A man has shared his harrowing experience of a near-death encounter and the thoughts that consumed him during the ordeal.
James Reynolds went to the hospital for what he believed would be a routine gallbladder removal, treating it as if it were “just another day in the office.” However, during the procedure, something went awry.
James recalls sending a text at 2:17 pm before heading into surgery, anticipating a quick one-hour procedure followed by a brief 20-minute recovery. Instead, he awakened over three hours later, as he recounted for the Mail Online.
Upon waking, James noticed dressings on four areas of his body where the surgeon had operated. He attempted to locate a clock on the wall to determine the time.
While struggling to see the clock, a nurse hurried to his side, urging him, “James, you need to breathe.”
In the fog of anesthesia and fentanyl, James understood that this was not an ordinary request. The medication made him feel as though he had done something wrong.
Despite his efforts, he found himself unable to breathe or move.
James tried desperately to breathe, urging himself to “wake up,” but he couldn’t remember how to do so.
Instead, he found himself fixated on the clock as medical staff moved briskly around him.
He described the room’s whiteness becoming increasingly intense, akin to increasing the exposure on a photograph, and his thoughts becoming clearer.
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“My thoughts turned to my mother and my father, and then to nothing. I could only spectate as my world went white,” he continued. “My life did not flash before my eyes. I did not see God. There was just white.
‘Oh well,’ I thought. ‘I guess that’s that.'”
Fortunately, this was not the end for James.
He eventually regained consciousness, and a doctor explained that the surgery had been successful, but he had received two doses of fentanyl.
James described feeling a “loss of control” but ultimately felt “grateful.”
He concluded: “Again, for my doctors it was another day in the office. But for me, I accept, it was unusual. ‘Near-death’ is a relative term and I might never know the true risk.
“[…] I do know that in those important moments, important as they felt, those around me did all that was required to make sure I was okay. They operated smoothly and professionally to help me through when I could not help myself.”