Tracey M Other

Experience Description

On Friday, March 23rd, I became very ill with a horrible sore throat, fever, vomiting, and diarrhea. By Monday, I could hardly move, so my husband took me to the ER. I was given fluids for dehydration and released. I was still very sick on Wednesday, only now I felt a very heavy pressure in my chest and had trouble breathing. It felt as though someone was sitting on my chest.

My husband took me back to the ER. In the exam room, a doctor asked me questions about my illness, but I was too sick to speak. They admitted me and began running tests. The doctors were concerned, and the hospital was unable to meet my needs, so I was transferred to another hospital and admitted to the ICU around midnight. My husband left to rest at home.

Around 2 a.m., I began to hear music, the most beautiful I have ever heard, with many different instruments playing in harmony. I had left EWTN on, and Mother Angelica's show was playing. I closed my eyes to rest and heard a lovely male voice singing, "I'm sending my angels down to you from heaven's everlasting life." It was the most beautiful voice I have ever heard. I felt extreme peace and calm. I opened my eyes and still heard him singing with the instruments in the background, repeating, "I'm sending my angels down to you from heaven's everlasting life."

I should note that I was not given any medication that could alter my mind. The nurses were only administering a saline drip, with no sedatives.

My chest felt very heavy. I pressed the nurse's call button, and when she came in, I told her, "I'm hearing music and a male voice singing to me." She looked at the monitor, gasped, and said, "I'll be right back." She went to the nurse's station and called someone. Then I heard, "Code blue, CICU Room 1, code blue, CICU Room 1." I was in CICU Room 1.

I said, "Jesus, I don't know what's going on, and I understand if you need to take me. You know I trust and love you very much, but there are still a few things I want to teach my boys first." The nurse returned, gave me a pill to place under my tongue, and asked if she could contact my husband and if I had a living will. I asked her what "code blue" meant, as I was in Room 1. She replied, "That's you."

Minutes later, there was a great commotion in my room. Five nurses came in, lifted me onto a gurney, and quickly whisked me away. One nurse said, "Oh, honey, you are way too young for this." I asked, "What is going on?" I then saw my husband standing there with a look of fright and confusion.

A doctor performed an emergency heart catheterization and found no blockage. After a few hours of a nurse holding a sandbag on my main artery, I was returned to the ICU. I immediately began telling everyone about the singing and the music, but they kept urging me to rest and remain calm.

This hospital did not know what was wrong with me. The doctors told my husband they needed to transfer me to the Cleveland Clinic Main Campus because my organs were shutting down and I would likely need a heart transplant. My platelet count had dropped to 20,000 and my heart's ejection fraction was only 10%, so I was in heart failure. The hospital gave me a platelet transfusion and transferred me to the main campus on Saturday, March 31st. There, I was diagnosed with myocarditis. The doctors told my husband I would probably be in the hospital for at least another week and might need a heart transplant.

The next day was Palm Sunday, April 1st. That evening, as I tried to rest, the people in the next room began screaming for help, and there was a commotion in the hallway. I heard screaming, crying, and banging. The person in the room next to me had died. I said, "Lord, please let me go home. I promise I will rest, and I will explain to my boys what I wanted them to know before I died."

On Monday morning, the doctor entered my room and said, "I don't know what's going on with you, but your platelets have returned to a normal level of 250,000, and your heart's ejection fraction is now 25%." I asked, "Can I go home?" The doctor said, "You will be much better off at home, so perhaps by tomorrow. Let's see how the day goes."

He returned on Tuesday and said, "We're going to let you go home today, but you must rest. No laundry, no cleaning, only bed rest for a few weeks. After that, you need to ease back into your routine." For the next two years, I had my heart checked every three months. Nineteen years later, I am here to share this story. I have shared it with family, friends, and church groups, and now I share it with you. It was an extremely humbling experience, and I try to share it with as many people as I can. Some cry, some look bewildered, and some do not believe. This is all okay with me, because I know there is something much better waiting for us on the other side.

Background Information:

Gender: Female

Date of NDE: 3/28/2007

NDE Elements:

At the time of your experience, was there an associated life-threatening event? Yes

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

Did you feel separated from your body? No

How did your highest level of consciousness and alertness during the experience compare to your normal everyday consciousness and alertness? The entire time
When I started hearing music and then a male voice singing, I said to myself, "Something is going on right now and you need to be aware, remember it, and share it."

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? No

Were your senses more vivid than usual? More vivid than usual

Please compare your vision during the experience to your everyday vision that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience It was an auditory experience, not visual.

Please compare your hearing during the experience to your everyday hearing that you had immediately prior to the time of the experience I was very in tune to what I was hearing and made sure to tell myself to remember and to share my story.

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

Did you pass into or through a tunnel? No

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? No

Did you see an unearthly light? No

Did you seem to enter another world? No

What emotions did you feel during the experience? Extreme love and humbleness.

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

Did you have a feeling of joy? Incredible Joy

Did you feel a sense of harmony or unity with the universe? I felt united or one with the world

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 - Catholic
I've always been a very faith-filled person, from a very young age.

Have your religious practices changed? No

What is your religion now? Christian - Catholic
Same as before this happened

Did your experience include features consistent with your earthly beliefs? Content that was entirely consistent with the beliefs you had at the time of your experience

Did you have a change in your values and beliefs because of your experience? No

Did you seem to encounter a mystical being or presence, or hear an unidentifiable voice? I heard a voice I could not identify
A male voice singing to me, "I'm sending my angels down to you from heaven's everlasting life," over and over, the same lyric he was singing to me.

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? No

During your experience, did you gain information about universal connection or oneness? Uncertain
I'm not sure what this means. I only know I heard Jesus singing to me and that there was only peace and calmness. I am normally a borderline hyperactive, energetic person, and the peace I experienced was something I never felt before.

During your experience, did you gain information about the existence of God? Yes
No one else would sing to me letting me know, "I'm sending my angels down to you from heaven's everlasting life." It was God or Jesus!

Concerning our Earthly lives other than Religion:

During your experience, did you gain special knowledge or information about your purpose? No

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 believe it was Jesus singing to me and letting me know he was surrounding me with his angels.

Did you gain information about how to live our lives? No

During your experience, did you gain information about life's difficulties, challenges and hardships? No

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

What life changes occurred in your life after your experience? No changes in my life
I have always been an "every cloud has a silver lining" type of person, and I think it magnified after my experience.

Have your relationships changed specifically because of your experience? No

After the NDE:

Was the experience difficult to express in words? No

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

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? I made a conscious effort to listen and to remember exactly what was being sung and said to me so I could share this with others.

Have you ever shared this experience with others? Yes
As soon as I came out of the heart catheterization surgery, and the nurse was holding a sandbag on my artery, my husband, my father-in-law (a nonbeliever), and one of my sons were at my side. I was so excited; all I wanted to do was share this with everyone in the recovery room. Then, when they moved me back to CICU, I told every person that came into my room. Some of the nurses and doctors said they had heard stories like this before. Others said, "Just rest and be calm because you are very sick."

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 I got home from the hospital I cried and was very emotional. I felt very humbled and extremely loved.

What do you believe about the reality of your experience now? Experience was definitely real

At any time in your life, has anything ever reproduced any part of the experience? No

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

Anything else to add? It was the most peaceful, beautiful experience I have ever had. Days, weeks, months, and years later I long to hear that voice and feel that peace again.