Based on true stories, this is a reflection on life and what it means. The author, a doctor, recollects on his near-death situations and relates them to his patients in a riveting and compelling book. An insight into a doctor's mind.
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Chapter 2
At the sea
I woke up feeling very tired. Someone kept calling out to me. Finally, my eyes opened. I was back in my bed in HDU. Woozy. I moved my hands and feet. Hmmm. Looks like I am still here. The anaesthetic must still be in me. The procedure must have gone well. I am ALIVE! 😅
The next few days was recovery. I was allowed home on Day 4 of my stay. Some soreness in the left groin where the stent was inserted through. Otherwise, I felt well.
Dr Sean showed me the clips of the procedure. Interesting. Expert hands at work. They had inserted a stent to saddle the obstruction and blood flow is 100%. It was completely re-established.
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This episode was not the first time death nearly knocked on my door. In my younger days, ten years old to be exact, I was a near-drowning victim.
I still remember that fateful day like it just occurred a week ago. The weather was beautiful that Sunday. The sun was out in its full glory in our tropical weather. The beach in those days was clean and the water was fairly clear. I was swimming in the water. This small cove was nice as the water was calmer there.
As with the many times we had been there, I would try to swim a few metres and then stand up in the metre of water. That was what swimming was for me at that age. I swam forward again. That fateful time, a large wave came. I stood up as usual in the water but I could not feel the seabed. I was underwater. Only then did I realise I had been swept out to sea by the wave as it receded.
A wave of panic overcame me. I trashed my hands and feet trying to surface. But in that moment, which way was up? All I knew was I was not surfacing. I started to feel dizzy knowing that I would run out of air soon. I thought, 'Just maybe if I relaxed and just float, I would surface and then quickly rise up and get air.' I let myself go limp and hoped to float to the surface. Oddly, there was little fear.
Next thing I knew, I was on the beach coughing and being turned to the side. My eyes opened and I was staring at my father, uncle, and a bunch of other people. I was ALIVE!
My uncle had seen me floating in the water, not moving. He rushed out and lifted me up, realising something was amiss. Someone performed resuscitation and I am here today.
In my semiconscious and unconscious state, I did not have any visions. Surprisingly, there was calmness Before I passed out, I was only focused on getting to the surface. I felt my consciousness drifting away and a curtain of darkness fell over me. There were some flashes of bright wavery lines in the darkness before everything faded and I was unconscious.
There was no 'crossing over and back' sensation or vision. I think that episode and further episodes in my life have shaped my beliefs. You don't ever know when the end comes. When that happens, you may or may not know it. It can be a sudden accident or it may be a slow thing, like dying from an illness.
