This young man had recently graduated from college, married and gotten a good job.  He, apparently, had back pain.  He began ordering drugs over the internet.  He took a large number of these drugs and never woke up.  His parents are good friends, but I hardly knew the son.  My husband and I sat on the second row at the funeral service.  The minister was on a small rise level with the casket.  There were two steps up to the rise.  This deceased boy sat on the top step in front of the minister and directly in front of his parents and brother.  He sat with his chin resting on his hand and just watched the people sitting in the sanctuary.  I looked away and back thinking that I must be imagining this, but he remained throughout the entire service.   

I have had several deaths in my family since then.  I have not seen anything like this again.   The only thing that I can guess is that when people die as a result of a lingering illness, they might not hang around like those who suffered a sudden and premature death.

Did you ONLY sense an awareness of presence of the deceased without actually seeing, hearing, feeling or smelling them?            No

Did you hear the deceased or hear something associated with the deceased?          No

Did you feel a touch or experience any physical contact from the deceased?            No

Did you see the deceased?         Yes

He looked just like he did when he was alive, just more transparent.

            How clearly did the deceased appear?            Somewhat transparent

            How much of the deceased did you see?       All

            Did the deceased appear or not appear to be the age at which they died?       He appeared to be the same age as he was at his death

            How healthy did the deceased appear to be?            Very healthy

            Is there any possibility what you saw was from any other source present in the surroundings at the time of your experience?           No

Did you smell a distinct smell, scent, fragrance or odor associated with the deceased?      No

How long did the experience last?        Through the entire funeral service

Was the beginning and end of the experience gradual or more sudden?         Sudden

He just seemed to be interested in all of the people who had come to his funeral.

How do you currently view the reality of your experience?           Experience was definitely real

            Please explain why you view the reality of your experience as real or not real:           I had the whole funeral service to grapple with this issue.  I would look away hoping that he would disappear, but he didn't.  It took me a year before I had the nerve to tell his grieving mother that he sat in front of her at the funeral.  I would never have said this to her unless I was certain of its reality.

            Was the experience dream like in any way?   No

Describe in detail your feelings/emotions during the experience:           Disbelief

What was the best and worst part of your experience?      The worst was not being able to share this with his parents immediately.  The best was being able to share this with his mother when I finally did tell her.

Has your life changed specifically as a result of your experience?         Yes                 Describe:      As stated above

Did you have any changes of attitudes or beliefs following the experience?   Yes     As stated above

Did the experience give you any spiritual understandings such as life, death, afterlife, God, etc.?            Yes     As I described above, the way a person dies may determine how quickly his spirit leaves this place.

Death Compacts are when two or more living people promise among themselves that whoever dies first will try to contact the other(s).  Have you ever made such a compact?        No

Did you observe or hear anything regarding people or events during your experience that could be verified later?          No
What emotions did you feel during the experience?            Disbelief

Was the experience witnessed or experienced by others?           Uncertain

Have you shared this experience with others?         Yes     I am selective about whom I share this with, but they have all been very eager to hear about it.

Have you shared this experience formally or informally with any other researcher or web site?   No

 Is there anything else you would like to add regarding your experience?       No

Were there any associated medications or substances with the potential to affect the experience?            No

Following the experience, have you had any other events in your life, medications or substances which reproduced any part of the experience?         No 

Did you ever in your life have a near-death experience, out of body experience or other spiritual event?           Yes 

I had an NDE that I have shared with Dr. Long.