A Child's Near Death Experience
On July 22nd, I was in route to Washington D.C. for a business trip. It was all very ordinary until we landed in Denver for a plane change. When I got off the plane, a solemn-faced young man came toward me and said, “There is an emergency at your home.” I learned that my three-year-old son had been trapped underneath the automatic garage door for several minutes, and that when my wife had found him he was dead. CPR had been performed by a neighbor, who is a doctor, and the paramedics had continued the treatment as Brian was transported to the hospital. By the time of my call, Brian was revived and they believed he would live, but they did not know how much damage had been done to his brain, nor to his heart. Brian was going to live, and the preliminary tests indicated that his heart was okay – two miracles, in and of themselves. But only time would tell if his brain received any damage. Finally, at two o’clock that afternoon, our son regained consciousness and sat up uttering the most beautiful words I have ever heard spoken, he said, “Daddy hold me,” and he reached for me with his little arms. By the next day he was pronounced as having no neurological or physical deficits, and the story of his miraculous survival spread throughout the hospital. You cannot imagine our gratitude and joy. Almost a month later to the day of the accident, Brian awoke from his afternoon nap and said, “Mommy, I have something to tell you. Do you remember when I got stuck under the garage door? Well, it was so heavy and it hurt really bad. I called to you, but you couldn’t hear me. I started to cry, but then it hurt too bad. And then the ‘birdies’ came.” “The birdies?” my wife asked puzzled. “Yes,” he replied. “The birdies made a whooshing sound and flew into the garage. They took care of me.”