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qualitative
journal
Enright, Rick. Silent Journey: The Discovery of the Near-Death Experience of a Nonverbal Adolescent. David (pseudonym). Case 1.
Journal of Near-Death Studies Vol. 22 No. 3 Spring 2004
1987
2004
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M
David, an 8-year-old boy with cystic fibrosis, underwent liver transplant surgery. Twenty-two hours post-surgery, he developed massive cerebral edema and was declared virtually brain-dead, entering a prolonged coma state. During this critical period, David experienced leaving his body and floating in the air above the hospital. From this vantage point, he observed his brother and grandmother together at home, talking, though they could not see him. He then experienced moving through a dark empty space followed by passage through a long dark tunnel toward a bright light. In the light, he encountered familiar beings who communicated telepathically without speaking. A male figure accompanied him on what David described as a guided tour, showing him fragments of both his past and future life. He was eventually told or persuaded that he must return to his body, though he felt mixed emotions about this directive. David gradually regained awareness in the pediatric critical care ward after many days in coma. However, the brain damage left him quadriplegic and nonverbal, unable to communicate his experience until it was discovered serendipitously six years later through yes/no questioning when he was 14 years old.
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Hospital
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29
Suggestive Evidence
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Massive cerebral edema post-liver transplant, declared virtually brain-dead, prolonged coma state
Out-of-body observation of brother and grandmother at home while patient was in hospital ICU
written_account
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Quadriplegia, nonverbal post-recovery
Rick Enright, M.S.W.
7/23/2025
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