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4723
qualitative
book
Titus Rivas et al., The Self Does Not Die: Verified Paranormal Phenomena from Near-Death Experiences, 2nd edition, ed. Janice Holden (International Association for Near-Death Studies, 2023). Case 6.6. Documentary
Medical Miracle Documentary - Lucky Pettersen - Chapter 6 - 2000
1997
2000
4
M
Four-year-old Lucky Pettersen from Julian, California, developed a sudden severe fever in 1997 that was initially diagnosed as flu. After a week and a half, his condition drastically worsened - he appeared to be shrinking and became unresponsive. His parents rushed him to UC San Diego Medical Center where he was diagnosed with acute renal failure, cerebral edema that could cause severe mental impairment, and a nonfunctioning liver. He slipped into a coma and required an emergency liver transplant within 12 hours or he would die.
Lucky was flown by trauma helicopter to UCLA Medical Center over 100 miles away. Dr. Ronald Busuttil stated in the documentary that Lucky was as sick as any 4-year-old could be and could have died at any moment. No liver was available from deceased donors, so living donors were sought. Surprisingly, Lucky's 16-year-old half-brother Jason proved to be a perfect match despite being less genetically compatible than the parents. Part of Jason's liver was transplanted into Lucky. During the procedure, Lucky had two cardiac arrests but was successfully resuscitated both times. Three days after the transplant, Lucky woke up and told his father "I'm back." When his mother asked what he remembered, Lucky said he had a dream that "Big Gino had walked him back from Heaven." Big Gino Focarelli was an elderly friend who owned a restaurant next door to Lucky's mother's store, and the two had spent hours playing together. Lucky reported repeatedly hearing "Go back! Go back! Go back!" and identified the voice as Big Gino's. Lucky described this as someone bringing him back from heaven to his family. It wasn't until two weeks later, when the family returned from UCLA Medical Center, that Carl Focarelli (Big Gino's son) was able to tell Lucky's mother Dana that his father had died on the same Thursday that Lucky had gone to the hospital and slipped into a coma. No one at the hospital knew about Big Gino's death during Lucky's crisis. The Pettersens and Carl considered Lucky's experience with Big Gino to be an answer to Dana's prayers for someone to bring Lucky back, making this a verified case of encountering someone not known to have died.
1
Hospital
15
15
45
Moderate Evidence
15
Two cardiac arrests during surgery, coma, required liver transplant, documented by Dr. Busuttil
Encountered Big Gino who told him to go back, death unknown to family at hospital
written_account
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1.00
1.00
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0.00
1.00
7/28/2025
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