Near Death Experience - Child
Hi All,
This near-death expereince happened to our son when he was two years old (he's now in highschool).
I had taken our son (J) for his 2 year old check up and vaccinations. He had an immediate reaction to the Diptheria/Pertussis/Tetinas (sp?) combo vaccine (also know as the DPT). I was a young mom, and when the nurse said this was no big deal, I just took him home.
Within 24 hours, J had a bad seizure, vomitted and choked on it. Waking up from a dead sleep in the morning to this happening (J was sleeping with us) hubby called 911, and I did the heimlic maneuver and CPR on our son. He had stopped breathing and was completely gray. I got him breathing about 5 minutes afterwards. The EMTs came and transported him to the hospital. He stayed in hospital for a day, and was sent home.
Because J was so young, we were very careful not to let him know the severity of what had happened (we just told him he had the flu) and how this whole episode upset all of us. We tried to act like everything was normal. A few weeks later, I was getting J ready for a nap, reading to him and snuggling on the couch.
He looked over at me and said, "Mommy, I died."
I said, "Huh?"
J said, "I died. But a big man, the biggest man, was with me at a big lake of water. He said, "Your mommy and daddy love you and you need to be with them. Go home now!"
Totally shocked, I said, "Really?"
J said, "Yes. I was afraid of the man, because he was so big, so I went home."
I asked J, "But was he a nice man?"
J said, "Yes, I think so. But he was scary because he was so big."
Not knowing what else to say. I just went back to reading to him. When he fell asleep, I called our church and told the pastor (a family friend and someone really good with kids) what happened, and asked what I should do next. He told me to act as if nothing has happened and just be ready to listen if J wanted to talk about it again -- but not try to get additional information about his NDE. The pastor said he wasn't suprised, that children often remember NDE experiences, and that they forget them as they get older.
J subsequently forgot about his NDE. But we'll never forget it -- and we are so glad "the big man" sent him home!
JandZmom