Steve's NDE During Open Heart Surgery

0:00 Just a little intro before we get going with today's episode. We're going to be talking with Steve Childs. He's a former marine, wonderful guy, but I want to give you a little bit of a heads up because at first it might be hard to understand him. He's had a procedure called a laryngectomy, so he can't talk normally. He has a thing called an electric wand that he holds up to his throat so that he can speak. We have to listen very closely and really give him some grace, give it a little time and a little effort to listen closely. It'll be worth it because he just has a beautiful story. Alright, let's jump on into it.

0:45 From the time that they pronounced me deaf was a good 45 minutes. They cut my clothes and then they paddled my hocks. My heart had stopped and I could see people screaming and crying, but I didn't realize that was actually my physical body because I was somewhere else. The only thing that I could feel if you could imagine absolute love and peace. There wasn't anything else to be felt. I was greeted by people I'd known in the past. I'm back home again. Incredibly safe and felt at home. Welcome, welcome to Round Trip Death everybody, and welcome to 2025 and welcome to our fourth season of Round Trip Death and lastly and bestly.

1:34 Welcome to our special guest today, Steve Childs. How are you Steve? I'm good. I know people are gonna be able to understand you even better the more that they listen and that it's gonna be worth listening to because you have a beautiful story. And before we hop into your near-death experience, Steve, would you just tell us a little bit about yourself so we can get to know you? Well, I was born in 1950s in northwest Louisiana. I graduated in 11th grade during the Marine Wolf. Got out 1970s and was just a pretty normal guy. I was an avianic in the military. So I was laid within those reals and droves by old lines.

2:29 Where do you live Steve? I currently live in Missouri. I was born in Missouri. So I don't know if our listeners are gonna want to hear about what happened to your voice first or your ND either. Actually not related, believe it or not. Give us a brief just because I know everyone's gonna be curious and I hope you don't mind talking about your medical history just a little bit. But no, no. What happened to your voice? Uh, I was a non-hungarian in the Lair and Jill Ganzer and had my voice a long removed. And so now I sound like a robot.

3:11 And what do you call that thing that you hold up to your throat? They call it an electric wand. Well, it works well. Did it take a lot of practice to learn how to use? Well, not really. You'll find out there's new things very important. Breathing and communicating. I'm thinking breathing comes first. Absolutely. Okay, well let's go back and let's talk NDEs today. We're gonna go back to 2009. What was going on with your health that led up to the big heart attack that day? Well, actually I had a series of pains. One of them was the very, very night and my wife's ex-wife. She said, oh, you're probably just having a heart attack here.

4:09 Thank you, Aspern. Believe it or not, that's what saved me. Aspern dilates the pain. I had to be more of them over the course of about a week and I had some friends that encouraged me to go to the doctor. They said I was a big, real male and so I did their advice. Went over to the VA and I can't fail a series of deaths until they got to the top of the beat and that's the one where they take the measure of your heart internally and they were amazed that I was still alive. I only had to have them for them of one artery open. Keep going. So what procedure did they do to find out about your heart? Well, I was scheduled eventually for the Gathe-Thomas-De-Beat and I didn't make it that day because I was in business with myself and there was a big job that day. Well, the next day as I was headed to another job, my son was driving, my dad's work was leathered with paperwork and merely a little water. The VA appointed my favorite on my and I know that we were the

5:40 red light right in front of him so I noted the full F and I was gonna reschedule it in Merzlin. He then just called him like he always do. I said, well, I've been missing too many. Let me go in and Merzlin and go on that for a minute. So I started to pull around to the emergency room and he did. I ran in, put him to the bed blower, I went to the department and showed him the leather and showed him that I was sorry that I had missed it again and that I wanted to reschedule. They told me that it wasn't a problem because somebody had gambled that day and they could take me right now and so I changed. They wheeled me up and they inserted the camera in my leg of the bar and when they do the measure they went into manning mode and noted my huge and big surgeon down there immediately was alarmed and so in order to get cleared or a major operation at the VA it has to be approved through Washington that took three days. I remember three days making coffee for the

7:11 five years visiting everybody when they would come in in the morning and then they took me by ambulance down the using they told me that there was only a line of the Denver's engine something good no wrong I still felt healthy I felt good. Well the morning of the surgery they came and meet me up at six in the morning. We were one of the first ones major operation for the day. It just me and it's a scary situation because I had never been through anything like this.

7:51 I'd always been real healthy when they are recording you or legal purposes. They asked me I know I was and all that and I remember telling them like the drill's origin is everybody on Dr. Gaines and they all answered in unison. Just there and they gave me a no-word. Well the first thing I heard was Dr. Dew in my right ear and he was telling the other surgeon that it was worse than he thought he would move to Grable or my anesthesiologist was only 30 years old so he was very young but a great kid I knew he was trying to miss everything went okay in the first surgery and they wheeled me out. They were down with my family everything was okay I even gave my son a thumb up and then they do me as I knew as I recovered something went wrong and I got nailed by the doctors constantly there constantly with bring they kept changing something out it was blood bank I would use them blood leaking blood very bad along 20 minds

9:22 though they don't something had ruptured and they was me fighting the surgery as they were bringing me out I felt them blood my chest back open all over bank and then I woke up when they had my heart in their hands a second time. Okay hold on hold on hold on I want to just catch up and make sure that I'm understanding everything so first of all was this a bypass surgery? Absolutely dribble. Okay triple bypass they do the surgery you're recovering something's going wrong you have a ton of internal bleeding right right 20 units of blood so they open you back up did they just not put you all the way under this time? You know Aaron I don't know what the problem was but after my near-death experience I was so grumpy and I'm told that I didn't tell them anything went wrong. Okay wow okay so you wake up I woke up as clearly as I'm looking at you right now it was not a drug in days it was not a loopy I was done completely 100% not just a great and my eyes open they stopped in terror I

10:56 looked at each one of them and they wouldn't go back to work so I wouldn't be one of them and close by so they would go back to work. Oh my gosh and then I woke up when they were enabling by jazz made together a lot of things I heard I listened to and that's how I know they longed me and I heard all the bells and whistles going off in the arms. I heard people panic I heard somebody say we're losing we're losing and they slowly faded out when they faded out that's when this incredible unbelievable I can't even just dreaded enough feeling of love enveloped me and then it was just like a large set of hands with love they gently figure me up as I was flying through the universe I remember looking at the measurement of the stars and the planets as they were going by and my last dying thought was wow but suddenly I had a overwhelming feeling of disappointment and I had to go back as it hurts and I heard the doctor now the

12:28 nurses the patient is stable and then began the long journey back and as in when I never was a really overly religious person but I know without a doubt now love that does happen when we die as that feeling of love I think you get that old Bible and if you usually read the words in red that one downs love love is so powerful unbelievable I want to make sure that I'm completely clear here so these were kind of two different things happened one was you woke up during surgery but that was still Steve in your body right then after they finally put you under it sounds like all the way that's when you had this experience of leaving your body traveling filling this love right those are two separate things they never did with me all the way out I'm not always here talking it may fade in and out but I never had a deep level of unknowing just a deal when I noted everything went away your violence and love and

13:59 feeling of love was unbelievable is there any way that you can describe it that we can understand it how much you love your bird baby and how much you love your wife and how much you are magnified unbelievably times a million the power I felt like I was dumb and into the presence of a power that we can't even buy them with Jesus is we're like land grains of land on the beach we're away losing and that my friend it was just it's something you have to experience and you'll get your dance right along with everybody else but I do tell people that I don't fear death as much as I did at all I just know I did what he wanted me to do and I did it right do you feel like you came back for a reason or a purpose absolutely what is that my daughter had gotten involved with a DEA rebird drug the same and my first grandchild would have went into the city and I was able to rescue him and raise him and I feel that was God's in me back for have you had a chance to speak about this publicly first time I used it for about five or ten years I'm not nobody at all I was a dark and

15:34 crying now I'm much stronger now I'm closer to the end and I believe it's a message that I must share with everybody and you're dumb and do a type guy that doesn't like to get involved in some low G's below the radar but I was then the brown lens like this there is a God and you know how you get to him through love and I know there's a big bang now tell me a little bit more about what it looked like you mentioned flying through stars and planets can you give us more description just like one of these animated films it didn't appear to be our galaxy but it was like I was in the middle of it all I moved my head left and I moved my head right and I was in just amazing much of what was going on I felt like I was going somewhere I was definitely headed somewhere and I feel like it was I was headed to judgment I didn't build no bear no bear whatsoever I felt number didn't what else did you feel like you learned flying in your dead as long we're on the air for your now enjoy into the fullest

17:06 urge all your little do they'll be dying or to one another one day we will answer brawl this that's what I've learned and I never did practice that and I would not with them now you show me somebody that says they would never go back and change anything they did and I was your move you also mentioned feeling disappointed that you came back explain that some more well then me when though love thank me some words all the wonderful feelings I feel like now I had to return to the pledge and there's a lot of suffering in the place and I knew I had to go back we speak with word there and dodging within the you instantly know what he's at you and let me know what he wanted and there will be no doubt in your mind it is Romeo I learned a lot of things with that in the main one that's a lot to absorb that's a lot to I don't know to process and you came back and you had a lot of physical recovery to go through I'm sure and we'll talk about that in just a minute but there's emotional that goes along with it because of what you have now been through and experience talk about the ups and downs the joy of the love and then the disappointment of coming

18:39 back how did you process all this and it really have enjoyed it just happened it was a long time like I said before I didn't think about it it was no personal I had just been through but I had her bringing to me since I was a kid and you never really know if it's true or not God told me it was true I was very fortunate how has this changed your life and a lot more understanding I'm a lot more patient I'm a lot more forgiving that's for your I'm trying to yell my fellow human being more love I try not to write the judge but not everybody's going through something we don't know about it made me a better person all right go ahead and tell us about the physical recuperation were you in the hospital for a long time even with complications I ended up getting out two days early fatal rapid recovery but did you done with my business for a few more years it dealt with I plus for every year it brought state cancer during the during the clarion Jill cancer during the 23 and right now I have no signs of cancer fudging the old warranty on the hard is about over well and maybe

20:15 that's why I love a well they'll mother Dory you know what I mean yeah I do and I know it's really an effort for you to talk and I appreciate what you're doing for us and with us today and for trusting us to talk about it here first I feel like there's more you want to share just go ahead tell us what else is on your mind if I could really talk I could tell you done more like you said it's difficult I'm thankful that God gave me the chance is where my story with people ever give up I might have got that from the Marine Corps but never give up I'm so grateful I wake up every morning and give them good I used to complain about my problems for the day I break for another day with problems it's a it's a learning experience going through this life there was another time I didn't share with you I was nine years old this is where my belief in God came from I live the way out the country nine years old I had a young gun a brand new young gun and I was going to war on my myself I find out I'm wandering around and I never saw it's a world though I looked up at

21:54 this guy through and door and I said if there really is a guy let me take up the world I won't even do them but you'll show me there's a good world I will buy new you not of me the only who do big old bottom world staying down the tree right beside me under the nutshell the more more dads work there was a double more were all around me and I didn't do them and I knew it then boy there was a guy now I didn't always obey and for that I'm regretful but I did you want air cop your learn the blesses though he is real I was glad I wrote that article responding to that near-death experience article and I don't know why I'm not the night to do that but I felt it blinded year when I read a lot of the responses I started crying again but sometimes I had brought people the mode as low you're living with their life and I'm going to very rewarding that was a beautiful story this show is all about hope and before I let you go I'd love

23:27 to give you a chance to just give us a message of hope you know you you talked about how you used to wake up complaining about the day and hey there's somebody out there having a really rough day today what do you have to say to that person I'm a deli person don't give up guys watching a lot of those troubles or drum hails do make us stronger I would tell that person to believe because when we die something does happen and we have to answer we're all that so I'm trying to rectify my rendered right now if I can and I should get everybody else do the same but I'm a deli person no matter how fatty things you got it or you got it there's somebody that's not in that thousand times the wars my mother you did tell me something when I was young I'm right because I had no use and then I was all a man with no feet and I gave that a lot of thoughts growing up no matter how mad you think you've got it there's a mighty war deserving than me that as it were so you have to remain great board of God and take it as a gum if you have down brain I don't think I really

24:58 Breyer I never went dog and do them now well Steve I appreciate you so very very much for taking the time today I appreciate being here and then you were giving me a chance to hear that message and I want to thank you so very much for listening right now while you're thinking of it please hit that subscribe or follow button and if you want to know when the new episodes go live go over to roundtripdeath.com and sign up for our email newsletter until then I wish you every good thing that you're looking for in this life and the next you