A woman who was put into a “near death” state during brain surgery claimed she “floated above a doctor’s shoulder” and saw details that defy explanation. The case of Pam Reynolds Lowery is one of the most well-documented and significant “near death experience” accounts on record.

Christina Randall, a podcaster who has extensively researched the case, explained that Pam had been experiencing symptoms of dizziness, temporary loss of speech and bouts of paralysis. A scan revealed that she had a large aneurysm close to her brain stem.

Due to the aneurysm’s location, surgery to repair it would be extremely risky. Christina said: “As a last resort a neurosurgeon of the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona decided that a rarely performed procedure called a standstill operation could improve Pam’s chance of surviving.”

A “standstill operation” effectively reduced the patient’s vital signs to a near-death state. Christina explained: “Pam’s body temperature was lowered to 50° Fahrenheit – or 10° Centigrade – her breathing and her heartbeat completely stopped and the blood was completely drained from her head.”

As a matter of routine, Pam’s eyes were taped shut and a headset that played a series of loud clicking sounds was placed over her ears. The sounds, which would have been intensely annoying if Pam had been conscious, enabled the anaesthetist to confirm that there was no activity in the patient’s brain.

Despite being technically “dead,” Pam had a series of extraordinary experiences. She said she could hear a steady hum, which as a musician she recognised as the note D. It seemed to elevate her consciousness out of her body.

Christina continued: “Pam said during this she felt more aware than normal and her vision was more focused and clearer than normal… her senses became so hyper-aware it was as if she had more than five senses.”

Pam observed the surgeons drilling into her skull from an out-of-body perspective. “She was able to see the electric saw that was pulled out to use on her and she described it as looking like an electric toothbrush,” Christina continued.

The specific details Pam remembered led experts to believe she had somehow witnessed her own life-saving surgery from outside her body. In recalling the event, Pam said: “I was looking down at the body. I knew it was my body but I didn’t care. My vantage point was sort of sitting on the doctor’s shoulder. I remember the instrument in his hand, it looked like the handle of my electric toothbrush.”

She added: “I had assumed that they were going to open the skull with a saw. I had heard the term ‘saw’ but what I saw looked a lot more like a drill than a saw – he even had little bits that were kept in this case that looked like the case that my father stored his socket wrenches in when I was a child.”

Pam astonishingly recalled intricate details of conversations between doctors and nurses during her operation. However, she soon realised she wasn’t alone in the room.

Christina revealed: “When she tried making out the figures, she realised that it was her grandmother and uncle and other deceased people that she knew.”

Pam specifically mentioned her late uncle, who passed away at just 39, appearing to act as a guide. She continued: “My uncle was the one who brought me back down to the body but then I got to where the body was and I looked at the thing and I for sure did not want to get in it.”

Pam described her body as looking “lifeless’ and she was reluctant to go back into it. She recalled: “I didn’t want to get in but he kept reasoning with me he said ‘It’s like diving into a swimming pool, just jump in.’ He pushed me, he gave me a little help there.”

“She likened the sensation of re-entering her body to “jumping into ice-water”. After the gruelling seven-hour surgery was over, Pam was taken to recovery. Upon regaining consciousness, she left doctors astounded with her detailed recollections of what had transpired while she was technically “dead”.

Some doubters have tried to dismiss Pam’s account, suggesting it could be a case of Anaesthesia Awareness – a condition where patients can remember details of their surgery despite being under general anaesthetic. However, in Pam’s situation, her eyes were taped shut and the loud audio clicks from her headphones would have blocked her hearing.

Cardiologist Michael Sabom, however, is convinced that Pam’s experience is authentic, having identified over a hundred instances of anaesthetised or seriously injured patients having experiences that suggest some form of life after death.