Veridical NDEs

[seekerscientist]

Does anyone know of an NDE more veridical than that of Pam Reynolds Lowery in 1991?

[Henri77]

If you'd share a link to her story, you might get more replies.
Looking up veridical was enough research for me.
The experience seems to drastically change most experiencers view of reality-life , so it must be pretty profound.

[seekerscientist]

Here is a summary of the Pam Reynolds Lowery NDE, described in detail in the book "Light and Death" by Michael Sabom, c. 1998:

The most famous and medically-well documented veridical near-death experience is that of Pam Reynolds Lowery. Pam had a giant basilar artery aneurysm, a ballooned section of a large artery at the base of her brain. If the aneurysm ruptured, the result would be immediate death. So she needed a major operation to fix the problem.

The operation she had in 1991 during which her near-death experience occurred was a very radical one indeed. The surgical team would lower her body temperature to 60o Fahrenheit to induce cardiac arrest, and then drain the blood from her head so that the aneurysm could be safely removed. At the start of the aneurysm removal procedure, she would be quite clinically dead, with no heart beat and no brain waves or brainstem function.

Because this was such a major and radical type of procedure, Pam was extensively monitored during the surgery. Her eyes were taped shut. She had a catheter placed to measure pulmonary pressure and blood flow from the heart. Cardiac monitoring leads were attached to follow heart rate and rhythm, and an oximeter was taped to her index finger to measure oxygen levels in her blood. Urinary temperature was measured by a thermister placed in her bladder and the core body temperature of her inner body was measured with a thermister placed deeply into her esophagus. Her brain temperature was monitored by a thin wire embedded in its surface. She had EEG electrodes taped to her head to record cerebral cortical brain activity, and her auditory nerve center located in the brain stem was tested continuously using 100-decibel clicks at 22 clicks per second (a deep hum as loud as a jackhammer) emitted from small speakers inserted into her ears. In summary, she was fully loaded with instrumentation and diagnostics for the surgery.

Pam was placed under general anesthesia by the anesthesiologist. After ninety minutes of deep anesthesia the surgery began with the surgeon, a Dr. Spetzler, cutting out a large section of Pam’s skull with a Midas Rex 73,000 rpm bone saw, which made a loud buzzing noise. Here is Pam’s account of what she saw and heard when the operation began:

The next thing I recall was the sound: It was a natural D. As I listened to the sound, I felt it was pulling me out of the top of my head. The further out of my body I got, the more clear the tone became. I had the impression it was like a road, a frequency that you go on …. I remember seeing several things in the operating room when I was looking down. It was the most aware that I think that I have ever been in my entire life…. I was metaphorically sitting on Dr. Spetzler’s shoulder. It was not like normal vision. It was brighter and more focused and clearer than normal vision …. There was so much in the operating room that I didn’t recognize, and so many people.

I thought the way they had my head shaved was very peculiar. I expected them to take all of the hair, but they did not ….

The saw thing that I hated the sound of looked like an electric toothbrush and it had a dent in it, a groove at the top where the saw appeared to go into the handle, but it didn’t …. And the saw had interchangeable blades, too, but these blades were in what looked like a socket wrench case …. I heard the saw crank up. I didn’t see them use it on my head, but I think I heard it being used on something. It was humming at a relatively high pitch and then all of a sudden it went Brrrrrrr! like that.

Someone said something about my veins and arteries being very small. I believe it was a female voice and that it was Dr. Murray, but I’m not sure. She was the cardiologist. I remember thinking that I should have told her about that…. I remember the heart-lung machine. I didn’t like the respirator…. I remember a lot of tools and instruments that I did not readily recognize.

After the operation, her surgeon Dr. Spetzler was quite astounded that she was able to describe the things she did, given the fact that she was ninety minutes into general anesthesia and with her eyes taped shut. The bone saw that he had used did indeed resemble an electric toothbrush to an uninitiated person. And it did have a set of blades in a case resembling a socket wrench case. The fact is that Pam had never seen such a medical bone saw anytime in her life. And Pam was also able to hear one of the doctors talking about her veins and arteries being small, a conversation that indeed actually took place during the operation. Yet she had plugs in her ears that were giving out 100-decibel clicks like the sound of a jack hammer. She shouldn’t have been able to hear a thing. So Pam Reynolds Lowery’s NDE was dramatically veridical. She was providing proof that her consciousness was outside her body and aware, while her body and brain were deeply anesthetized.

[Henri77]

Guess it's true that in most NDE reports, the experiencer doesn't dwell in the room and observe other than briefly their physical surroundings.
To a scientist this is important verification.
However to the individual it's typically of minor import, other than as a curiosity.
I looked to see if anyone had been able to induce-simulate an NDE, as this could be a valuable tool to consciousness researchers... since NDE's seem quiet different from other OOB experiences.

[Reverend Keith]

There are a number of interesting experiences on this site:

http://www.near-death.com/

[Xan]

These sites too: http://IANDS.com and http://NDERF.org


Xan

[Henri77]

Cool sites.
Gotta check out some of this material.

[Xan]

Does anyone know of an NDE more veridical than that of Pam Reynolds Lowery in 1991?
There are several books by P.M.H. A****er that go into detail from her study of many verified NDE's.


Xan