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4447
qualitative
journal
Morse M, A Near-Death Experience in a 7-Year-Old Child, American Journal of Diseases of Children, Vol 137, Pages 959-961, 1983
Am J Dis Child 1983
1983
1983
7
F
A 7-year-old girl experienced an unwitnessed warm freshwater near-drowning in a community swimming pool. A physician at the scene found her comatose with fixed dilated pupils and immediately initiated CPR and intubation. She was transported to the emergency room with a Glasgow coma score of 5, requiring mechanical ventilation for three days due to massive pulmonary edema and adult respiratory distress syndrome. Her arterial pH was 6.9 and PO2 never exceeded 40 mm Hg for the first four hours.
During her near-death state, the child reported traveling through a dark tunnel where she felt scared and could not walk. She was met by a tall woman named Elizabeth with bright yellow hair who guided her to heaven. The child described heaven as bright and fun with many flowers, surrounded by a border she could not see past. There she encountered deceased relatives including her grandparents and maternal aunt, as well as two adults named Heather and Melissa who were waiting to be reborn. The experience culminated in meeting "the heavenly Father and Jesus" who asked if she wanted to return to earth. When she initially declined, Elizabeth asked if she wanted to see her mother. Upon saying yes, she awoke in the hospital. The child could not recall any details of the three-day comatose period but remembered seeing the physician in the emergency room. She regained consciousness on day three, was extubated, and discharged after one week with only mild short-term memory deficits that resolved within four weeks. The experience contained classic NDE elements including the dark tunnel, border around heaven, and choice to return, which were not explainable by her Mormon religious background alone.
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Hospital
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Exceptional Evidence
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Documented cardiac arrest with fixed dilated pupils, CPR initiated by physician at scene, mechanical ventilation for 3 days, Glasgow coma score 5, severe acidosis pH 6.9
Child remembered seeing physician in emergency room, specific details about experience not typical for age, multiple specific elements beyond religious training
medical_record
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Intubated at scene
Dr. Melvin Morse
1,983.00
7/21/2025
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