Near death experience? (1 Viewer)

[Atomic Punk]

I was visiting my 86 year old father the other day and he casually said something that stopped me cold. Dad has quite a few health issues, including having a minor stroke or seizures (docs isn’t 100% sure which) about six months ago. We were discussing another friend of mine that just entered palliative care a couple of days ago and my dad says, “tell him I saw what’s next … it doesn’t look too bad”.

Mom walks in at that point and I don’t press it with Dad. Here I am a few days later and cant stop thinking about it. Dad isn’t a religious man by any means, although we did go to church when I was younger. He also isn’t one to just joke around saying something like that, so I’m at a loss as to what he meant.

Anyone else have any odd experience yourself or with someone that had a near death experience?

 

[PIK95]

I see dead people.....but only in dreams luckily.

 

[krista4]

I have two friends who were dead for a period of time before being revived, including one whose story was featured on Rescue 911 with William Shatner.

They've both told me there was nothing they saw on the "other side." No white light, whatever. Maybe it varies by person.

 

[Atomic Punk]

The thing that seemed the oddest to me was on how casual my Dad said it. Like it was no big deal and he seriously wanted me to pass this on to my friend.

The whole thing just seems so odd for him that I have to believe he saw “something” but who knows what the heck it was.

 

[Westerberg]

Reminds me of what Roger Ebert said before he died. From an article after his passing:

"The one thing people might be surprised about — Roger said that he didn't know if he could believe in God. He had his doubts. But toward the end, something really interesting happened. That week before Roger passed away, I would see him and he would talk about having visited this other place. I thought he was hallucinating. I thought they were giving him too much medication. But the day before he passed away, he wrote me a note: "This is all an elaborate hoax." I asked him, "What's a hoax?" And he was talking about this world, this place. He said it was all an illusion. I thought he was just confused. But he was not confused. He wasn't visiting heaven, not the way we think of heaven. He described it as a vastness that you can't even imagine. It was a place where the past, present, and future were happening all at once."

 

[BeTheMatch]

He was confused. Or hallucinating.

 

[Sullie]

So my Mom was in charge of a nursing home back in the 1990's. My grandmother, her mom, had fallen, she shattered her knee and she was in her 80's, she became immobile and so she chose to live out her last years in the same nursing home my Mom was in charge of. My Mom got to see her and spend time with her every day. Every day they had nice conversations, etc. My Grandmother was always extremely intelligent and always sharp as a tack, she chose her words carefully so when she said something to you, you knew she meant what she was saying. The day my Grandmother died, my Mom was working late (my Mom always worked 10-12 hours a day, she's always been a work-a-holic) but that day she was leaving, it was around 8 pm and she stopped by to see my Grandmother on her way out. My Grandmother and her had a nice conversation and at the end she said "okay Mom, I'll see you tomorrow." My Grandmother said back to her "Honey, I won't be here, it's my time." My Mom said "Mom, you're fine, why would you say that?" My Grandmother said "I know you can't see him but your Dad is here, I can see him just as clearly as I'm seeing you, it's my time and I'm ready to be with him, please don't be upset okay? I'm not afraid and I know it's my time." And my Mom thought she was hallucinating and she said she gave her a hug and said "I love you Mom, I think you had a bad dream, I'll see you tomorrow." My Mom got a call around 11 PM that night letting her know her Mom had passed away in her sleep.

 

[Clown Car]

So my Mom was in charge of a nursing home back in the 1990's. My grandmother, her mom, had fallen, she shattered her knee and she was in her 80's, she became immobile and so she chose to live out her last years in the same nursing home my Mom was in charge of. My Mom got to see her and spend time with her every day. Every day they had nice conversations, etc. My Grandmother was always extremely intelligent and always sharp as a tack, she chose her words carefully so when she said something to you, you knew she meant what she was saying. The day my Grandmother died, my Mom was working late (my Mom always worked 10-12 hours a day, she's always been a work-a-holic) but that day she was leaving, it was around 8 pm and she stopped by to see my Grandmother on her way out. My Grandmother and her had a nice conversation and at the end she said "okay Mom, I'll see you tomorrow." My Grandmother said back to her "Honey, I won't be here, it's my time." My Mom said "Mom, you're fine, why would you say that?" My Grandmother said "I know you can't see him but your Dad is here, I can see him just as clearly as I'm seeing you, it's my time and I'm ready to be with him, please don't be upset okay? I'm not afraid and I know it's my time." And my Mom thought she was hallucinating and she said she gave her a hug and said "I love you Mom, I think you had a bad dream, I'll see you tomorrow." My Mom got a call around 11 PM that night letting her know her Mom had passed away in her sleep.

My sister is a hospice nurse. She has many stories like this.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

Reminds me of what Roger Ebert said before he died. From an article after his passing:

"The one thing people might be surprised about — Roger said that he didn't know if he could believe in God. He had his doubts. But toward the end, something really interesting happened. That week before Roger passed away, I would see him and he would talk about having visited this other place. I thought he was hallucinating. I thought they were giving him too much medication. But the day before he passed away, he wrote me a note: "This is all an elaborate hoax." I asked him, "What's a hoax?" And he was talking about this world, this place. He said it was all an illusion. I thought he was just confused. But he was not confused. He wasn't visiting heaven, not the way we think of heaven. He described it as a vastness that you can't even imagine. It was a place where the past, present, and future were happening all at once."

B-theory of time.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

As far as Roger Ebert goes, I'm sure it was something he saw in a movie.

 

[Atomic Punk]

So my Mom was in charge of a nursing home back in the 1990's. My grandmother, her mom, had fallen, she shattered her knee and she was in her 80's, she became immobile and so she chose to live out her last years in the same nursing home my Mom was in charge of. My Mom got to see her and spend time with her every day. Every day they had nice conversations, etc. My Grandmother was always extremely intelligent and always sharp as a tack, she chose her words carefully so when she said something to you, you knew she meant what she was saying. The day my Grandmother died, my Mom was working late (my Mom always worked 10-12 hours a day, she's always been a work-a-holic) but that day she was leaving, it was around 8 pm and she stopped by to see my Grandmother on her way out. My Grandmother and her had a nice conversation and at the end she said "okay Mom, I'll see you tomorrow." My Grandmother said back to her "Honey, I won't be here, it's my time." My Mom said "Mom, you're fine, why would you say that?" My Grandmother said "I know you can't see him but your Dad is here, I can see him just as clearly as I'm seeing you, it's my time and I'm ready to be with him, please don't be upset okay? I'm not afraid and I know it's my time." And my Mom thought she was hallucinating and she said she gave her a hug and said "I love you Mom, I think you had a bad dream, I'll see you tomorrow." My Mom got a call around 11 PM that night letting her know her Mom had passed away in her sleep.

I’ve heard quite a few stories like this too, although not from someone as close as a mother. I’ve never really given those stories much credence before and just thought the same thing as @BeTheMatch and they must be hallucinating. Although raised a catholic, I do not consider myself religious and despite being 53, I’m still on the fence on whether this world is all we got or if there is something to these stories.

I suppose this feeling my Dad had could also just be a way that our mind works to accept the end more peacefully. Whatever it is, his words and the look of ease on Dad’s face kinda freaked me out a little.

 

[Dr_Zaius]

My sister is a hospice nurse. She has many stories like this.

When my dad was on hospice one of the nurses, when talking about ways to know that death was very near, told us that describing conversations with dead relatives was quite common near the end. My dad unfortunately couldn't talk during his last days, but was definitely unusually active as I was saying goodbye for what turned out to be the last time.

 

[Fat Nick]

I have two friends who were dead for a period of time before being revived, including one whose story was featured on Rescue 911 with William Shatner.

They've both told me there was nothing they saw on the "other side." No white light, whatever. Maybe it varies by person.

Yep - this is what drives my biggest fear. Nothing after I die. Nothing. Forever nothing. Really makes you appreciate being alive, and also terrified that it's finite...I WANT to believe in something else, but I just can't...

 

[BeTheMatch]

I have two friends who were dead for a period of time before being revived, including one whose story was featured on Rescue 911 with William Shatner.

They've both told me there was nothing they saw on the "other side." No white light, whatever. Maybe it varies by person.

Yep - this is what drives my biggest fear. Nothing after I die. Nothing. Forever nothing. Really makes you appreciate being alive, and also terrified that it's finite...I WANT to believe in something else, but I just can't...

And my personal opinion is this fear is the reason man invented religion. The inability to accept that things just end and fade into nothingness was just too much to deal with.

 

[GAlmgren]

I have two friends who were dead for a period of time before being revived, including one whose story was featured on Rescue 911 with William Shatner.

They've both told me there was nothing they saw on the "other side." No white light, whatever. Maybe it varies by person.

Had one of these personally and also saw nothing. It always disappoints people when that is my answer..

 

[Fat Nick]

I have two friends who were dead for a period of time before being revived, including one whose story was featured on Rescue 911 with William Shatner.

They've both told me there was nothing they saw on the "other side." No white light, whatever. Maybe it varies by person.

Yep - this is what drives my biggest fear. Nothing after I die. Nothing. Forever nothing. Really makes you appreciate being alive, and also terrified that it's finite...I WANT to believe in something else, but I just can't...

And my personal opinion is this fear is the reason man invented religion. The inability to accept that things just end and fade into nothingness was just too much to deal with.

Agree 100%....

 

[foxco]

When I lived in LA my best friend there was dying of cancer and they called his friends in when he was in hospice to say goodbye. After it was over, on the drive back home the radio played Billy Idol, The Doors and The Rolling Stones back to back to back, those were his 3 favorite bands so if there is something up there they gave him an okay sendoff. Not really cause he had to suffer through cancer but whatev.

Unrelated, one night my dad woke up in the middle of the night having this weird dream about his father-in-law (my grandfather.) Now my grandfather was this softspoken but rugged farmer from northern England, and in the dream he tipped his cap at my dad, smiled and said, "It'll be okay." About an hour after he woke up he got the call that my grandfather had passed away from a heart attack. He'd never dreamed of him before, and figured he came to him so he wouldn't freak my mom out too much.