Three Days in Heaven

It has been eight months since my adventure with the Almighty. I’m not a preacher or a prophet, just a man who for three days mystified a medical community and mesmerized a spiritual one. I’ve done several interviews and even had my story told in a popular reader’s digest magazine. A Hollywood producer wanted to tell my story in a miniseries. I passed on that one, but I did write a book!

The faithful, as God calls them, said it was a miracle and a sign from above. The less than faithful, mostly the scientific community, came up with other theories. My favorite was I had enough stuff sparking around in my head and movement in my body to keep me alive, but anything plugged into me shut it off… meaning shut me off. Paul might have been on to something. So any electrical instrument they used on me acted like an off switch. They said a respirator didn’t count because it was mechanical and did not produce electricity, at least not the invasive part they slam down your throat.

As a result of this whole ordeal, I got the credit for one thing—a new medical term named after me. Aside from Jesus and a few others who were raised, one stands out the most: Lazarus. He was the man Jesus rose from the dead, and it was Lazarus they chose as my partner for the new term; The Stanford-Lazarus Effect. Not a disease, disorder, or even a syndrome, just an effect. Someone at the press conference asks what the odds were for anyone else to experience this effect. The spokesman huddled around the others on the panel, and after a silent debate, they concluded the odds were one in six billion. Since there are about six billion people on the planet, and I was the only one to have had it; you do the math. I guess Bev was right about her statistics class.

I am happy to say most of our lives are back to normal. Everyone involved continued with the same old routine as before. I still run my legal practice and even expanded it. I picked up where Clark left off and do a significant amount of pro-bono work for those in need. Bev continues with her volunteer work. Paul remains at the hospital as medical chief of staff. As a complete shocker, he also serves as an assistant chaplain at St. Grenadine Hospital. Dr. Bengla resigned and became a bedpan salesman. Mike has not been seen since.

Our friend Kent returned to the ministry, and we all go to his church, quite often I might add. Paul and his ex-wife did reunite and attend church on a regular basis; they’ve even got a little one on the way. Bev teaches Sunday school, and I lead a newcomer’s group. You can bet they toss out a bunch of questions. Kent pulled me over after Sunday service one day and told me I’d been great for business. He was joking, but we do draw a crowd. Kent is back in the right line of work. Of all the people I have ever met, he is the godliest. Kent and I remain close friends to this day.

As we were leaving church one Sunday, I got a message that simply read:

Nice meeting you. Can’t wait to see you again. — Anonymous