Nothing like dying to change ones perspective around the holidays. Here is my friend Maryann's account of her recent "unscheduled" trip.
I was very ill from a bad cold the Thursday a week before Thanksgiving. I had called my doctor for an antibiotic and then called him again to schedule an appointment with him the next day, Friday. My doctor called me at home on Thursday evening and heard that I had some chest congestion and advised that I come in early the next morning so he could examine me and prescribe steroids just to get me through this rough patch. Having been an asthmatic in the past (but having it very well under control of late) I assumed that I might have an uncomfortable night, but would seem him first thing in the morning and get some relief.
After I hung up the phone with him, things went down very, very quickly. My breathing became very labored. I used my rescue inhaler, but that didn't seem to offer any relief.. I knew I was in trouble. I realized I needed help and dialed 911. After I hung up with them, a dear friend called in to see how I was feeling. I told him - barely able to breathe at that point - that I had called an ambulance and he said he'd be right over.
After I hung up with him, I managed somehow to walk from the living room into the dining room to retrieve my purse .my keys, health cards, etc. While walking into the dining room I clearly saw my dead grandparents (who used to live in the apartment below). They were standing in the dining room wearing vintage winter .coats with lamb pelt lapels. I acknowledged them in the same manner I would any real person standing there- for to me they were quite "real." I knew that they were deceased at that point, and that I was in a very serene place - very peaceful.. It was a "sweet surrender." I truly had the feeling that this might be my time to pass, and I was just fine with it... I managed to focus somehow and get down the stairs (I'm sure they must have "helped" in some way). I opened the door to the porch and closed the door behind me so my pet cat wouldn't escape. I vaguely recall opening the front door and waiting for the EMTs. As .I sat down on the sofa on the porch, I know that someone was talking to me, they were sitting next to me. It was a man in a navy blue uniform with dark wavy hair and dark-rimmed glasses. I assumed one of the EMTs had arrived and was administering to me on the porch. But my friend (who arrived at the same time as the ambulance) said the EMTs took me right into the truck and started treatment. Later I realized that this man in the navy uniform may have been my late dad who was a police officer many years ago. I don't recall any of the content of the conversation, but this memory was very clear. I also felt my mom around me as well. I knew that I was in this peaceful place, that I probably was going to pass on, but that everything was perfectly all right. There was nothing to worry about...
I apparently didn't respond well in the ambulance to the asthma treatment, and the EMTs told my friend that my lungs were in a locked spasm and that there was only a 5-7 minute window to get me help, so I was rushed to the ER of a local hospital. Once I reached the ER, I "crashed" - I stopped breathing completely and was sedated, intubated and then put into an induced coma for several days. I don't recall much during this period, obviously, but I do recall hearing someone say "Breeeeeeeethe..." The triage doctor told my sister that my condition was serious and that if I didn't come around soon (since I wasn't responding to treatment) a decision might have to be made. I had just told my sister not too long before this event regarding end-stage care, "You know my adage: Drug me and unplug me." I guess someone was listening. Soon after that, some improvement was noted which was encouraging. I was taken off the ventilator and I started breathing on my own.
I heard from my friend, Dannion Brinkley who told me that he had heard of my situation and had meditated, sending me some healing energy, but kept telling me to "Breathe..." So I guess I must have "heard" him. I also had to laugh because I had received a catalogue in the mail just a day or so before this crisis and I had dog-eared the page which showed a plaque which (unrelated to this medical emergency) said "The only thing you need to do today is breathe." (Quite a cosmic joke).
I was in an amazingly peaceful place, I must say. When I was placed into a regular room, another older woman (around 90 years old) was also brought up into my room from the ICU, apparently. She was stable, her vitals were good and she was talking to her family about the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. Somehow, I "knew" that she was going to pass over. About five minutes later, she coded and did pass away.
The other odd thing was that I had made an appointment to see Max, the Crystal Skull for that Sunday - for obvious reasons, I couldn't make the appointment to see him. I have a small collection of my own crystal skulls, but have stored them away since it seemed that every time I would take them out to work with them, I would receive news that someone had passed away.
I didn't know that I'd been put into an induced coma, so all of this came as a great surprise to me... I'm still trying to sort things out and rest and recuperate... Perhaps more information will come to me as to the reason all of this happened. I can only say that it was a very peaceful journey - filled with loving family members who were awaiting my arrival - or who helped to guide me back here. I was ready to go... I guess I have more work to do.... The outpouring of affection and healing thoughts has been astounding. My friend Marla (a gifted and well-known psychic medium) was a great help to me to understand what this odyssey may have been all about. More to come, I'm sure... Thank you for reading this account.... it was quite a ride....
After I hung up the phone with him, things went down very, very quickly. My breathing became very labored. I used my rescue inhaler, but that didn't seem to offer any relief.. I knew I was in trouble. I realized I needed help and dialed 911. After I hung up with them, a dear friend called in to see how I was feeling. I told him - barely able to breathe at that point - that I had called an ambulance and he said he'd be right over.
After I hung up with him, I managed somehow to walk from the living room into the dining room to retrieve my purse .my keys, health cards, etc. While walking into the dining room I clearly saw my dead grandparents (who used to live in the apartment below). They were standing in the dining room wearing vintage winter .coats with lamb pelt lapels. I acknowledged them in the same manner I would any real person standing there- for to me they were quite "real." I knew that they were deceased at that point, and that I was in a very serene place - very peaceful.. It was a "sweet surrender." I truly had the feeling that this might be my time to pass, and I was just fine with it... I managed to focus somehow and get down the stairs (I'm sure they must have "helped" in some way). I opened the door to the porch and closed the door behind me so my pet cat wouldn't escape. I vaguely recall opening the front door and waiting for the EMTs. As .I sat down on the sofa on the porch, I know that someone was talking to me, they were sitting next to me. It was a man in a navy blue uniform with dark wavy hair and dark-rimmed glasses. I assumed one of the EMTs had arrived and was administering to me on the porch. But my friend (who arrived at the same time as the ambulance) said the EMTs took me right into the truck and started treatment. Later I realized that this man in the navy uniform may have been my late dad who was a police officer many years ago. I don't recall any of the content of the conversation, but this memory was very clear. I also felt my mom around me as well. I knew that I was in this peaceful place, that I probably was going to pass on, but that everything was perfectly all right. There was nothing to worry about...
I apparently didn't respond well in the ambulance to the asthma treatment, and the EMTs told my friend that my lungs were in a locked spasm and that there was only a 5-7 minute window to get me help, so I was rushed to the ER of a local hospital. Once I reached the ER, I "crashed" - I stopped breathing completely and was sedated, intubated and then put into an induced coma for several days. I don't recall much during this period, obviously, but I do recall hearing someone say "Breeeeeeeethe..." The triage doctor told my sister that my condition was serious and that if I didn't come around soon (since I wasn't responding to treatment) a decision might have to be made. I had just told my sister not too long before this event regarding end-stage care, "You know my adage: Drug me and unplug me." I guess someone was listening. Soon after that, some improvement was noted which was encouraging. I was taken off the ventilator and I started breathing on my own.
I heard from my friend, Dannion Brinkley who told me that he had heard of my situation and had meditated, sending me some healing energy, but kept telling me to "Breathe..." So I guess I must have "heard" him. I also had to laugh because I had received a catalogue in the mail just a day or so before this crisis and I had dog-eared the page which showed a plaque which (unrelated to this medical emergency) said "The only thing you need to do today is breathe." (Quite a cosmic joke).
I was in an amazingly peaceful place, I must say. When I was placed into a regular room, another older woman (around 90 years old) was also brought up into my room from the ICU, apparently. She was stable, her vitals were good and she was talking to her family about the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. Somehow, I "knew" that she was going to pass over. About five minutes later, she coded and did pass away.
The other odd thing was that I had made an appointment to see Max, the Crystal Skull for that Sunday - for obvious reasons, I couldn't make the appointment to see him. I have a small collection of my own crystal skulls, but have stored them away since it seemed that every time I would take them out to work with them, I would receive news that someone had passed away.
I didn't know that I'd been put into an induced coma, so all of this came as a great surprise to me... I'm still trying to sort things out and rest and recuperate... Perhaps more information will come to me as to the reason all of this happened. I can only say that it was a very peaceful journey - filled with loving family members who were awaiting my arrival - or who helped to guide me back here. I was ready to go... I guess I have more work to do.... The outpouring of affection and healing thoughts has been astounding. My friend Marla (a gifted and well-known psychic medium) was a great help to me to understand what this odyssey may have been all about. More to come, I'm sure... Thank you for reading this account.... it was quite a ride....
May Maryann's journey give us all pause as we traverse the challanges of being Human.