During your experience, did you gain information about the existence of God? Yes
Just the feeling of peace and a surrounding light. I felt like I was without physical form, a spirit I suppose, a soul existing outside of its earthly body, which I take to mean the experience was spiritual, that it must have been divine, something of God. I think if there was no God, my thoughts would have been much more 'human' or 'worldly'.

Concerning our Earthly lives other than Religion:

During your experience, did you gain special knowledge or information about your purpose? Yes
As I said above, there is no reason to fear death or to mourn that loved ones died in pain and suffering. Their final moments were peaceful and free of pain. I would not know this had this not happened to me.

During your experience, did you gain information about the meaning of life? No

During your experience, did you gain information about an afterlife? Yes
I did not feel like I was fading, darkness was not coming. I had a full sense of peace. I did not see Heaven, but it felt like it could have only been the glory of God enveloping me, the light, the warmth, the peace. I feel like if I had not been brought back, I was only seconds away from being there. Maybe that is the right description: I was transitioning, traveling, not being called or beckoned, but still somehow moving deeper, headed somewhere. No fear of where I was or where I might be going, just complete and total peace about everything. No sense of time at all.

Did you gain information about how to live our lives? Yes
Do not fear death. If you had a loved one who died, for example they suffered great pain and suffering as they approached death, or perhaps suddenly at the time of death, have some comfort, because once their eyes closed and their heart stopped, their final thoughts were not about the pain and the suffering; they were at peace. Their final thoughts were free of their pain. If they had approached their death in fear, they did not experience it in fear. They were and are at peace.

During your experience, did you gain information about life's difficulties, challenges and hardships? Uncertain
No conscious thought in the moment, but the underlying feeling was that the pain and fear are of the earth and are left behind. Beyond earth, beyond life or 'after life', pain and suffering and fear do not appear to exist. Whether I thought about that in the moment I doubt; I just experienced it as a reality at the time.

During your experience, did you gain information about love? No

What life changes occurred in your life after your experience? Large changes in my life
It has been something that I rarely talk about because most people think I'm crazy. I was just a kid then, they say it was just lack of oxygen to the brain that made you hallucinate. However, there are certain people who might have heard about my experience from someone else, a mutual friend maybe, and they will approach me and ask me about it, and you can tell that they are sincerely interested. They allow me to talk about it, which is something that I need occasionally. In my 48 years since it happened, I have never encountered another person who could say, 'Wow, my heart stopped once too, I was clinically dead.' To hear someone say 'I know what you mean, I saw that too' or 'Yeah, it happened to me too.' Nope, not ever. I think we should all be put into one big room just so we can have someone to talk to that understands. I guess we can do that once we find out what happens next, after the light.

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? Yes
I suppose there have been relationships that have changed. Depending on how someone else thinks about things, I believe my experience was very real. If someone else believes such things are fantasy or hallucinations, it's a bit of a line in the sand because it affected me very deeply, here I am 48 years later, still experiencing it. Someone who believes I'm crazy probably is not a good person for me to be around for very long.

After the NDE:

Was the experience difficult to express in words? Yes
Only difficult in that I was unsure how people would perceive what I'm telling them, that they might think I'm crazy. This was 1982, not too many people had ever heard about out-of-body experiences, not in my circles anyway. I think there was a documentary not long after then, and then eventually the movie Flatliners would come out and the subject became a little more known.

How accurately do you remember the experience in comparison to other life events that occurred around the time of the experience? I remember the experience more accurately than other life events that occurred around the time of the experience
Forever etched in my memory.

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? Just the peace of mind, that death will be peaceful, and that the soul will leave my body and travel on.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes
I've kind of answered this already in previous responses.

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

What did you believe about the reality of your experience shortly (days to weeks) after it happened? Experience was definitely real
When the Navy Corpsman visited me in the hospital and I told him about the things I experienced, he was there, he knew I was dead, no pulse, no breathing, totally without life, and he knows that I recounted things that happened after I died. No way I could have made it up.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real
I am still convinced that it was definitely real.

At any time in your life, has anything ever reproduced any part of the experience? Uncertain
Not sure what you mean by reproduced. The experience is kind of 'triggered'. Every summer I will relive it, every time I see a story about Parris Island or someone mentions fire ants, or I see ants, or the Marine Corps is mentioned, I think about it, sometimes relive the experience through the memory of it. I do not actually re-experience it.

Did the questions asked and information that you provided accurately and comprehensively describe your experience? Yes
Yes, I think I included all that there is to tell about the actual experience. I do believe the timing of it is significant and perhaps in itself involved some divine intervention. I literally walked up to the clinic, there was a long line of people, recruits, waiting to be seen by a medical professional, most if not all were sick. It just so happened that a Corpsman turned to see me, approached me immediately and immediately took me not just to the front of the line, but straight into the building, straight to other medical people who immediately took me into a room. As I said in my story, I immediately went into anaphylactic shock. If that had happened anywhere along the walk to the clinic, I would have died on the side of the road that morning and stayed dead. I think that needs to be underscored when putting this into a spiritual sense.

Anything else to add? There is a lot more that happened back then. I spent 53 days at Beaufort Naval Hospital in Beaufort, South Carolina, mostly fighting my discharge. I could probably write a book about the experience I had on Med Hold in that hospital, but it is secondary to the actual near-death experience.