Pam Reynolds in 1991 experienced a near-death encounter which has been one of the most significant examples of consciousness functioning while the body and brain were shut down. Reynolds, an Atlanta-based singer and songwriter, began feeling extremely dizzy, lost her ability to speak, and was having difficulty moving her body. She was administered a CAT scan that revealed a giant artery aneurysm involving a grossly swollen blood vessel close to her brain stem. It would kill her if it were to burst, which might happen at any moment. The standard surgery for this situation would be to drain and repair, but this could also kill her. Pam learned about a daring surgical procedure that was being offered by neurosurgeon Robert Spetzler at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona with the nickname Operation Standstill. Out of options she elected to try it.
The procedure called for bringing her body temperature so low that she would essentially be dead. While the brain wouldn’t be functioning, at this temperature it could survive longer without oxygen. The swollen blood vessels would be softened by the low temperature which would allow them to be operated on without as much risk of bursting. Following completion of the procedure, Pam’s temperature would be brought back to normal before irreversible damage would set in.
The way this unfolded for Pam was follows. At 7:15 am she was brought into the operating room, administered general anesthesia, and almost immediately lost conscious awareness. The Spetzler team of more than twenty physicians, nurses, and technicians began the procedure. Pam’s eyes were lubricated to prevent drying and were taped shut. Electroencephalography (EEG) electrodes were attached to monitor her cerebral cortex activity. Small speakers were inserted and secured in her ears to emit repeated 100-decibel clicks which would eliminate outside sounds while measuring the activity of her brain stem.
A tray of surgical instruments was uncovered at 8:40 am. Spetzler used a special surgical saw, which sounded like a dental drill, to begin began cutting through Pam’s skull. Her blood vessels were too small to accept the large blood flow required by the cardiopulmonary bypass machine, and at 10:50 am a tube was inserted into her left femoral artery and connected to the machine. The warm blood circulated from the artery into the bypass machine and was cooled down before being returned to her body.
Pam’ body temperature began falling. At 11:05 am her heart stopped, and her EEG brain waves became flat. Her brain stem became totally unresponsive a few minutes later, and her body temperature fell to 60°Fahrenheit. Twenty minutes later the bypass machine was turned off and the blood drained from her body. She was clinically dead.
When the blood had all drained from Pam’s brain, the aneurysm collapsed, and Spetzler simply clipped it off. The bypass machine was turned on, and warm blood was pumped back into her body. Her body temperature started to increase, her brain stem began to respond to the clicking speakers in her ears, and the EEG began recording electrical activity in her cortex. At 12:32 pm the bypass machine was turned off. Pam’s life functioning had been restored, she was in stable condition, and at 2:10 pm she was taken to the recovery room.
The experience that Pam later described was incredible. With the sound of the surgical saw she felt herself “pop” out of her body, hover above, and watch the doctors working on it. Although she didn’t have the use of her eyes and ears, she described her observations in terms of her senses and perceptions. The way her head had been shaved was very peculiar, as she expected them to take all of the hair, but they did not. She described with considerable accuracy the bone saw being used, which looked like an electric toothbrush with a dent in it, and the dental drill sound it made
Spetzler was at the time removing the outermost membrane of her brain by cutting it open with scissors. A female cardiac surgeon was trying to locate the femoral artery in her right groin. Pam later said she remembered a female voice saying, “We have a problem. Her arteries are too small.” A male voice then said : “Try the other side.” This conversation was confirmed by medical records, although there was no way Pam could have heard it.
Her experience then morphed into a classic NDE. She remembered floating out of the operating room and moving down a tunnel infused with a light. She saw deceased friends and relatives waiting for her at the end of the tunnel including her long-dead grandmother. Pam felt herself entering the presence of a brilliant, warm and loving light with her soul becoming part of God. Everything in existence, she knew, was created from the light. However, her extraordinary experience abruptly ended with her deceased uncle leading her back to her body, which she described as “plunging into a pool of ice.”
The case of Pam Reynolds may well be the most famous case of independent corroboration of an out-of-body experience on record. What makes it particularly impressive is that cardiologist Michael Sabom was able to obtain verification from medical personnel of crucial details of the surgical intervention that Pam reported
The evidence for her incredible experience while clinically dead appears compelling. Dr. Spetzler stated that her observations of what occurred could not have been based on observations before she was anesthetized. When she entered the operating room the surgical instruments were covered, her eyes were taped shut during the operation, and her ears were blocked by noisy speakers. Pam’s heart was stopped, and her brain waves were flat. Spetzler said in a BBC documentary that he couldn’t explain how it could happen. For her mind and her consciousness to have a verifiable experience that wasn’t mediated by her physical brain and body seemed impossible.
Mario Beauregard, Brain Wars