• Health
• Money
• Leisure
• Make a Difference
• Family
• Online Community
• Membership

In January 2002, while dining at a restaurant, I was struck by a cardiac arrest, also known as Sudden Death. I never knew it's coming, my next concious memory was 2-1/2 weeks later when I came out of a coma.

Here is what happened, as I am told:

1. I fell off my chair onto the floor, while having lunch with my wife and my son at the Taj Mahal Restaurant in Louisville, CO.

2. Immediately, two other guest started CPR. I had no pulse and no heartbeat  and was not breathing. The restaurant owner called the ambulance right away. The two bystanders administered CPR for about 15 minutes until the Boulder Valley Ambulance and two EMT's arrived. The two bystanders did a tremendious job administering CPR!

3. The EMT's immediately shocked me for about 5 or 6 times before they thought they found a faint heartbeat. They rushed me to a small nearby hospital in Louisville, CO, but they told me when I visited them a few months later that they did not have any hope that I would survive. However they said they just had the feeling that they should continue treating anyway, which they did.

4. By chance, there was a cardiologist visiting the small hospital at the time the ambulance got me to the Emergency Room, and the cardiologist started right away to perform an emergency operation on me. I don't know what all he did, but my belly was cut open and my windpipe cut and a trach tube was inserted. I was told that he operated several hours on me. He was able to stabilize me enough so I could get transfered to another nearby hospital with a cardiac department in Boulder, CO.

5. I do not know what all my regular Cardiologist did at the Boulder Community Hospital, but I ended up in ICU with  life support and about 20 IV lines. (I have a picture of me in ICU). My family and my children and their families came to see me, nobody expected me to make it past the first several days, my body was in the process of shutting down, but somehow I hung on. There were already discussions about pulling my life support, but my family made the decision to continue life support. After several days, my body started to recover, but everybody was concerned that I may have permanent memory loss, or worse. There was a high probability that, if I recover, it would be in a vegetable state.

6. Slowly, my body recovered further and after 2-1/2 weeks I finally came out of the coma. My first sight was a nurse standing in front of me and telling me that I am in a hospital. I tried to answer, but couldn't - that really scared me. Of course the reason was that I had a trach tube inserted.

7. I did have experiences while I was in the coma. I felt like floating, or being suspended, in space - a never-ending space. I could not tell where I was going or where I was coming from. I felt very relaxed and calm, there was no fear of anything. I also re-experienced a WWII bumbing attack of my hometown in Germany. My son told the nurse that I am seeng the war, but nobody would believe him, that was until I came out of the coma and told my own story, the same as his. He was right - somehow we communicated while I was in the coma. I did not remember the bombings since I was just a year old. My mother told me later that two bombs fell very close to our farmhouse, but I did not know this before.

8. Much of the memory from my time in the coma quickly evaporated from my mind, just like somebody closed the vail behind which I was able to see. There is more than our physical life, but we are not priviledged to know - we simply can't comprehend with our limited physical brain and we can't cross the vail while alive and come back to tell. 

 9. We have to stop thinking we know so much - we don't. Indeed, what we know is very little. Let's not pretend we do. My experience was unique as I got a climpse, but that memory vanished when I came back to life.

10. I spent many month in the hospital and later in rehab. Then I returned back to my work as engineer for another six years - I had to relearn many simple things, from talking to reading and writing to walking to read a clock to add and substract. For a long time  was so weakened that I could not stand by myself. I was fortunate that I but have virtually no memory loss and adventually relearned all my former skills. I returned back to my work as engineer for another six years - during which I circled the earth 4 more times on business (US to Europe to Africa to Asia to Australia and New Zealand and back to the US) and visit Russia and Skandinavia on vacation. I have been driving myself and even started flying my airplane again.

11. Last year, at age 66 I retired from my engineering job, leaving behind a very prosperous and healthy company which I founded 18 years earlier, but had to sell after my Sudden Death. This new company  thrives on the products I designed before and after my Sudden Death experience, as well as on my 14 patents. More than 35 people now hold great and secure jobs because of my inventions. Thousends of underground coal miners enjoy a cleaner and much safer working environment because of the improvemets my products provide to them. I was able to work full time for the new company for another 6 years after my Sudden Death. That is my working legacy.

12. More important, I saw my son graduate from highschool and recently turn 21. He entered the field of aviation which was my lifelong hobby. I experienced a new grandaughter born to my younger daughter and her husband. I also experienced a second grandson born to my older daughter and her husband and their adaption of a grandaughter. My wife and I will move to New Mexico after my son finishes college.

_______________________________________________________________________

There are many people who tell me that I came back for a purpose. I finished my working carreer by improving the lifes of the underground coal miners. I am blessed with a great family that still needs me. I am sure there is something greater still waiting for me. Maybe it is relating the story of the spiritual life to others? Time will tell.