William Blake, \u201cJacob\u2019s Ladder\u201d (1804)
Wikimedia Commons public domain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
An account that I\u2019ve gleaned for my notes from P.M.H. Atwater,\u00a0The Big Book of Near-Death Experiences: The Ultimate Guide to What Happens When We Die<\/em>\u00a0(Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads Publishing Company, 2007):<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Patricia Meo, administrative director at Holy Cross Hospital, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was skeptical of near-death experiences until her husband, Tony, had one. \u00a0That had traveled from their home in Florida to Milwaukee so that Tony could have open heart surgery and cardiac revascularization performed by a surgeon renowned for his ability to help \u201chopeless\u201d cases. \u00a0After nine hours of surgery, the surgical team tried to remove Tony from the pump that was keeping his heart beating, but couldn\u2019t, so he was moved to the intensive care unit with every support device and pharmaceutical infusion imaginable. \u00a0Still no luck. \u00a0A few hours later, he was back in surgery, this time to determine why he continued to bleed into his chest. \u00a0But while being prepped, he went into cardiac arrest.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cAfter the first four minutes,\u201d Patricia recalls, \u201cthe code team wanted to stop, but the physician opted to continue, later telling me that he felt a \u2018power\u2019 in his hands while massaging Tony\u2019s heart, and that he instinctively knew he could revive him. He was right. \u00a0It wasn\u2019t until three weeks later, once his trach had been removed, that Tony told our daughter, son-in-law, and me how he had \u2018gone home\u2019 and \u2018visited heaven.\u2019 \u00a0We didn\u2019t believe him. \u00a0We dismissed it as a dream.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nHis inability to convince his family about his experience was a great frustration to Tony. \u00a0He retold his story many times, explaining that he had been allowed to come back because he had a mission to complete while still on Earth, and that he had been told the date and time he would ultimately return to heaven. \u00a0Patricia says, \u201cTony told us that during his stop at our home [while he was supposedly dead], he had read the mail lying on the dining room table and proceeded to tell us exactly what items that mail included. \u00a0He also described our housesitter\u2019s new girlfriend, whom we had never seen; to our surprise his description proved accurate. \u00a0Then he said that he had visited some neighbors and family members in New Jersey during his \u2018trip,\u2019 and that he had seen us all crying in the hospital waiting room.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nAs Tony described the beauty of the \u201cplace\u201d he had visited, his whole demeanor changed. \u00a0\u201cHe was no longer afraid to die. \u00a0He lived life to the fullest and taught us how to slow down, enjoy life, and savor precious moments. \u00a0He taught us to value people, not possessions,\u201d Patricia says. \u00a0Tony died two and a half years later, amidst incredible \u201ccoincidences\u201d that proved to his family that his death was indeed \u201caccording to plan.\u201d \u00a0(141-143)<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 An account that I\u2019ve gleaned for my notes from P.M.H. Atwater,\u00a0The Big Book of Near-Death Experiences: The Ultimate Guide to What Happens When We Die\u00a0(Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads Publishing Company, 2007): \u00a0 Patricia Meo, administrative director at Holy Cross Hospital, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was skeptical of near-death experiences until her husband, Tony, had […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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Atwater,\u00a0The Big Book of Near-Death Experiences: The Ultimate Guide to What Happens\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/07\/76164.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sic et Non\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-07-18T20:24:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-07-18T20:26:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2015\/12\/800px-Blake_jacobsladder.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/07\/76164.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2019\/07\/76164.html\",\"name\":\"\\\"His death was indeed 'according to plan.'\\\"\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-07-18T20:24:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-07-18T20:26:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\"},\"description\":\" An account that I've gleaned for my notes from P.M.H. 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![\"Blake](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2015\/12\/800px-Blake_jacobsladder.jpg\")
<\/a>