Dead man talking

EMERLINE GORDON

Jamal Rias Mohammed was born in Cunupia, Trinidad, the tenth of 26 siblings, 18 boys and eight girls. Life for him and his family was an enjoyable and exciting one until 14 years ago in 2004, when tragedy struck. Mohammed got into a motorbike accident during. In a coma for 37 days, he recounts an out of body experience one day, following which he was sitting up on his bed, shocking his doctors who had already written his death certificate.

His story all began with a love affair with motorbikes as a young man..

“I was always fascinated with motorbikes. I just loved how they looked and the noise they made when you start the engine. It was my kind of vehicle. So, I told myself that one day I would buy a motorbike,” he said in an interview at his Bon Accord home.

It took some time for his only source of income for a while was sales from short crops - tomatoes, hot peppers, pimentos, sweet peppers and pumpkins - which he sold to his neighbours and other persons in the Cunupia community.

After several years as a farmer, he and his brothers decided to start a family business in the Bamboo in Trinidad, buying and selling foreign- used vehicles. Now Mohammed had a job from which he could earn more money. And so he was able to buy his dream vehicle – a motorbike.

He rode his bike everywhere that he needed to go. He and his bike posse would meet up and go riding together. Life was good.

One day, however, as Mohammed was riding his motorbike in La Romain, a vehicle broke a red light and struck him, throwing him several feet in the air before he and his bike hit a light pole. The motorbike was written off. He Mohammed suffered a fractured skull, a swollen heart, a broken right shoulder, a broken right leg and he lost several of his teeth.

“After the accident, I was immediately warded at the Intensive Care Unit of the San Fernando General Hospital, where I remained in a coma for 37 days. Fourteen doctors attended to me and all of them had the same prognosis, it was a 50- 50 chance that I was going to make it.

“But while I was in the coma, I had an out of body experience. I saw my spirit came out of my body and I found myself standing at the foot of the bed, looking at my body lying on the bed. While all this was happening, up came two persons all dressed in white and they held my hands, one my right and the other my left. They then led me towards a long flight of stairs.

“As we were climbing the staircase, I heard a loud noise behind us, so, I immediately turned around to see where the noise was coming from. To my surprise, I saw a very handsome man staring at me. But in an instant, his countenance changed to that of a ferocious animal and he had fire coming out of his nostrils and his mouth.

“This evil looking creature made several attempts to snatch me away from the two persons who were at my side, but every time he tried to touch me, something came as a shield between him and myself which made it difficult for him to do so.

“We finally arrived at our destination, which was a beautiful building with the floor all paved in gold, I saw a bright light which shone over me and the other two persons who were with me. Then I heard a voice which this time came from above us, saying ‘I do not need you to come here now, I want you to return to where you came from, for there are many great works for you to do there.’

“On hearing these words, my spirit as it were, re-entered my body and I found myself sitting up on the bed in the hospital.

“I did not know that the doctor had pronounced me dead and the wardsmen were already dispatched to remove my body to the mortuary. After I was sitting up for a few minutes on the bed, a doctor entered the room. When he opened the curtain and saw me sitting on the bed, he said to me in shock, ‘What are you doing sitting up? You are supposed to be dead! I have been in the medical profession for 40 years and have never witness something like this.’

“What he did not know was that God had intervened in my life on that death bed and has given me the opportunity to return to the world to share my experience so that persons who are on the verge of giving up on life, can be encouraged.

“The doctor took up a piece of paper from the table which was next to my bed and handed it to me. It was my death certificate. After remaining in the hospital for a few days and having several tests done on me, I was discharged. I did months of physical therapy before being able to walk, talk properly or do anything strenuous.”

Mohammed, who is now the caretaker of a brother-in-law’s business in Bon Accord, said he is happy to be alive.

“My life after that experience was changed forever. I kept saying to myself: What if I had died and did not get the opportunity to say good bye to my family, or if I had died, what would I have told God concerning the life that I lived while I was on earth? Above everything else I am happy to be alive!” he said.

He sometimes still experiences pains and discomfort about his and is on medication, but he is thankful to have all his mental faculties intact and is hopeful that one day he will return to good health.

For now, he does not take life for granted and has learnt to appreciate the little things in life, and takes every opportunity to show love and appreciation to others.

His brother-in-law, Raymond Mohammed, recalled the pain the family when through following the accident.

“When Jamal got into the accident, things were not looking too good. Our family was very distraught. Everybody thought that he was going to die because the doctors said that there was a slim chance that he would survive. Many days as we would visit him at the hospital, we would be in tears because things were not improving.

“But all this time we continued to pray and ask God to please, save his life, do not let him die. I thank God that he heard our prayers and brought him back to us. When we eventually got the good news that he had woken from the coma, there was great rejoicing in the family. We were all in tears, but this time it was tears of joy. I know for sure that it is God who gave Jamal this miracle,” Raymond said.