I was dying from necrotizing fasciitis, and they were going in to clean out the infection.

I don't believe I was ever clinically dead, but I was very close to it. I had over a dozen surgeries over the course of five weeks. I'm not sure which surgery this happened during, but I know it was one of the earlier ones, when I was sicker with sepsis from the infection.

I remember them giving me oxygen. Larry, the surgery tech, was holding my hand, and then just as I was falling asleep, I noticed that I was out of my body and actually floating above myself and the operating room staff. They were working quickly to intubate me and get the surgery started.

Then I realized I wasn't alone above the scene. I thankfully didn't have any feeling of what they were doing to my poor, sick body.

I looked around and there seemed to be a doorway above the operating room's doors where people were filing in to watch the surgery as if it were a movie. I saw my maternal grandmother, an aunt, and cousin who have passed. No words were exchanged, but I knew that they were telling me it would be okay, and that they loved me very much. It was as if I could hear their voices in my head. Time did not really exist; it just was happening.

I felt so okay with what was going on, and just felt at peace. I remember being really happy to see them there. There were many people that I didn't know there, also, watching the surgery happen.

The next thing I know, I was waking up in the recovery room. Once they rolled me back into my room, I told my mom about my experience. Of all the things that happened during my time in the hospital, that was one of the more vivid memories I have.