A Strange NDE

Name:            Edward W. Kamen
Email:           kamen@ee.gatech.edu
Location:        Atlanta, Georgia
Type:            NDE
Date:            Thursday, May 11, 2000
Time:            08:57 AM

On January 2, 2000 I had a major heart attack which was sufficiently severe to cause the formation of a blood clot in one of the chambers of my heart. 

Several days later a part (or parts) of the clot broke off, left the heart through the aorta, and ended up in my brain causing a series of three strokes over a two-day period. 

This series of events were confirmed by the cardiologists and neurologists who were taking care of me. The first stroke episode was fairly mild, but the second and third strokes were very severe in terms of the intensity of the symptoms. 

As the second stroke episode was reaching its peak, I was fully conscious laying in a hospital bed having difficulty breathing with my eyes closed. I then felt someone grab my left hand and attempt to pull it forward. I thought it must have been a nurse, but after several seconds when I lifted my head to look up and opened my eyes, there was no one in my room. I then put my head back down on the bed and closed my eyes. 

There was pitch blackness (a black void), but about 30 seconds later, the outline of a small brick-shaped object appeared from the left side and slowly moved to a position just to the left of the center of my field of view (with eyes closed). The object seemed to lock into position and then remained fixed. The outline of the object consisted of very bright thin lines of white/blue light, somewhat resembling neon bulbs in a billboard. 

Then about a minute later, the outline of a much larger object appeared from the right side and slowly moved to the right of the center of my field of view, where it locked into place. The outline of this object also consisted of very bright thin lines of white/blue light. This object looked like a chair with a high back. I could see the left arm rest, but not the right arm rest due to the angle at which I was seeing the object. The left arm rest was next to the brick-shaped object which was positioned to the right of the chair. It seemed that the brick-shaped object and the chair were connected in purpose, but at the time I had no idea what the connection was. The chair had some kind of large structure attached to its back. I could not make out what it was, but I had the feeling that it might contain some contraption that is used to hold someone in the chair. I also had the feeling that the chair was meant for me, and that it would be taking me somewhere. If the chair was meant for me, I was not ready or wanting to be placed in it. 

I kept thinking that if I were to go now (meaning that my life would end), I would not be able to realize the purpose of my existence on Earth. After staring at both objects for what appeared to be two or three minutes, I heard a doctor and nurse commenting that my blood pressure was getting too high. 

The nurse then gave me a drug through one of my IVs, and soon thereafter I felt the intensity of my symptoms start to diminish. During this time I still had my eyes closed and I was still watching the two objects. 

But as soon as the symptoms began to decrease in intensity, both objects unlocked from their positions and began to move slowly out of my field of view. The brick-shaped object moved to the left from which it had appeared and the chair-like structure moved to right from which it had appeared. I was fully conscious during all this, so I was not dreaming. Although I saw only the outlines of the two objects, it was a remarkable sight which I will never forget. 

During my recovery from the heart attack and the strokes, I made some attempt to discover what these objects were that I has seen. For reasons that I will not explain here, I believe that the brick-shaped object was a book, but I have no idea as to what was contained in it. Someone suggested to me that the chair may have been the seat where one is judged, but I did not have the feeling that I was about to be judged when I was staring at the chair. It seemed to me at that time (and at the time of this wiring) that the purpose of the chair was to transport me through the black void to whatever lies on the other side. 

There is no doubt in my mind that there is another realm and that I almost made it into there.