Some people who survive medical crises report near-death experiences (NDEs), in which they perceive their consciousness leaving the body and entering another realm. Whether or not one accepts such accounts as literal truth, Ken Barnes’s story highlights resilience, forgiveness, and a belief that life continues beyond physical death. His perspective is shaped not only by extraordinary personal experiences but also by how those moments reshaped his attitude toward pain, adversity, and mortality. What follows reflects Barnes’s own recollections, as shared in a video interview.
A childhood brush with death
Barnes says his first near-death experience occurred when he was just nine years old. Following a severe allergic reaction to medication, doctors gave his parents the grim news that he might not survive more than a day or two. While lying in his hospital bed, Barnes recalls the vivid sensation of separating from his body. He saw himself from above, watched his parents weep beside the bed, and tried to talk to them — only to realize they couldn’t hear him.
He also saw a pastor standing next to his family, praying and performing what appeared to be last rites. The image stayed with him. When Barnes regained consciousness, he recounted the experience to his father. Initially, his father laughed and said he had probably watched too much Twilight Zone. But when Barnes described the pastor’s clothing in exact detail — something he couldn’t have seen from the hospital bed — his father dropped his beer glass in shock and began to believe his son’s story.
A brutal assault and a second NDE
Nearly four decades later, on October 12, 1998, Barnes’s life took another dramatic turn. While walking near his home, he was attacked by five men wielding baseball bats. The assault left him with life-threatening injuries and plunged him into a coma. He spent 32 days in intensive care, followed by three months in the hospital and an additional three years in a long-term care facility. According to Barnes, the attackers were never caught and faced no legal consequences.
During his time in the ICU, Barnes says he experienced another separation from his physical body. This time, he encountered three beings in his near-death experience who guided him to what he understood as the afterlife. The experience, he says, was not frightening but peaceful and deeply instructive.
What he says he learned about compassion
Barnes describes that second near-death experience as a turning point in his emotional and spiritual life. In that otherworldly space, he says, he was taught the meaning of compassion — not just for others, but for himself. This realization stayed with him during his grueling recovery, reshaping how he saw suffering, both his own and that of others.
Despite having his body rebuilt with plates, rods, and screws, Barnes says he now lives without pain. He considers this freedom from physical suffering a gift from what he calls “the other world.” These are, of course, his personal beliefs, but they have become a source of strength and purpose in his life.
Seeing his attackers as ‘angels’
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of Barnes’s story is his attitude toward the men who nearly killed him. Rather than feeling hatred or bitterness, he says he views them with a kind of grace. “If they took off their coats,” he says, “they might have wings.”
To call such individuals “angels” may seem incomprehensible. But for Barnes, the idea is not about condoning their actions — it’s about acknowledging that profound suffering sometimes opens the door to deep personal growth and transformation.
Life after recovery: Helping others at the end of life
Today, Barnes dedicates his time to volunteering in end-of-life care. He supports terminally ill patients, especially those with cancer, and their families as they confront the reality of death. He believes that his experiences, both painful and profound, allow him to offer comfort from a place of genuine empathy.
His message is simple but powerful: “Death is merely a beginning, not an end.”
Translated by Cecilia, edited by Maria
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