near death experiences

widow2RN · Jun 18, 2005

I was just reading about these on a great site:
http://www.nderf.org/
We've talked about ghosts on this board, but I'm wondering if anyone has had patients report ndes? The closest thing that I had was a post-surgical pt tell me about being "out of her body" and across the room during the surgery -- she was very disturbed by her own experience, and wanted to know why/how it happened.

Hi Lady Jezebel! I'm still in the nursing program, so I haven't had the experience yet to give you any stories from any pts. that I've had (never seems to get that deep in clinicals), but I can tell you my own near-death story. In 1999, I found myself being taking to the hospital with a white blood count of less than 800 (after having temps of as high as 105.7) over the weekend. Upon the first day of going to the hospital by my doctor's orders on Monday, I was in ICU by Monday night. Turned out I had pneumococcal pneumonia and the infection had become systemic and gotten into my blood stream. I was in ICU for 4 weeks, unconscious for most all of that time. (They kept me medically paralyzed in a motion-type bed during that time). My parents told me later that they had counted as many as 13 IV bags going into to me at one time, and the ICU nurse told me later that I was the ONLY pt. she had ever seen that had a antibiotic IV drip going round the clock 24/7. The first 7 days (that I don't remember consciously) in ICU, the doctors were telling my parents each night that they didn't think I would make it through the night. But, as far as where I was at the time... was, and I guess literally, like a dream. I saw in my mind a big spacious hospital room filled with many beds (and here I was by myself in one of the ICU rooms)... and I was in one of the beds in this large open-spaced room. I saw certain friends of mine coming in to see me, or to pray over me... and I kept telling them that I wanted to go HOME, but they didn't seem to hear me at all. Next thing I know... my mind took me to 3 different homes in the town that I was living in (but never my OWN home). And, in my mind (dream), they were 3 (more) different wives of my husband. (Yeah, I know... really weird!) (I did find out later that I had a specific 3 nurses who took a lot of care of me in ICU... shampooing my hair and braiding it... that sort of thing.) The other weird thing was that each of these "wives" home had the same floor plan (though totally different from my own home)... and I specifically recall the last of the 3 "wives'" home that I was in, the bed moved. But, I found that I couldn't breathe. For some reason, I had it in my mind that this had happened to me before (it had not) and my mom had let me use one of her inhalers (she has emphysema), but when I called out to mom, she wasn't there. I felt a panic inside while experiencing not being able to take in a breath, and my next thought was... "well, if I can't get my breath soon, I guess the next thing is that my heart will stop and I will die." (I found out later by my lung doctor that at one pt. I had resp. failure and my heart and kidneys were starting to shut down)... He told me (and I quote), "You weren't just at the threshold of death... you were crossing over the door!"

I had one more experience after that, which was more of a spirtual experience. In reality, I was not aware of my literal room or any of the friends or family that were with me, but it was the whole time like I was by myself... or locked within myself. But, I just had this awareness that I might die (parents told me later that it really bugged them when the doctor would tell them that he didn't think I would live through the night while right there in the room with me)... and me (being all trapped within nothing and no one but inside me inside myself)... prayed to God and said, "Whatever Your will is for me, I'm ready... but, my DESIRE is to stay with and raise my kids." (They were 2 and 5 years old at the time.) I didn't hear His voice nor get any answer from Him as to what my outcome was going to be... but like that psalm of David... I literally only felt an absolute PEACE (didn't know whether that meant a peace that I would live or a peace that I would die!!)... but, literally for the FIRST and ONLY time in my life... LITERALLY felt the TRUE feeling of being the baby chick under the protection of the Mother Hen's wing... my Father God. I've never felt that exact peace before then nor since then and it's weird, because neither did I hear His voice tell me "what to expect"... I had no clue what to expect. But, I DID feel the literal protection of His wings at that one time in my life...

And, here I am... 6 years later telling you about it. By the way... I spent a total of 5 weeks in the hospital in 1999. Four of those weeks in ICU. I was discharge in Oct., and remember telling my husband that while I was in the there, I had this image of my mind of a freshly dug mounded grave next to the headstones of my two infant daughters that had already died. He kinda shivered and told me..."don't say that!" By the first of Dec, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer and made it through 2 chemo tx before hemorrhaging here with me by him at home in Jan 2000. The next thing I knew... I was seeing before my literal eyes the very mound of a fresh grave next to my two infant daughters' graves... just like in my "dream" in the hospital... only it wasn't MY grave like I thought it was then... it turned out to be my husband's.

(More info... both of my two infant daughters' died shortly after birth from congenital diagphragmatic hernias, the first in 1987, the 2nd in 1995)... and then almost me... and finally my husband (both of us between Aug. 1999 and Jan 2000). Wish me well in completing this last year of my ADN program! I'm working hard at it!!

nursey_girl · Jun 18, 2005

I guess my experience is more of an out of body experience. It took me a very long time to realize that though.

When I was in the second grade, I was hit by a car. I remember the light thing, but to me it was the sun, very bright and I was rising up toward it and above my body. Then I remember hovering over our front porch and watching my mother running outside in a panic after she heard all the commotion. After I saw my mom and knew she was on her way, I remember waking up in the mud crying for her....It was like I was going to get her to help me...I also remember waking up in the back of the ambulance crying, and when the paramedic pointed to where she was in the front seat, I calmed down and was out again.

For years, I tried to make sense of that experience, I remembered specifically watching my mom flying out of the house in a panic!!

It was only when my own son was 5 and very sick and He told later that he floated above his body and watched himself sleep while two ladies stayed beside him. That is when I realized it had to be some kind of out of body experience...Strange, huh?

grannynurse FNP · Jun 18, 2005

I have had to rather unusal experiences, more then15 years apart. In the first one, I was given penicillin, by error, in the ER. I suffered an arrest and had to be tubed. I remember floating above my body and watching the staff work on me. Several months later, I told a nurse friend, who had been present and she told me I had bottom out, about the time I recall being outside of my body. The second one happen in 1989, after I was hit by a big rig. I remember coming too and hearing my name being called. I turned and it was the son of a nurse friend of mine. He had died the previous October, after being seriously injuried in an accident. I had help arrange for his transfer to a major medical center. And had help explain his chances to his parents. Allen thank me and told me that I had been a help to his parents and he appreciated it. He talked for a few minutes, then told me I would be all right but it would mean a couple of very hard years of recovery. Then he left. I know he was there because an off duty paramedic had arrived to help me and kept asking if there was someone else in the car, with me. He later told my daughter he had seen me talking and my head turned to the right, as if someone was in the seat next to me.

I firmly believe that some people suffer near death experiences. What is the purpose or the reasons for this, I do not know. I have read the research, as limited as it is, that attributes these exerpiences to alterations in the body chemistry. There may be some validity in this research but I prefer to believe it is an attempt by G-d to give me some insight into my life.

Grannynurse :balloons:

markjrn · Jun 18, 2005

DW had a out of body experience about 20 years ago. She was 15 and in a pretty bad MVA (roll over). She wasn't wearing her seatbelt because she was post-op. Her car flipped multiple times on a curve of a grid road. While it was flipping, she remembers seeing herself standing outside with a man standing beside her. She remembers standing on the road, elevated, with a man standing to the right of her watching herself inside the car.

The RCMP's were surprised that she wasn't injured. The RN's in the ER told her that she needed to calm down, and that they were afraid she was going to code. She wasn't injured. Remembers it like it was yesterday.

lady_jezebel · Jun 19, 2005

These stories are absolutely fascinating, and I think more common than we realize. Thanks for sharing!

Widow2RN -- I had that same experience of complete peace & protection about 10 years ago. It was more intense than "real" life, just totally encompassing. I know exactly what you are describing.

Kristi Lee · Jun 19, 2005

I had a cardiac ablation done 2 years ago. Unfortunately they can't put you aslpeep whlile they are doing it. I remeber the Dr. asking if they had notified the family that he was beginning the ablation, the next thing I remember was a terrilbe terrible pain in my chest, the cross between a burning feeling and like someone had just kicked me in the chest with a boot. All of a sudden I heard the nurses touching me saying are you okay , calling my name and asking me repeatedly. I remember looking down on them saying I am okay, I am here, but nobody could here me, and again saying I am here hey I am okay, and again they could not here me. I remembered telling myself when the ablation started that this hurt like heck and I could not take it and if I could take myself, in my mind, somewhere else more pleasant and peaceful things would be okay. I talked with my family as this had been bothering me and nobody would tell me if something happened and finally this year my daughter told me there was a few complications during this procedure. I went through cardiac rehab with my brother after he had his open heart surgery and the nurse taught them to do the taking yourself away to a more peaceful place procedure when they were stressed or upset.