It might surprise you to learn that I procrastinated telling my doctors about my near-death experience. Why?
I guess I hesitated because I've worked in the medical industry on and off for the last 15 years and during that time, developed professional relationships with nearly one hundred medical doctors. I can't say that I know any of those doctors very well personally, but I often heard their professional opinions on a lot of topics. Out of necessity, doctors tend to be very scientific, logical, rational, and concrete. If they couldn't quantify it, it didn't exist. Makes sense - that's their job, after all. So it shouldn't come as much of a surprise to learn that most of them were atheists or agnostics, much as I was at that time.
Because of this, I let months pass before even considering asking for a medical opinion on what happened to me during my accident and surgery. While I knew the basics of what had happened during surgery, I still wanted to talk with my physician to get his view of those events. I procrastinated a little more but finally decided to talk to my primary care doctor (I'll call him Dr. T).
Dr. T (Dr. Christopher Trojanovich) is an internal medicine specialist and a hospitalist in Boulder, Colorado, but he also has a strong background in infectious disease and integrative medicine from Harvard University. He's incredibly intelligent, compassionate, honest, and, well, "normal," meaning that he doesn't come off as arrogant or condescending. I figured if anyone would listen to me, he would. I called to make an appointment and the scheduler said he had an opening that afternoon. I took it - I figured that I might as well get this over with as soon as possible!
I felt nervous all day. My stomach tightened with worry and I hardly ate anything all day. I dreaded what his opinion might be. I honestly expected him to tell me I was hallucinating, or didn't experience anything other than the effects of anesthesia.
Once in his office, I simply laid out for him what I wanted to know - In his medical opinion, what happened during surgery? He asked why I wanted to know. I hesitated a few seconds but then dove right in to my experiences, starting with the crash and ending with the surgery.
He didn't say a word while I spoke...he simply listened, holding an unreadable expression on his face. I'm usually good at gauging body language but his poker-face left me unsure of his receptivity to my story. When I finished my tale we both paused, then he spoke.
"Wow, what a cool experience!" And with that, the floodgates of conversation opened.
To make a long story somewhat shorter, he related a few accounts from other patients who also experienced the near-death state. He said that in his work as a hospitalist, he is often present with patients during their final moments in this life. At least monthly, during these moments when people pass on, he's presented with incidents that truly make him stop and think about the ultimate nature of existence. After more than 15 years in this work, he's a firm believer in the realm of God/Spirit and thought that what I experienced was a true gift...and a calling.
I felt a weight lift off my shoulders and immediately relaxed.
Someone in the medical field actually believed that what happened to me was real. Wow.
I knew it was real, but as someone with a science background, it helped me feel validated to have another scientist tell me that I wasn't nuts - that I had experienced something really special and have been given a huge gift of life and knowledge.
The latest in this story is that Dr. T has gone public to validate the reality of my NDE. You can read about it here, in this Boulder Daily Camera article:
http://www.dailycamera.com/lifestyles/ci_31186554/lives-changed-forever-by-near-death-experiences
All content copyright Nancy Rynes, 2014-2017. Please read disclaimer and Legal Notes here.
I guess I hesitated because I've worked in the medical industry on and off for the last 15 years and during that time, developed professional relationships with nearly one hundred medical doctors. I can't say that I know any of those doctors very well personally, but I often heard their professional opinions on a lot of topics. Out of necessity, doctors tend to be very scientific, logical, rational, and concrete. If they couldn't quantify it, it didn't exist. Makes sense - that's their job, after all. So it shouldn't come as much of a surprise to learn that most of them were atheists or agnostics, much as I was at that time.
Because of this, I let months pass before even considering asking for a medical opinion on what happened to me during my accident and surgery. While I knew the basics of what had happened during surgery, I still wanted to talk with my physician to get his view of those events. I procrastinated a little more but finally decided to talk to my primary care doctor (I'll call him Dr. T).
Dr. T (Dr. Christopher Trojanovich) is an internal medicine specialist and a hospitalist in Boulder, Colorado, but he also has a strong background in infectious disease and integrative medicine from Harvard University. He's incredibly intelligent, compassionate, honest, and, well, "normal," meaning that he doesn't come off as arrogant or condescending. I figured if anyone would listen to me, he would. I called to make an appointment and the scheduler said he had an opening that afternoon. I took it - I figured that I might as well get this over with as soon as possible!
I felt nervous all day. My stomach tightened with worry and I hardly ate anything all day. I dreaded what his opinion might be. I honestly expected him to tell me I was hallucinating, or didn't experience anything other than the effects of anesthesia.
Once in his office, I simply laid out for him what I wanted to know - In his medical opinion, what happened during surgery? He asked why I wanted to know. I hesitated a few seconds but then dove right in to my experiences, starting with the crash and ending with the surgery.
He didn't say a word while I spoke...he simply listened, holding an unreadable expression on his face. I'm usually good at gauging body language but his poker-face left me unsure of his receptivity to my story. When I finished my tale we both paused, then he spoke.
"Wow, what a cool experience!" And with that, the floodgates of conversation opened.
To make a long story somewhat shorter, he related a few accounts from other patients who also experienced the near-death state. He said that in his work as a hospitalist, he is often present with patients during their final moments in this life. At least monthly, during these moments when people pass on, he's presented with incidents that truly make him stop and think about the ultimate nature of existence. After more than 15 years in this work, he's a firm believer in the realm of God/Spirit and thought that what I experienced was a true gift...and a calling.
I felt a weight lift off my shoulders and immediately relaxed.
Someone in the medical field actually believed that what happened to me was real. Wow.
I knew it was real, but as someone with a science background, it helped me feel validated to have another scientist tell me that I wasn't nuts - that I had experienced something really special and have been given a huge gift of life and knowledge.
The latest in this story is that Dr. T has gone public to validate the reality of my NDE. You can read about it here, in this Boulder Daily Camera article:
http://www.dailycamera.com/lifestyles/ci_31186554/lives-changed-forever-by-near-death-experiences
All content copyright Nancy Rynes, 2014-2017. Please read disclaimer and Legal Notes here.