In a recent event, a Missouri-born 14-year-old boy named John was pronounced dead after falling through the ice of Lake St. Louise and remaining underwater for more than 15 minutes. Soon after, doctors pronounced him dead for more than 45 minutes, only for him to come back to life after his mother started praying for him in a loud voice.
When is the last time you heard a story about someone returning to this plane of existence after death?
Fire Chief of St Louis Chris Fa said that by the time the team of firefighters arrived at the lake, one of John’s friends was close to the shore while another boy was on the ice. John, though, was actually in the lake. The boy said that he doesn’t remember much about the accident, but does remember seeing tubes at the hospital. He also believes that this miracle is the work of God, and decided to live life following God’s way.
Dr. Jeremy Garrett, who witnessed the boy’s case, also believes that this is indeed some sort of divine miracle that the boy was revived.
“Dr. Garrett explained that he watched the way the boy’s body reacted after being in the extremely cold water for such a long time. The doctor adds that John’s circulatory system went into shock and there was acid built up in the boy’s bloodstream.
When asked about John’s current health condition, Dr. Garrett said that the boy is still coughing and is currently undergoing physical therapy to help him regain some of the movement is his hands.”
It’s difficult for us as a collective to truly understand these amazing cases, but that doesn’t stop them from happening time and time again. Indeed, there are many times when individuals have passed away only to return, and they often come back with stories of what they witnessed. For each, their story raises questions: Is heaven real? What does it feel like to die?
For many of us, we simply have the stories and experiences of those who have gone through such a phenomena – but perhaps one day everyone will understand.