Near-Death Experience
Last year in late Winter I got cardiac arrest. Maybe I was too tired, because 2 days before, I did 1 kilometer swimming which I usually do once or twice per week. Then in the morning I harvested more than a hundred pounds of composting worms outdoor while the weather was still cold, and the same day in the evening I was playing table tennis for 25 minutes, when the accident happened. All medical laboratory results 2 months prior before cardiac arrest were great.
I was lucky because it happened at the public recreation area. I was sitting on a chair after played table tennis when my friends saw me drop my table tennis paddle. Then I tried to catch it, and fell down. The story would be tragic if I had lain down in the chair as if I was just sleeping, and if it didn’t happen at the recreation center with a lot of friends, certified CPR experts, AED equipment around, and fast connection to 911. Thank you all for the helps, concerns, and prayers.
As it was told in many references about cardiac arrest, during that day I forgot everything. It seems my memory is like computer data processor: everything that happened that day was not saved in my brain yet. After cardiac arrest, immediately I got a CT scan, then induced coma, followed by hypothermia treatment for 24 hours at the emergency room. After 5 days in the ICU I started to be conscious with the pain in the whole body.
During the three-minute period without heartbeat continued by 5 days in induced coma, I had a Near-Death Experience (NDE) or out-of-body experience (OBE), a personal experience in associate with death or impending death. I would like to share that experience with you. The first thing that my wife asked me when I was conscious, I answered spontaneously like this.
My NDE was simple and very clear. I saw a landscape of snow, bright and peaceful, it was more real than real life. I can reach the far away snow on the ground easily and go back as closely as I want. It seemed there was no limitation of time, space, and energy, but it was so quiet, not cold, and no people. So, I decided to turn back, and I always remember that I saw my left foot was turning back.
A group of scientists (neurologists, psychiatrists, psychologists, cardiologists etc.), theologians and philosophers summarize that NDEs are different from hallucinations in their contents and effects.
Sam Parnia, one of the research scientists and the principal investigator of the AWAreness during REsuscitation (AWARE) study at the University of Southampton, UK, said: “In NDE, consciousness and awareness appeared to occur during a three-minute period when there was no heartbeat. This is paradoxical, since the brain typically ceases functioning within 20-30 seconds of the heart stopping and doesn’t resume until the heart has been restarted. Furthermore, the detailed recollections of visual awareness in this case were consistent with verified events.” The AWARE II, a two-year multi-center clinical study of 900 – 1500 patients around the globe experiencing cardiac arrest, will be finished by the end of this month, May 31, 2017.
Not many people can survive from sudden cardiac arrest. According to global medical report, only about 3% sufferers survive.
The photo above is an illustration from the Progressive Radio Network http://www.prn.fm that has been reported on the air in a special program about the science of Near-Death Experiences.
It is a great pleasure that I can continue my activities, sports, and services since then. As a soil biologist, my purpose after clinical death or rebirth (incidentally, my birthday last year was in the ICU) is to get ready to contribute more for resource waste management and the natural way of farming in the community.
– Bintoro Gunadi
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