Man who was declared ‘dead’ for 90 minutes reveals if he saw the other side
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What happens when we die is one of life’s great mysteries as there's no surefire way of finding out the answers to these questions... Unless, of course, you happen to come back from the dead. Well, that's exactly what happened to this man three years ago.
Alistair Blake was pronounced clinically dead after going into cardiac arrest while he was asleep. Somehow, against all odds, medics were able to resuscitate him and bring him back to life 90 minutes later.
Before that, it was a fairly normal day for Alistair Blake. He rode 45 kilometres on his bike and spent time with Melinda, his wife of 35 years, before hitting the hay.
But when the clock ticked at 3.10 am, Melinda was awakened by a horrifying sight – Alistair was having a medical episode.
‘She’s a light sleeper and woke to me gurgling,’ Alistair recalled. ‘She grabbed her mobile phone and dialled triple-0 to get a hold of the ambulance and they instructed her to take me off the bed to be able to do CPR.’
Alistair Blake pictured with his wife, Melinda. Source: news.com.au
‘She performed CPR on me for about 20 minutes then the paramedics turned up. They also performed CPR on me before using the defibrillator. Apparently, it was something in excess of 10 to 12 times.’
Things didn’t look good for Alistair at the time. The police talked to Melinda in another room and told her that her husband’s chances of surviving were slim.
For 90 minutes, paramedics fought to restart Alistair’s heart. Just when they were about to give up, they miraculously found a pulse.
A week later, Alistair woke up at Frankston Hospital and showed no signs of a brain injury, earning him the nickname 'Lazarus', or the man who was raised from the dead.
Alistair told I’ve Got News For You that his memories of the medical episode and his time in the hospital were cloudy.
‘I remember going to bed on a Saturday night. The next thing I remember was waking up on a Thursday morning – on a trolley going from ICU to coronary care.’ he said. ‘My brain blocked out what happened in between.’
‘People always ask me if I saw anything… And no, I did not see anything.’ he said. ‘No bright lights, nothing like that whatsoever.’
Alistair was revived after 90 minutes. Source: DailyMail
Alistair is one of the many people who have detailed their near-death experiences. Although he didn’t see anything on the other side, plenty of other people claimed to have.
Among them is Dr Eben Alexandar, a brain surgeon and former sceptic, whose beliefs were completely renewed after his ‘life-changing’ experience during a coma. He claimed to have seen heaven with his own eyes.
‘What my coma journey showed me is that consciousness is something that is fundamental in the universe and does not originate in the brain. What I experienced was the most extraordinary, memorable, detailed, and ultra-real experience of my entire life.’ he said.
Another man who had a similar experience to Alistair was the late Kerry Packer.
The ex-Channel 9 owner was dead for eight minutes after suffering from a heart attack in 1990.
‘I’ve been on the other side and let me tell you – there’s nothing f***ing there.’ Packer famously said.
Medical experts believe that the reason why people have different near-death experiences is mainly due to the way the brain reacts when the oxygen supply is cut off.
Patrick Steele, a Palliative Care Consultant from Palliative Care South East, previously explained to I’ve Got News For You the scientific and spiritual reasons behind the mysterious white light.
‘From a spiritual perspective, some people believe that the bright light is a glimpse into the afterlife or a sign that consciousness is leaving the brain.’ he said.
‘From a psychologist’s perspective, some say it’s more of a defensive mechanism or a flashback to earlier memories. From a medical perspective – and the one that I adhere to most – is that it’s more of a change in how our body is functioning, particularly the brain.’
Patrick Steele explained why near-death experiences vary. Source: Clarin
‘The brain, as you know, needs a lot of oxygen and blood supply to do its job effectively. Whenever that oxygenation is cut off, the brain doesn’t act normally.’ he continued.
Mr Steele compared the bright light to an experience that many people have when they faint.
‘The change of blood supply that occurs in the brain due to low blood pressure results in a sort of tunnelled vision, so the darkness comes in from the outside before you pass out.’ he said. ‘For me, this “white light” is a more exaggerated version of fainting.’
What are your thoughts about Alistair’s story? Do you believe in the afterlife? Dare we ask if you’ve ever had a similar experience? Let us know in the comments!
Hear about other people’s near-death experiences by watching the video below:
Source: Inside Edition
Alistair Blake was pronounced clinically dead after going into cardiac arrest while he was asleep. Somehow, against all odds, medics were able to resuscitate him and bring him back to life 90 minutes later.
Before that, it was a fairly normal day for Alistair Blake. He rode 45 kilometres on his bike and spent time with Melinda, his wife of 35 years, before hitting the hay.
But when the clock ticked at 3.10 am, Melinda was awakened by a horrifying sight – Alistair was having a medical episode.
‘She’s a light sleeper and woke to me gurgling,’ Alistair recalled. ‘She grabbed her mobile phone and dialled triple-0 to get a hold of the ambulance and they instructed her to take me off the bed to be able to do CPR.’
Alistair Blake pictured with his wife, Melinda. Source: news.com.au
‘She performed CPR on me for about 20 minutes then the paramedics turned up. They also performed CPR on me before using the defibrillator. Apparently, it was something in excess of 10 to 12 times.’
Things didn’t look good for Alistair at the time. The police talked to Melinda in another room and told her that her husband’s chances of surviving were slim.
For 90 minutes, paramedics fought to restart Alistair’s heart. Just when they were about to give up, they miraculously found a pulse.
A week later, Alistair woke up at Frankston Hospital and showed no signs of a brain injury, earning him the nickname 'Lazarus', or the man who was raised from the dead.
Alistair told I’ve Got News For You that his memories of the medical episode and his time in the hospital were cloudy.
‘I remember going to bed on a Saturday night. The next thing I remember was waking up on a Thursday morning – on a trolley going from ICU to coronary care.’ he said. ‘My brain blocked out what happened in between.’
‘People always ask me if I saw anything… And no, I did not see anything.’ he said. ‘No bright lights, nothing like that whatsoever.’
Alistair was revived after 90 minutes. Source: DailyMail
Alistair is one of the many people who have detailed their near-death experiences. Although he didn’t see anything on the other side, plenty of other people claimed to have.
Among them is Dr Eben Alexandar, a brain surgeon and former sceptic, whose beliefs were completely renewed after his ‘life-changing’ experience during a coma. He claimed to have seen heaven with his own eyes.
‘What my coma journey showed me is that consciousness is something that is fundamental in the universe and does not originate in the brain. What I experienced was the most extraordinary, memorable, detailed, and ultra-real experience of my entire life.’ he said.
Another man who had a similar experience to Alistair was the late Kerry Packer.
The ex-Channel 9 owner was dead for eight minutes after suffering from a heart attack in 1990.
‘I’ve been on the other side and let me tell you – there’s nothing f***ing there.’ Packer famously said.
Medical experts believe that the reason why people have different near-death experiences is mainly due to the way the brain reacts when the oxygen supply is cut off.
Patrick Steele, a Palliative Care Consultant from Palliative Care South East, previously explained to I’ve Got News For You the scientific and spiritual reasons behind the mysterious white light.
‘From a spiritual perspective, some people believe that the bright light is a glimpse into the afterlife or a sign that consciousness is leaving the brain.’ he said.
‘From a psychologist’s perspective, some say it’s more of a defensive mechanism or a flashback to earlier memories. From a medical perspective – and the one that I adhere to most – is that it’s more of a change in how our body is functioning, particularly the brain.’
Patrick Steele explained why near-death experiences vary. Source: Clarin
‘The brain, as you know, needs a lot of oxygen and blood supply to do its job effectively. Whenever that oxygenation is cut off, the brain doesn’t act normally.’ he continued.
Mr Steele compared the bright light to an experience that many people have when they faint.
‘The change of blood supply that occurs in the brain due to low blood pressure results in a sort of tunnelled vision, so the darkness comes in from the outside before you pass out.’ he said. ‘For me, this “white light” is a more exaggerated version of fainting.’
What are your thoughts about Alistair’s story? Do you believe in the afterlife? Dare we ask if you’ve ever had a similar experience? Let us know in the comments!
Hear about other people’s near-death experiences by watching the video below:
Source: Inside Edition
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but what I would like to know is, what was OCCURRING in the body that they continued CPR for so long as 90 minutes when the average time to cease is 20-30 minutes?
