Am I Dead?

During the summer of 1974, I was living in Dale, Indiana. I just finished eighth grade and was looking forward to starting high school in the fall. I was also looking forward to spending time with my best friend, Kenny, during the summer. The summer of 1974 was the best and worst time of my life!

Kenny and I were always getting into mischief. We were not bad kids. We just liked to do things like corning cars at Halloween, or throwing mud balls at passing cars, but at least we were not doing heroin or shooting up the school, as kids today are doing. It was a more peaceful time, and we were young and restless.

One of the things we enjoyed most was riding our dirt bikes on Kenny’s land. He had made a motorcycle trail through the woods, and we would race each other. Kenny rode a blue Honda 125 dirt bike, and I rode a grey Yamaha 125. My bike was newer than Kenny’s, but he knew the trail better, and had been riding longer than me. So, it was hard for me to beat him, but I got better as time went on.

We had a lot of fun that summer. When we were not riding motorcycles, we would go swimming at the lake, or roller skating, but one thing we enjoyed was pulling pranks on people. One of my favorites was to take a box like an old model car box, and put apple cores or sticks in it, or just something silly. Then I would take a brown sack and wrap it around the box. Then I would type a business address on a small white piece of paper, and tape it to the box, so it looked like a real package. Then we would take it down next to the road by Kenny’s house and lay it where passing cars could see it.

Someone would always stop and pick up the package. Sometimes they would speed off like they found a box of gold. Other times, they would stop, and open the package, while Kenny and I was lying up on the hill, watching them open it. They would get mad and throw it down when they realized there was nothing of value in the box. Kenny and I would be laughing so hard!

One weekend, Kenny wanted me to go with him to participate in a moto-cross race. I told him I would like to do that. So, we started preparing our bikes, and tuning them up to go to the race. We always rode with leather pants, boots, helmets, and gloves.

However, one day I was tuning my bike, and I was wearing short pants, and a t-shirt. I put a new spark plug in my bike, and I wanted to take it for a quick test ride to see how it was running. I was not wearing a helmet or anything. I thought, well, I can take off quick, and see how it runs without my leather pants. So, I turned the throttle, and off I went. I started down through a corn field about 70 miles per hour, and the bike was running well.

Suddenly, I hit a washed-out path in the field with my front tire, and the bike made a violent twist to the left. I went flying and landed hard in the corn field. The bike came down, and struck me in the head, and landed on my leg.

I was stunned for a minute and could not move. Then I felt the muffler burning my leg, and I finally got the bike off me, and it was still running. I turned the bike off and stood there for a minute thinking I was lucky I didn’t get hurt, other than my leg being burnt.

So, I started the bike, and rode it to the house. I went inside, and took care of my leg, and got some tea. I sat down on the couch and started watching television. After about 20 minutes, I got a real bad headache. It started really pounding. Then I started feeling nauseous, and a little dizzy.

I told my mom what had happened, and she said, “Well, let me know if it gets any worse.” After another 15 minutes my head was pounding so bad I couldn’t take the pain, it was excruciating! So, my mom said, “Let’s go, I am taking you to the hospital.”

We arrived at the hospital, and I was rushed in, and the doctor met us. He said, “Well, let me start with some x-rays.”  At this point, this was the worse pain I had in my life! My head hurt so bad.

The next thing I remember, I was lying in a bed with some kind of towel or bandage on my head. Now, this is where the story gets crazy, but this is exactly how it happened. I started floating above the bed, and I looked down, and I saw the doctor talking with my mom. He said, “I am not sure he is going to make it through the night.”

My mom said, “What!?” The doctor told her I had a triple skull fracture, and the survival rate for that is not too good.

I looked down at the doctor, and I said, “No!” “I am alive, I am right here.” No one heard me, they did not even look at me. My mom started crying. I tried to tell her that I was fine, but she did not hear me.

Suddenly, and I know this sounds so cliché, but it is true. I noticed a real bright light had appeared, and I could not see anything except this light. I thought, I must be dead. That is why no one can hear me. I am dead. I noticed; I did not have any pain at all. Then I felt my body start to float toward the bright light. I was floating through a tunnel, but the light was extremely bright. As I got halfway through the tunnel, I stopped floating. Then I heard the most beautiful voice say, “No, not yet.” I had no pain, and I felt the most loving feeling I have ever felt. I felt very warm, and comfortable. I had no fear.

Then I started floating back away from the tunnel, and the light. Suddenly, the pain was back, and I was lying in the bed again with a nurse standing over me. I heard the doctor tell my mother, “Well, the next 12 hours will be very imperative to his survival.” I passed out.

The following day, I woke up with a bad headache. A nurse was checking my vital signs. The doctor came into the room. The nurse said, “Doctor his vital signs are better today.” The doctor looked at me and said, “How do you feel”? I said, “Terrible doctor. My head hurts.”  He said, “Well, that is to be expected after the injury you have had.” He told me that I had a triple skull fracture, and not too many people survive that. I wanted to tell him about the bright light, and the voice, but I thought, he would think I am crazy. So, I never said a word about that to anyone.

I have always believed in God. I have read the Old Testament, and the New Testament from cover to cover since. I wanted to know what life is about, and the Bible seems to be a road map to life. I was amazed at what I found in the Bible. And I think God spoke to me because it was so easy to die, but much harder to live. I was supposed to live for some reason, but I have never found out what that reason is yet.