{"id":20337,"date":"2025-01-17T18:13:21","date_gmt":"2025-01-17T19:13:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=20337"},"modified":"2025-01-17T19:23:30","modified_gmt":"2025-01-17T19:23:30","slug":"readers-share-their-near-death-experiences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=20337","title":{"rendered":"Readers Share Their Near-Death Experiences"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In early 1988, the British neuropsychiatrist Dr. Peter Fenwick, an expert on near-death experiences, appeared in the BBC documentary \u201cGlimpses of Death\u201d to comment on the near-death visions of people who had briefly died, or nearly died, and then come back to life. After it aired, thousands of people wrote him letters describing similar stories. Dr. Fenwick sent them a lengthy questionnaire to categorize their accounts. He presented his findings in \u201cThe Truth in the Light: An Investigation of Over 300 Near-Death Experiences,\u201d<span class=\"css-8l6xbc evw5hdy0\">  <\/span>the book that he wrote with his wife, Elizabeth Fenwick, published in 1995. <\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">After Dr. Fenwick died on Nov. 22 at age 89, his <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/01\/09\/science\/peter-fenwick-dead.html\" title>obituary<\/a> brought a wave of comments from readers about their own near-death experiences. A selection, condensed and edited, is below.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"RelatedLinksBlock-1\">\n<div data-testid=\"lazy-loader\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI once knew a teacher who told me about his experience with his mother when she died. A few seconds before she left this world, she suddenly said very clearly: \u2018It is so beautiful!\u2019 And then she passed away. I\u2019m not a religious person and I have no idea if there\u2019s a life after this present one. But that story has stayed with me ever since I heard it in 1991.\u201d \u2014 Michel Forest, Montreal, Quebec<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"Dropzone-3\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<h3 class=\"css-1vs5pxi e1gnsphs0\" id=\"link-NaN\"><span>\u2756<\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIn 1981, I was working in an offshore oil rig when a 1,000-pound metal pipe fell on my thigh, snapped my femur and severed my femoral artery. I was bleeding to death. After a quick medevac flight to the emergency room, I lost so much blood that my blood pressure dropped and my heart stopped. I flatlined.<\/p>\n<p>At that moment, I found myself hovering above myself on the hospital table. No pain. I could see my disfigured leg and felt sorry for my body. Then a beautiful bright light came through a dark tunnel. It was stunning and as \u2018real\u2019 as any memory I have. But then I realized I had to go back and instantly awoke in massive pain. I had never heard about near-death experiences and was afraid to tell this story due to ridicule. But it happened. It was as \u2018real\u2019 as life is. I don\u2019t fear death now. It\u2019s just another level of consciousness.\u201d \u2014 Jeff Sears, Norwalk, Conn.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"css-1vs5pxi e1gnsphs0\" id=\"link-NaN\"><span>\u2756<\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cDec. 3, 2003, I had a sudden, severe pancreatitis attack. The pain was extreme. With my wife and daughter out for the weekend, I had to drive myself to the emergency room five minutes away. I passed out as I entered the emergency area. Lying on the gurney, I saw \u2018the light\u2019 at the ceiling and knew I was either dead or near death. The feeling was extraordinarily blissful; I knew that it would be a loving transition to a new world. I had to decide \u2014 stay or go. I was not done playing with my children, so I stayed. I looked up and there was my 16-year-old daughter.&#8221; \u2014 Elliot Hoffman, San Francisco<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1336jj\">\n<div class=\"css-121kum4\">\n<div class=\"css-171d1bw\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-asuuk5\">\n<div class=\"css-7axq9l\" data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1dv1kvn\" id=\"optimistic-truncator-a11y\">\n<hr \/>\n<p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F01%2F17%2Fscience%2Fnear-death-experiences.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">log into<\/a>\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F01%2F17%2Fscience%2Fnear-death-experiences.html\">subscribe<\/a>\u00a0for all of The Times.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1g71tqy\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Thank you for your patience while we verify access.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Already a subscriber?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"log-in-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F01%2F17%2Fscience%2Fnear-death-experiences.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">Log in<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Want all of The Times?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"subscribe-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F01%2F17%2Fscience%2Fnear-death-experiences.html\">Subscribe<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In early 1988, the British neuropsychiatrist Dr. Peter Fenwick, an expert on near-death experiences, appeared in the BBC documentary \u201cGlimpses of Death\u201d to comment on the near-death visions of people who had briefly died, or nearly died, and then come back to life. After it aired, thousands of people wrote him letters describing similar stories. Dr. Fenwick sent them a lengthy questionnaire to categorize their accounts. He presented his findings in \u201cThe Truth in the Light: An Investigation of Over 300 Near-Death Experiences,\u201d the book that he wrote with his wife, Elizabeth Fenwick, published in 1995. After Dr. Fenwick died on Nov. 22 at age 89, his obituary brought a wave of comments from readers about their own near-death experiences. A selection, condensed and edited, is below.\u201cI once knew a teacher who told me about his experience with his mother when she died. A few seconds before she left this world, she suddenly said very clearly: \u2018It is so beautiful!\u2019 And then she passed away. I\u2019m not a religious person and I have no idea if there\u2019s a life after this present one. But that story has stayed with me ever since I heard it in 1991.\u201d \u2014 Michel Forest, Montreal, Quebec\u2756\u201cIn 1981, I was working in an offshore oil rig when a 1,000-pound metal pipe fell on my thigh, snapped my femur and severed my femoral artery. I was bleeding to death. After a quick medevac flight to the emergency room, I lost so much blood that my blood pressure dropped and my heart stopped. I flatlined.At that moment, I found myself hovering above myself on the hospital table. No pain. I could see my disfigured leg and felt sorry for my body. Then a beautiful bright light came through a dark tunnel. It was stunning and as \u2018real\u2019 as any memory I have. But then I realized I had to go back and instantly awoke in massive pain. I had never heard about near-death experiences and was afraid to tell this story due to ridicule. But it happened. It was as \u2018real\u2019 as life is. I don\u2019t fear death now. It\u2019s just another level of consciousness.\u201d \u2014 Jeff Sears, Norwalk, Conn.\u2756\u201cDec. 3, 2003, I had a sudden, severe pancreatitis attack. The pain was extreme. With my wife and daughter out for the weekend, I had to drive myself to the emergency room five minutes away. I passed out as I entered the emergency area. Lying on the gurney, I saw \u2018the light\u2019 at the ceiling and knew I was either dead or near death. The feeling was extraordinarily blissful; I knew that it would be a loving transition to a new world. I had to decide \u2014 stay or go. I was not done playing with my children, so I stayed. I looked up and there was my 16-year-old daughter.&#8221; \u2014 Elliot Hoffman, San FranciscoWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0log into\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0subscribe\u00a0for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?\u00a0Log in.Want all of The Times?\u00a0Subscribe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20339,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20337"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20337\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20340,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20337\/revisions\/20340"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}