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qualitative
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Sabom, Michael. Light and Death. Zondervan, 1998. Chapter 6. Rick Bowers.
Light and Death, Chapter 6, Rick Bowers, 1998
1981
1998
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Rick, a no-nonsense stockbroker in his mid-fifties, suffered a heart attack in 1981 while reading in his reclining chair at home. He felt tightening in his jaw and a drop of hot lead sensation down his left arm. Paramedics rushed him to Saint Joseph's Hospital CCU where he remained stable throughout the week. On Good Friday at 5 PM, while his cardiologist was explaining Monday's catheterization procedure, Rick experienced a strange feeling through his whole body and couldn't answer the doctor's question. His heart had stopped.
The nurse rushed in to check the telemetry leads, which were still attached. A Code Blue was called and Rick's wife Barbara was told to leave. During CPR, Rick drifted into a dream-like state, traveling through a greenish valley with a mountainside on the left. A pale white vision appeared, then his father (who had died in August 1980) appeared in detail, calling out "Red, what are you doing here?" - his father's nickname for him. Other figures began appearing behind his father. Suddenly someone grabbed him from behind and rapidly pulled him backwards. He zoomed out of the scene and heard a nurse yelling "Wake up!" When he came to, Sister Ernestine asked if he believed in prayer. They prayed together with her clasping his left hand to her chest. A cooling sensation started at his fingertips, worked down his arm and through his chest, and the pain was gone. He was immediately taken for catheterization and then surgery. Barbara had been praying continuously since the ambulance ride, asking God for Scripture and guidance. She received assurance that it wasn't his time to die. During Rick's arrest, she believed the agreement of her prayers with Sister Ernestine's saved his life, with their prayers pulling him back from his near-death experience. Both Rick and Barbara attributed his survival to the power of their coordinated prayer.
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Hospital
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15
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Strong Evidence
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Documented cardiac arrest in CCU on Good Friday, full monitoring, immediate resuscitation, followed by cath and surgery
Saw deceased father who recognized him by nickname, felt being pulled back, healing through prayer
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Dr. Michael Sabom
1994-01-01
8/4/2025
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