Beyond Life as I know It

These days there is a lot of talk of the afterlife, ghostly encounters, angels, and the beyond.  I do not profess to be a believer in all otherworldly phenomena but I do entertain ideas of an afterlife, spiritual guides (ex: angels), and spirits.

There was a time when I was younger, about 15 or 16 years old, when one of my brothers ended up in a coma.  I won't go into the details of how it happened but I will say it was an enlightening time in my life.  He had gone out one evening and had returned home in the early hours of the morning, later that morning he was found laying in his apartment by one of his friends.  The doctors determined it had happened sometime just after he had returned home, however they were unsure of how long he had gone without sufficient oxygen to his brain. Needless to say it was a difficult time for my family.

The day it happened was the last day of the school year for me. Our school had gone to the park to play softball and toward the end of the day the students could leave when they wanted.  For some reason a feeling of dread had entered my stomach and I couldn't figure out why.  All of a sudden I became panicked, as if something terrible was going to happen if I stayed.  One of my friends offered me a ride home which I immediately accepted.  When I returned home the phone rang as I entered the house.  My mom answered the phone and I could hear the disbelief in her voice.  She hung up, looked at me, and told me my brother was in a coma.  I fainted.  This is the one and only time I have ever fainted. I came to, quickly picked myself up from the floor, and hugged my mother.

That evening my older brother drove my parents and I to the hospital which was about 3 1/2 hours away.  I laid in the back of the van and cried. Yes, I hate to say I am old enough that they did not have as many laws about seat belt use back then, but I digress.  As I was laying there I heard a voice telling me to stop crying.  I was confused, I looked toward my parents but they were busy talking to my older brother. Again, I heard the voice, "stop crying". I started to think I was hallucinating. Once more, "stop crying". This is where I got a little freaked out but decided to question why I should stop crying. The voice then told me that my brother was going to be fine so there was no need to cry. I immediately stopped crying and felt calm. I told my parents and brother what had happened and they all looked at me like I had two heads. I don't blame them, I would have thought the same thing!

We arrived at the hospital and the doctors explained what they suspected had happened, what types of procedures had already been done, and what the prognosis may be. They prepared us for the worst since they didn't know the length of time with insufficient oxygen supply to the brain. Again I assured my parents that all would be fine and to not worry. They were still in shock and trying to digest all of what had been told them by the doctors so they didn't really respond to what I had said. During the evening I kept retelling them about what I had heard, eventually they talked to me about it and asked how I had this faith that he would come out of it with few issues. I wasn't sure where this faith came from but I knew that what I had heard had to be from something or someone guiding me on the "other side".  No one else had heard it, so what else could it be!

The second day in the hospital I sat by my brother's bed side. I had heard that people who are in a coma can still hear what others say, so I thought I would give it a shot. I told him that no matter what was in the past or what happens in the future he will always be loved by his family. As soon as I said those words his body started shaking from crying and tears were falling from his closed eyes. I was shocked and excited at the same time. Unfortunately my parents missed this amazing event, I think it would have helped to calm their many worries.

After 3 days in the coma my brother woke with no lasting effects from the lack of oxygen. The doctors said something about it being a miracle, I didn't think twice about it, I knew it was a miracle! I believe my guides were sent to alleviate some of the pain we were going through, they used me to make a horrible situation a little easier to endure. I haven't experienced anything like this since but my faith is unwavering. I know that wherever I am I will not be alone.