In 1967 I had a severe asthma attack and was rushed to the old Royal Hospital in Portsmouth. I vaguely recall waking in an oxygen tent and a lot of fuss going on around me. I don’t know at what point I drifted out of my body but I do know now that my heart stopped and I was rushed to the Resuscitation Ward. I could see myself attached to a ventilator with lots of wires connected to me. I could see a doctor, two nurses and the bizarre sight of a man dressed in a bow-tie and full evening suit!
Then went into cardiac arrest and I saw them all trying to restart my heart. I was in no pain and felt no difficulty with my breathing. I was an onlooker, so to speak, watching myself in the hospital bed.
We had no telephone at home and I saw the police bring my husband to the hospital. ‘Is there any hope?’ I heard him say. ‘Very little’ replied the man in the evening suit. That was the only moment I felt unhappy.
Felt myself falling down a tunnel and saw my life flash before me like a rapid series of camera pictures. Suddenly I was standing and feeling wonderful with a sense of lightness, happiness and knew that I was surrounded by a great love. Added to this was a feeling of tranquillity. I felt so well it was wonderful!
I then found myself stood to one side of a small arched bridge. There were people singing, not hymns but a lovely song of joy. There were colours such as I have never seen. I wanted to join them but thoughts of my husband stopped me. There were also things that I still wanted to do in life such as have a baby- but it was so very, very tempting to cross.
Stood on the bridge was a Jewish man holding a cross. He ‘spoke’ to me telepathically and asked ‘Are you ready to cross?’ I recall saying ‘No. No No!’ then immediately returned to my body. I could now ‘hear’ conversations going on around me in the hospital. ‘She’s slipping away’ they said. But I knew that I would live and started fighting the ventilator to prove that I could breathe by myself. ‘Why can’t these people see I’m not going to die?’.
After four days I was detached from the ventilator and gradually got well. The man who previously wore the evening suit when I was in a coma was now in a doctor’s white coat as he walked into the ward. I asked the nurse about him. ‘He’s the surgeon who performed a tracheotomy operation on you to try to save your life’ said the nurse. ‘I know’ I replied “But why was he wearing a bow-tie and evening suit?’ The nurse was dumb struck and then explained that they had to call him from a very important dinner engagement
I did have a child- a son who is now 27. The previous year I lost a baby but I know he lives on and one day I will see him. I know I am lucky to have had such a wonderful experience.
About The Author
