Bruna - My Miracle NDE
10 08
My name is Bruna Reyn and I live in Canada. Born in Vienna, Austria, from the age of 2 to about 7 I was a ward of the court in the care of The Sisters of Mercy of the Holy Cross. When my mother remarried my brother and I were returned to her. My new (2nd) stepfather moved us all to Montreal, Que.; my two oldest sisters remained in Austria.
Since a young age I have been drawn to seek information about what happens at death. Dr. Moody's and Dr. Kübler-Ross' were the first books I read on the subject that were written by medical professionals. Most of my information came from books on religious beliefs, books written by or about psychics who claimed to speak to those who passed, books on reincarnation, etc. The ones that made a big impression on me, in terms of credibility, were from Edgar Cayce.
I thought that my strong interest in this topic came from the fact that several significant people in my life died when I was very young. My father (I later learned he was my first step-father) was murdered, my oldest sister committed suicide; my grandmother, whom I learned to love, died when I was in my early 20's.
I had a "dream" as a child that is as vibrant today as ever. I did not know how old I was when I experienced this dream, or vision, but I know that I was not yet in school. While delving through all these books, I also read that dreams tend to be forgotten; those that are remembered speak to a different experience.
The vision or dream was: I was floating in outer space towards a brightly lit figure. The figure was Jesus Christ. He was dressed in robes of brilliant white and blue. Both arms were at His side and were directing "souls" floating towards Him to pass Him, some to His right others to His left. This was a brilliant scene in the black space where I was floating towards Him. I now believe this was my NDE when I was three.
As a very young child (under 10), although my mother was not religious, when I was sent to bed I would both pray and try to understand God and eternity. I recall one amazing moment where everything made sense - the fact that there was no beginning and no end, the existence of something beyond my environment - then it was gone. I have never been able to recapture that understanding. I mention this because in your book "The BIG BOOK of NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES" which I just bought, it mentions something similar - that people who return know that they have gained knowledge, but lose that knowledge on return.
Here goes: In 1994 I received a strange phone call from my mother. (I'm married, living in Toronto, Canada. My mother and father lived in California.)
My mother said that the Sisters of the Holy Cross had contacted her to say that they had been looking for me for some time. The reason: on a hot August day, when I was 3 years old, I had been found drowned in a cistern in a small yard at Laxenburg. The cistern was a very large cement tank for collecting rainwater to use in watering the grounds at Laxenburg. They knew that I was underwater at least 6 hours. I heard very graphic details of that event from the nuns involved.
Attempts at resuscitation by the nuns who found me as well as the doctor in attendance failed. The doctor pronounced me dead and left. I will not go into details as it would take too long, but following passionate prayers directed towards the founder of the Sisters of Mercy of the Holy Cross, Sr. Maria Theresia (see attached photo), I opened my eyes. I had a very high fever for 3 days, after which I sat up in bed and apparently asked if I could play.
I was told that everyone who was present for this event, including the doctor, was asked to provide a written description of what they had witnessed. Besides having no explanation for this, the doctor also cautioned that they must be prepared that there would be brain and/or organ damage. This also did not occur. Once the fever broke I appeared to be fine.
This event was documented and made its way through various levels until it reached the Vatican. In 1994 the Vatican declared this a miracle.
It was explained to me that the process of declaring a miracle included that the documents and facts are made available to a panel of medical professionals, who are not Catholic and do not believe in miracles. They determined that there was no explanation that could be offered for my coming back both alive and healthy.
I was invited, together with my husband, to attend the 1995 Beatification Mass for Sr. Maria Theresia Scherer. This trip to Rome included an invitation to stay at Schloss Laxenburg, Austria, the children's home where I was placed; also a stay in Switzerland at the Mother House of the Sisters of Mercy of the Holy Cross. I have attached the medal commemorating the Beatification for your information. I count this as the highlight of my life.
Bruna
