Medical Accounts of Death and Return to Life  

Within the medical community, there exist documented reports of individuals who have died and then returned to life. The following is one particularly remarkable case.

At the end of April 1987, Mrs. Mary Houghton, sixty-eight years of age, was transported to a Boston hospital due to a heart attack. At six o’clock in the evening, the patient ceased breathing, and the attending physician pronounced her dead.

Her body was temporarily placed in a private room to await the arrival of family members for the necessary arrangements of encoffining. At approximately eleven o’clock that night, Mrs. Houghton suddenly regained consciousness and rang the bell to summon a nurse. The physician on duty examined her and confirmed that the elderly woman had returned to life.

Thereafter, Mrs. Houghton recounted her experience as follows:

“I was sitting and reading the newspaper when I suddenly felt dizzy and faint, and then lost consciousness. When I awoke, I felt light and free, and around me was a thick mist of vapor, leaving me bewildered, unsure of where I was.

I called out, but my voice met no response. I groped my way through the fog for some time and gradually realized that perhaps I had died. I knew I had suffered from heart disease for many years, and the doctors had told me I would not live much longer, so I did not feel saddened by this realization.

What surprised me was that, just as I accepted this truth, I found myself standing beside the bed, observing my own body lying motionless upon it. As I became emotionally stirred, the light surrounding me turned dark and oppressive, and I felt as though I were being dragged into a foul and stinking mire.

I then began to pray, and felt an unusual sense of ease arise within me. The light around me gradually became clear and luminous. After a while, I felt my body grow so light that it seemed capable of flight.

I allowed myself to follow this sensation naturally and found myself floating in midair. Looking downward, I saw a red keychain resting on top of a medicine cabinet.

As my thoughts wandered, I suddenly passed through the ceiling and emerged on the floor above, where I saw two nurses watching a basketball game on television. When the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics, one nurse, having lost a bet, paid twenty U.S. dollars to her colleague.

I drifted calmly along the corridor and encountered many others like myself, also gliding along, yet no one spoke a single word to another. Most appeared hurried, and some were visibly panicked.

I saw a young man standing beside his body in deep distress. I tried to speak words of comfort to him, but it seemed he could not hear me. He was desperately attempting to re-enter his body, now cold and rigid, but without success.

I thought of my children, and instantly found myself standing before my eldest daughter. She was crying, and the sound of her sobbing caused me discomfort. I steadied myself and thought of my two sons, and at once I was standing beside them.

The two were discussing arrangements for my burial. Michael complained that I had not purchased life insurance. Both were thinking only of the money they would have to spend, rather than mourning their mother.

I could not understand why I was able to read my children’s thoughts so clearly. The longer I remained there, the more irritated I became as they argued over the division of my property, and so I departed.

Once again, my entire past life unfolded before my eyes, as though I were watching a motion picture. I saw clearly the decisions I had made and the mistakes I had committed.

Never before had I perceived all things with such objectivity and impartiality. And I felt a sincere remorse. I began to pray, and suddenly the light surrounding me shone with wondrous brilliance. I felt myself grow calm, as though a great consolation had come upon me, and I resolved firmly that I would atone for my past faults.

With hands joined in prayer, I implored God to grant me another opportunity. The light around me then flared with such intensity that I had to close my eyes. Suddenly, I heard a familiar sound, and I found myself lying in a hospital bed. I had awakened.”

Mrs. Houghton’s testimony was carefully verified by the hospital physicians. The two nurses on duty confirmed that they had indeed wagered on the basketball game, and the outcome occurred exactly as Mrs. Houghton had described.

Her two sons also confirmed that they had argued about insurance matters, burial expenses, and the division of property.

Most astonishing of all, a physician on duty had lost a red car keychain several weeks earlier. Because of Mrs. Houghton’s account, he recalled that, in a moment of haste, he had casually tossed it onto the top of a medicine cabinet. The cabinet stood so high, nearly touching the ceiling, that no one standing on the floor could possibly see it — unless looking down from near the ceiling itself.

When a person dies, the "vía" of that person still lingers nearby and can hear what takes place around them. Having no physical body, they are able to move through all spatial obstacles.

And when they think of someone, they instantly find themselves in that person’s presence. Thus, the attitude and conduct of the living are of great importance in helping the departed soul attain liberation.

For the departed spirit is often still deeply confused, not yet aware that death has occurred, and still clinging to the physical body — as in the case of the man’s "vía" whom Mrs. Houghton saw desperately trying to re-enter his cold and rigid body.