|
5093
qualitative
book
Carter, Chris. Science and the Near-Death Experience: How Consciousness Survives Death. Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions, 2010. Chapter 13, p. 209. Case: Pat
Science and the Near-Death Experience - Pat - Chapter 13, p. 209 - 2010
2010
7
M
Seven-year-old Pat was fishing with a friend from a bridge when he fell approximately ten feet, striking his head on a rock in the pond below. He remained underwater for five to ten minutes before a police officer rescued him. When pulled from the water, Pat's heart had stopped beating and he was not breathing. He was transported by ambulance to a local hospital where he was successfully resuscitated, then flown by helicopter to a larger medical facility. He remained in a coma for two days and was discharged from the hospital eight days after the accident.
In a series of interviews with researcher Serdahely, Pat described his experience after hitting his head. He found himself in a beautiful place with "lots of flowers" and a "bright light that didn't hurt my eyes." In this otherworldly realm, he encountered two deceased relatives: his grandfather who had died about a year earlier, and his nineteen-year-old sister who had died three years before in an automobile accident. Pat reported that his sister told him the place was wonderful but that he had to go back. His grandfather agreed with this assessment. While Pat's experience includes classic NDE elements of encountering deceased relatives in a beautiful realm of light and flowers, there were no specific veridical observations that could be independently verified beyond the subjective experience itself. The police officer who rescued Pat confirmed the circumstances of the accident, including the fall, the extended time underwater, and Pat's clinical state when rescued. Pat's case, though lacking independently verifiable observations, provides a compelling account of a child's near-death experience during drowning, with clear memories of an otherworldly realm and deceased family members despite being clinically dead for several minutes.
5
Hospital
7
0
13
Weak Evidence
6
Drowning for 5-10 minutes with cardiac arrest and cessation of breathing. Two-day coma following resuscitation.
No veridical observations reported. Experience consisted of subjective perceptions only.
written_account
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
Serdahely
8/6/2025
0
1
|