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Pam Reynolds Lowery (1956 – May 22, 2010), from Atlanta, Georgia, was an American singer-songwriter. In 1991, at the age of 35, she stated that she had a near-death experience (NDE) during a brain operation performed by Robert F. Spetzler at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona. Her experience is one of the most notable and widely documented in near-death studies because of the unusual circumstances under which it happened. Reynolds was under close medical monitoring during the entire operation. During part of the operation she had no brain-wave activity and no blood flowing in her brain, which rendered her clinically dead. She claimed to have made several observations during the procedure which later medical personnel reported to be accurate.

This famous near-death experience claim has been considered by some believers to be evidence of the survival of consciousness after death, and of a life after death. However, critics and skeptics have pointed to prosaic and conventional means as possible explanations.

Reynolds died from heart failure, on Saturday May 22, 2010, age 53 at Emory University Hospital, in Atlanta, Georgia. Her memorial service was held on May 28, 2010 at 2PM at H.M. Patterson & Son, Oglethorpe Hill.

Diagnosis and operation

Reynolds reported to her physician that she was experiencing symptoms of dizziness, loss of speech and difficulty in moving parts of her body. Her physician referred her to a neurologist and a CAT scan later revealed that Reynolds had a large aneurysm in her brain, close to the brain stem. Because of the difficult position of the aneurysm, Reynolds was predicted to have no chance of survival. As a last resort, Robert F. Spetzler — a highly skilled neurosurgeon of the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona — decided that a unique and rarely performed surgical procedure, known as hypothermic cardiac arrest, was necessary to improve Pam's outcome. During this procedure, also known as a standstill operation, Pam's body temperature was lowered to 50 °F (10 °C), her breathing and heartbeat stopped, and the blood drained from her head. Her eyes were closed with tape and small ear plugs with speakers were placed in her ears. These speakers emitted audible clicks which were used to check the function of the brain stem to ensure that she had a flat EEG — or a non-responsive brain — before the operation proceeded. The operation was a success and Reynolds recovered completely. The total surgery lasted about 7 hours with a few complications along the way.

Claimed NDE

Reynolds reported that during the operation she heard a sound like a natural 'D' that seemed to pull her out of her body and allowed her to "float" above the operating room and watch the doctors perform the operation. Reynolds claims that during this time she felt "more aware than normal" and her vision was more focused and clearer than normal vision. Reynolds says she was able to identify surgical instruments and hear conversations between operating room staff.

At some point during the operation she says she noticed a presence and was pulled towards a light. She says she began to discern figures in the light, including her grandmother, an uncle, other deceased relatives and people unknown to her. According to Reynolds, the longer she was there, the more she enjoyed it, but at some point in time she was reminded that she had to go back. She says her uncle brought her back to her body but she didn't want to go so he pushed her in accompanied by a sensation like that of jumping into ice water.

Reception

Reynolds near-death experience has been put forward as evidence supporting an afterlife by proponents such as Michael Sabom in his book Light and Death, but critics say that the amount of time which Reynolds was 'flatlined' is generally misrepresented and suggest that her NDE occurred while under general anaesthesia when the brain was still active, hours before Reynolds underwent hypothermic cardiac arrest. According to the psychologist Chris French:

Woerlee an anesthesiologist with many years of clinical experience, has considered this case in detail and remains unconvinced of the need for a paranormal explanation... draws attention to the fact that Reynolds could only give a report of her experience some time after she recovered from the anesthetic as she was still intubated when she regained consciousness. This would provide some opportunity for her to associate and elaborate upon the sensations she had experienced during the operation with her existing knowledge and expectations. The fact that she described the small pneumatic saw used in the operation also does not impress Woerlee. As he points out, the saw sounds like and, to some extent, looks like the pneumatic drills used by dentists.

Gerald Woerlee concluded that her NDE did not occur during the period of hypothermic cardiac arrest.

However, other esteemed academics find Woerlee's analysis seriously flawed. Chris Carter, P.P.E., M.A. and others have reviewed Woerlee's work and concluded:

Woerlee has no grounds for asserting that it is a fact that the hypothesis that the brain produces consciousness is very much more likely than the rival hypothesis that the brain functions as a two-way receiver-transmitter. His statement is not fact but merely faith, for as physicist Nick Herbert wrote, “our utter gnorance concerning the real origins of human consciousness marks such criticism more a matter of taste than of logical thinking.”

Carter summarizes the facts of the NDE:

The Pam Reynolds case included a reported out-of-body experience involving accurate perception, plus meeting with deceased relatives, feelings of joy, and a desire not to return to the body. The experience was described as uninterrupted and continuous, and seemingly continued during a period in which Pam was clinically dead, with a flat EEG, no brain stem activity, and no blood flow to the brain.

Carter Concludes that:

In summary, I agree with the assessment of this case by neuroscientist Mario Beauregard, who in his review of this remarkable case, concluded: Pam Reynolds’ case strongly suggests that (1) mind, consciousness, and self can continue when the brain is no longer functional and clinical criteria of death have been reached; and (2) can occur when the brain is not functioning. In other words, this case seriously challenges the materialist view that mind, consciousness, and self are simply by-products of electrochemical brain processes and that are delusions created by a defective brain.

References

1. ^ J.E. Geshwiler (May 28, 2010), Pam Reynolds Lowery, noted for near-death episode, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, retrieved July 7, 2010
2. ^ French, Chris. (2005). Near-Death Experiences in Cardiac Arrest Survivors. Progress in Brain Research 150: 351-367.
3. Augustine, Keith (Summer 2007). "Does Paranormal Perception Occur in Near-Death Experiences?". Journal of Near-Death Studies. 25 (4): 203–236, page 217. doi:10.1043/0891-4494(2007)25[203:DPPOIN]2.0.CO;2.
4. Sabom, Michael B. (Summer 2007). "Commentary on 'Does Paranormal Perception Occur in Near-Death Experiences?'". Journal of Near-Death Studies. 25 (4): 257–260, pages 257–58. doi:10.1043/0891-4494(2007)25[257:CODPPO]2.0.CO;2.
5. Augustine, Keith (Summer 2007). "'Does Paranormal Perception Occur in Near-Death Experiences?' Defended". Journal of Near-Death Studies. 25 (4): 261–283, page 280. doi:10.1043/0891-4494(2007)25[261:DPPOIN]2.0.CO;2.
6. Woerlee, G. M. (2014). "Pam Reynolds Near Death Experience". Retrieved 2014-07-12.
7. Charter, C. (2011). /ccvsgwrepr.pdf"Reply to Woerlee’s Rejoinder on the Pam Reynolds Case". Retrieved 2015-06-10.

Further reading

• French, Chris. (2009). Near-Death Experiences and the Brain. In Craig Murray. Psychological Scientific Perspectives on Out-of-Body and Near-Death Experiences. Nova Science Publishers. pp. 187–203. ISBN 978-1-60741-705-7
• Sabom, Michael. (1998). Light and Death. Zondervan. ISBN 0-310-21992-2
• Woerlee, G. M. (2005). An Anaesthesiologist Examines the Pam Reynolds Story. Part. 1. Background Considerations. Skeptic (British version), 18.1 (in press).
• Woerlee, G. M. (2005). An Anaesthesiologist Examines the Pam Reynolds Story. Part 2. An Explanation. Skeptic (British version), 18.2 (in press).
• Woerlee, G. M. (2011). Could Pam Reynolds Hear? A New Investigation into the Possibility of Hearing During this Famous Near-Death Experience. Journal of Near-Death Studies 30: 3-25.

External links

• Hallucinatory Near-Death Experiences Section on Pam Reynolds
• Pam Reynolds Near Death Experience
• Pam Reynold's NDE formed part of a BBC documentary The Day I Died directed by Kate Broome, 2002.
• Successful Test of the Possibility that Pam Reynolds Heard Normally During Her NDE

Template:Persondata

• 1956 births
• 2010 deaths
• American singer-songwriters
• Near-death experiences
• People from Atlanta, Georgia