Around 2:00 a.m. Saturday, March 3, 2001, I woke up and felt as if I was hit in the chest with a sledgehammer. I was having a heart attack. I immediately took two aspirins (why I don't know, probably from hearing it on TV) and told my wife to call 911.

I was in intense pain when the paramedics arrived. The paramedics tried to help me. According to the paramedics I flat lined. At first I heard one paramedic say, "Stay with us Jim." Then I heard nothing.

All pain was gone and I was in a very comfortable state. I was totally peaceful; it was total bliss and total harmony at the same time. Then I saw a tunnel that was lit up with white light but it wasn't hard on the eyes. Then I noticed I was following another being whom I didn't know toward the tunnel for a long period of time. I couldn't catch up to this person.

This peaceful state lasted for some time but then I felt intense pain and burning in the chest again. Apparently the paramedics zapped me three times, up to 360 joules. Then I heard their voices and was very upset because they had disturbed my peace. They said I used some pretty rough language.

I don't tell many people about the experience because they look at me funny or think I'm crazy. I told the head Nun at our local Catholic church when we moved to Wisconsin from Illinois and it went right over her head, like I was not important to her. It is very important to me. However, I did talk to a Shaman from the Ojibwa Tribe in Northern Wisconsin and he told me the figure I was following toward the tunnel was my spiritual guide. To this day I believe him.