| I suffered a heart attack on Halloween of this | | | | Mike was another voice I recognized. The rest of |
| year. During that time, my heart stopped and I | | | | the voices I couldn't identify. I was hit hard again |
| died for approximately fifteen minutes. During that | | | | and again. I remember it being painful and I |
| time, something occurred to me that I cannot | | | | couldn't concentrate on the voices. They wanted |
| quite explain. Many people claim to have an | | | | me to wake up and I kept thinking that I'd wake |
| out-of-body experience where they often see a | | | | up in a minute. There was now light coming out of |
| white tunnel and feelings of peace or they are | | | | the dark side of the plane and I knew that's |
| floating above their body and witnessing people | | | | where I had to go. Even though it hurt, this side |
| working on them, but I didn't see any of this. I | | | | was "right". |
| am not exactly sure what did happen, but | | | | MovementI then remember going through the |
| hopefully this will help me get a better | | | | gate in my side yard. I could still hear the voices, |
| understanding. Here are five things I did see while | | | | but was just starting to cross into the plane of |
| I was "dead." | | | | darkness. From here, everything went black as I |
| The WhirlpoolMy wife and I were having a Monty | | | | grabbed onto the sides to stop my body from |
| Python Scavenger Hunt and I was sword fighting | | | | spinning. Everything became quiet and the |
| with foam weapons when I had my heart attack. | | | | screaming of my name stopped. From what I |
| My body had gone into a state where my heart | | | | later understand, they had put me in the |
| stopped pumping blood to my entire body. I | | | | ambulance by this time and I my heart started to |
| remember feeling dizzy and continuing to fall | | | | beat again in an atrial fibrillation - or a sporadic |
| forward as I lost consciousness. Almost | | | | rhythm. Although it was weak, my body was |
| immediately, I felt as if I was caught up in a | | | | trying to come back. From here, I blacked out |
| whirlpool flipping around head over heels in | | | | and don't remember anything until after I was in |
| darkness. There was the feeling of my clothes | | | | the hospital. |
| being ripped away and my face being pulled off. | | | | Awareness and BeyondWhen I came to again, I |
| The Plane of Light and DarknessAs I continued to | | | | had a tube down my throat and they were trying |
| tumble in the dark until a large parallelogram | | | | to tell me what happened. Comments were made |
| appeared from out of no where. The best way | | | | that they weren't sure if I was brain dead. This |
| to explain this would be to compare it to the | | | | was really scary because I was aware now, but |
| mirror of the Phantom Zone in the movie, | | | | couldn't move. I could make out that they were |
| "Superman II". On one side of it was pure, white | | | | going to send me on a life flight to the Cleveland |
| light. On the other, utter darkness. It was flipping | | | | Clinic and it would be about 12-13 minutes to get |
| around -just like I was - as it moved towards me. | | | | there. As they wheeled me out of the hospital, |
| As I the white side stopped in front of me I could | | | | my wife told me that she would meet me at the |
| make out people in the white side. Their hands | | | | hospital and several of my friends were there to |
| were reaching out towards me and I recognized | | | | wish me off. We went down a hallway and I was |
| some of them: A neighbor boy (named Scott) | | | | put in the helicopter and turned. The medics in the |
| who died in a train wreck when we were six; an | | | | copter were talking to me, but I couldn't respond. |
| old Italian woman who used to scare me when I | | | | They made more comments about me being |
| was little because she spoke very little English and | | | | dead for a long time and whether I was brain |
| wore a head scarf; a man who used to sing in | | | | dead or had brain damage (I do not). I remember |
| the choir and walk all over my hometown; and an | | | | a line from John Irving's book, "The World |
| uncle I barely knew who used to ride a | | | | According to Garp" going through my head "I'm |
| three-wheeled bicycle with a bell on it. They | | | | flying Helen, I'm really flying" and then realizing that |
| beckoned me forward and I asked them where | | | | Garp had died in his helicopter ride. I told myself I |
| my grandparents were, but they told me they | | | | wasn't going to die and put the thought out of |
| weren't there. I wanted to see my grandparents | | | | my head. The next thing I knew we had landed |
| but they couldn't help me and I hesitated. | | | | and they were taking me out. The one medic said |
| The Human PiñataAs I was talking to these | | | | to me "Welcome to Cleveland" as I could see the |
| people, I was hit by something very hard. It sent | | | | propeller blade above me. The night sky was cold |
| me spinning again and this time I was on the dark | | | | and clear and then I was inside. I remember them |
| side of the plane. I started hearing people yelling | | | | working on my body and then there was nothing. |
| my name, my wife was calling out to me, "The | | | | I awoke two days later. |
| Black Knight Always Triumphs!" and my friend | | | | |