Near Death Experiences

[gwenllian111]

I've always wanted to ask others about NDE's, but understand that some may find it too upsetting to discuss - and to those, I sincerely apologise. But would others mind sharing any NDE's that they've had?

I've had three, when I was a young child. Two were when I was in ITU, and I dreamt about being on the 'other side' and the other time, I thought I could feel someone sat at the side of my bed, squeezing my hand - but when I opened my eyes there was no one there.

I do believe in angels now.

Does anyone else?

[ScreaminMeanie]

Twice when I was in ICU (two different events) my family was told I wasn't going to make it (I was not told, BTW), but I had no NDEs as you describe them. One of the two times I was dreaming/hallucinating about my family members trying to kill me! The other time nothing at all out of the ordinary happened except that I felt crappier than usual. ;)

[Hammy8241]

Interesting subject Gwen and one I'm sure you thought long and hard about before posting.

Not something I have any experience of but having seen ghosts I never say never about anything.

[Chris G]

I've never had an NDE, but the subject is fascinating to me. I will be eager to hear all stories that are posted.

[Lightwarrior]

Never had a NDE personally, but as a nurse I have noticed that near the end when people start talking to "loved ones" they are always the dead loved ones not the loved ones who just couldn't make it to the bedside. I also notice a very visible change in the body as the spirit leaves.

[pberggren1]

Yes Gwen. When I firts got sick and was in the process of being dx I believe I had a NDE. I saw Jesus and Mary in a dream standing side by side but that is all I can remember. And Angels do exist. Most people have several Guardian Angels.

[marta]

I haven't had one myself, but my dad had one (he doesn't go on the computer so he wont know I'm sharing :wink1:) when he died for just over three minutes (his heart stopped from a penicilin reaction) he remembers floating above ground and seeing various coloured lights - like a runway at an airport - and he had to choose which one to follow. He said it was very comfortable and pleasant and he didn't feel any pain or ill feelings. They then brought him back and he didn't have to make the choice afterall. Also, like Lightwarrior said, I saw/felt a 'peace' I've never experienced before the moments before my grandpa passed away in my arms. I didn't know what/who it was, but I knew that grandpa would be fine once he left here. I was certain of it. In fact I was happy for him because he was having a hard time physically in his last hours. It was a strange experience because once he passed away I didn't panic like I thought I would, I stayed with him for a couple of minutes in my arms, then went and very calmly told the nurses in the hospital that grandpa was gone. I know he's fine and at peace wherever he is. It was an amazing feeling of trust and peace and love.

[gwenllian111]

Never had a NDE personally, but as a nurse I have noticed that near the end when people start talking to "loved ones" they are always the dead loved ones not the loved ones who just couldn't make it to the bedside. I also notice a very visible change in the body as the spirit leaves.

What's the change like? Are people very calm?

[Geoff]

I believe that I have a guardian angel that heps me out, sometimes when I have to make a decision and sometimes when things get rough. When I was first admitted into Hospital they had to cut into my neck to put a large pipe to facilitate the plasma exchange. This was to be carried out under a 'local' so you can imagine my trepidation. Lying on the slab listening to them 'pick out a sharp one' was not good; however, the room was suddenly diffused by an incredible amount of bright white light, like a searchlight and I couldnt see a thing. I was however overcome with a sense of peace and reassurance, it was going to be fine....and so it was! :smile1:

[gwenllian111]

That's similar to what happened when I was in HDU (High Dependancy Unit). I remember looking at the clock one night, and it was 1am in the morning. The ward was quiet, and my Dad was sat sleeping next to me in a chair. I was feeling very frightened, and I didn't know if I was going to live or not. Suddenly, there was a huge whirlwind that swept through the room, and suddenly I felt so full of energy that I felt that I could have smashed through the ceiling. It was incredible. The room filled with light, and suddenly there was just peace. I honestly felt as if it was the angels way of saying 'you will be OK from this point forwards' - and I was.

The other things I took away from that period of time, was never to be frightened of death. I was given the 'last rites' in ITU, and there was a 24 hr period where doctors told my family to prepare for the worst. I can't remember why not to be afraid of death, but I just carry it with me.

Which is ironic really, considering I have terrible death anxiety!

Being on the wards over the years though, i've seen quite a few people die on the wards...and their last moment do look so peaceful.

There was one lady on the ward a few months ago, called Betty. She was a very nice old lady, and she was in hospital needing a little procedure doing to her esophagus. As the doctors did their evening ward round, she said 'I don't want this surgery - i'm scared.' But, doctors being doctors told her not to worry, and that they would see her in the morning.

The next morning, Betty collapsed on the commode, and suddenly all the alarms went off. Doctors rushed in, and there wasn't much they could do - but she lived for a few more hours therafter. Even after this event, she didn't want her family there as she 'didn't want them to see her like this.' So sad.

As they moved her to a side room, you could see that her breathing pattern changed, and that she went a very white colour. RIP Betty.
x

[LisaMarie]

When I got so sick last fall and they threatened to put me on a vent I freaked...they gave me some ativan...I have strong wish of no vent and no trach...it is not the quality of life I want...but because i left my advance directive at home...my mother and the doc said i was viable and would vent me if needed.....i was transfered to the ICU and placed on bipap...my family was told if I did not improve i would be put on the vent soon...my husband and pastor came and prayed...mind you they did not tell me why but afterward i felt a sudden peace....i made a turn for the better no vent but can not remember 2 days....per my husband and the doc all i kept saying was no vent and I want to go home...or when can i go home...one of the doc and I are very close and she has requested that I do not do that again...she said it was touch and go for a bit during my memory loss days....I remember seeing my Grand grandmother Inez (Inee) as we called her ..she was holding my hand and telling me it would ok ...but that is all...and yes I believe in angels...mainly because I drove to the office of my lung doc with sats of 83% and have not Idea how.....hope this helps someone and hope i don't have to do it again anytime soon:bored:

[mishb]

I don't think I have had a NDE but I certainly have a Guardian Angel (maybe more) and I even speak to him....my biological father, died when I was only one years old. My most recent experience with him is/was, I believe, the beginnings to my WG. I was driving to work on a very busy Melbourne freeway and a double semi truck decided to change lanes on top of my little car (Kia Rio). Instead of my car going under the trucks tyres, as all witnesses believed would be the result, my car spun around from the middle of the truck, around the front of the truck and ending up on the other side in a different lane.....yes, I truly believe my Guardian Angel was there to help...you see, he died at the age of 24 as a result of a car accident.

Anyway after this time I have not been able to drive on this freeway and freak out driving near trucks. I believe this stress bought on my WG as well as my Step father passing a month later. No NDE (could have been very different though) but Angels are there and yes, peace is the word that they instill in me.

Michelle

[Jack]

Much as I am interested in the spiritual side of life, I have never had any mystical experiences or seen any ghosts or been visited by angels. I think it must be the rational, analytical engineer inside me that frightens them away! I take comfort in the accounts that I do hear which all seem to report that the process of dying is quite pleasant if anything and certainly nothing to be afraid of. It will be an adventure when the time comes finding out about the other side, or not. :wink1:

[gwenllian111]

Yes, an adventure it will certainly be.

[gwenllian111]

When I was very young, I used to ask my Dad what heaven is like - and he said, it's your vision.

What do you think heaven is like?

[delorisdoe]

When I was very young, I used to ask my Dad what heaven is like - and he said, it's your vision.

What do you think heaven is like?

have you read the book "the lovely bones"? if there is a heaven I hope heaven is just like the author of that book portrays it.

[drz]

Much as I am interested in the spiritual side of life, I have never had any mystical experiences or seen any ghosts or been visited by angels. I think it must be the rational, analytical engineer inside me that frightens them away! I take comfort in the accounts that I do hear which all seem to report that the process of dying is quite pleasant if anything and certainly nothing to be afraid of. It will be an adventure when the time comes finding out about the other side, or not. :wink1:

I think death and and experiences related to it depend mostly upon your beliefs and what you expect it to be like. I remember a little over a year ago I was bleeding badly in my lungs and fighting for every breath. I felt exhausted and knew I couldn't keep it up much longer and my daughter was keeping vigil over me in the ICU room. I motioned for her to come over so I could talk to her and apologized saying I was sorry I couldn't keep it up anymore. I closed my eyes and felt peaceful and just let go. I expected to wake up dead but my daughter ran and got the nurse who came in and cranked up my oxygen real high and I felt better in the morning. I don't remember now if this was before or after I was intubated for 8 days because I was exhausted from fighting for air with every breath.

The weirdest thing about dying for me was watching my mother die from kidney failure and she would appear to leave her body and go on these psychic trips and then come back and tell us the weirdest things. She was very close to death at these times and once when she returned she told us her older brother was not coming to see her as he was in the hospital. She had requested her brothers come to see her before she died. We attributed her statements to her confusion and tried to explain to her that she was the one in the hospital and her brother was coming to see her that day but she was so insistent that we called this brother to find out when he might arrive and his wife told us he was in the hospital as he just had a heart attack that morning. The next day she was complaining about some in-laws-coming to see her that she did not want to see and she was quoting some comments she said they had made that upset her. We tried to reassure her that they were not coming to see her since she wasn't their favorite sister-in-law and no one expected them to come visit her, but three hours later they showed up and made the same comments that she had complained about.

After that we just encouraged her to go on these psychic trips and go visit whoever she wanted and she seemed to go visit lots of people that were important to her, some were living and some were dead but we didn't try anymore to re-orient her to "reality" and just listened with interest to her reports on what these people had said or were doing. Sometimes we joked about who she was spying on and sometimes she would make comments indicating she had been listening to our conversations even though they were held far away from her room and she was bed ridden.

We had been trying to get her to accept that her younger brother was not going to be able to make it up to see her before she died but she insisted he would come in two or three days and he did a few days later.

The doctors had said she wouldn't make it through the night when they called us initially, but she had some unfinished business I guess that needed attending and she worked on these things for another three weeks before she let go and left this world. She seemed to feel at peace after she worked through her various issues that needed attending before she felt ready to leave this world.

After that death and dying seemed very mysterious but not very fearful for me. It certainly seemed like there must be some spirit world that people can enter after death from the life we now know.

[pberggren1]

About 3 years after my Mom's parents died in a plane crash they appeared to my cousin and told him everything was alright with them and that they made it to heaven as did some other relatives that passed earlier.

[Deanne Hull]

In 2009 my mother and I were with my grandmother, who had fallen over in a nursing home and she had head trauma and after four days, they withdrew treatment and we were holding her hands when she
passed away. We were both watching the pulse in her neck slowly slow down and stop and then her whole body seemed to relax and that was it. It was the most profound
experience besides giving birth that I have experienced. She wasn't in pain, it was very peaceful and makes me feel okay about death itself. I am glad that she had us with her and when she was born she
had her own grandmother help her mother with her birth. So beginning and end she had her family with her. Best way to go I reckon. I hope that happens to me.
I miss her so much.

[Jack]

Damn Pred! Reading this thread puts a lump in my throat. Hope no one tries to talk to me. :unsure:

This must be one of the few Forums where nearly everyone seems to have given serious consideration to the prospect of death.

[NicShaf]

I have never had a NDE, but I have enjoyed reading everyone else’s experiences. I absolutely believe in Guardian Angels, I know that there have been many times in my life that something has gone right for me, instead of terribly wrong, and I have no doubt that it was because of a guardian angel looking over my shoulder.
When you're given a diagnosis like WG, and all of a sudden your carefree healthy life has been taken away from you, I think it is only natural to contemplate death. For me, I don't fear death itself, but what I do fear is leaving my loved ones behind and the pain that my passing would cause them...wow, that sounded a little conceited, but I'm sure you all understand what I mean:)
Thanks, Gwen, for starting this thread. It is nice to hear everyone's stories of peace and angels. It's comforting in a way.

[marta]

I am totally with you Nicole on the 'scary part of death'. I don't think it's conceited at all. We all love each other in our families, and we know how we would feel to loose a loved one, so the assumption is they would feel that way too.

I'm actually totally with you on the entire post. I too have felt a presense around me in times of need that has helped me get to the other side safely.