Welcome to Mysteries over Martinis! This blog is a mix of unexplained phenomena and personal encounters served up with a mystery-themed cocktail. It’s a recipe for intrigue!

Beeches and Cream

Ingredients:

½ oz vodka

2 oz cream

1 oz peach schnapps

1 cup crushed ice

3 ripe peaches

Directions: Cut 2 wedges out of one of the peaches to use as a garnish. Peel the peaches and cut out the pits. Pour all ingredients into a blender. Blend well at high speed. Pour into 2 glasses and garnish with the peach wedges.

Medical Miracles: Marc’s Story

As some of you know, my brother Tommy became ill in March of 2014. His liver was failing and the prognosis wasn’t great. It was an emotional roller coaster, but I’m happy to say he received a liver transplant in March of this year. He’s recovering very well and now I’m getting back into the swing of writing again!

My brother’s incredible medical journey inspired me to explore the topic of “medical miracles.” I, too, have a story in regards to beating the odds. I mysteriously recovered from an illness in 2006 which was nearly certain to be my demise. (See blog post With a New Year Comes a New Beginning). The experience has changed my life in a very positive way. I’ve found this to be true with my brother and I’ve come across many others who’ve shared their unbelievable stories of healing and remission. I wanted to delve into these seemingly miraculous cases and how the traumatic event affects the life of the survivor. I enjoy the creepy aspects of the paranormal but it’s nice to have a balance of enlightening encounters as well.  I will be posting these personal stories over the course of the next few weeks.  Enjoy!

Marc: It all started when I looked down. I was on a treadmill/elliptical machine at the gym. I tilted my head sideways and downward to place my foot firm on the machine. Then, all my energy left my body. It felt like I got hit by a bus. My ears started ringing loudly. I grabbed the handlebars to hold myself up. My vision had large sparkles shining brightly in my peripheral, as if I had rubbed my eyes really hard. My vision began tilting sideways, everything horizontal was shifting vertically, as if I had spun myself around several times and stopped. My heart started pounding really hard. I could feel the heartbeat pounding in my throat and beating in my eyes. My head was now numb and something told me that this isn’t normal.

I walked over to Merrill, the new owner of my gym. Walking now seemed to be in slow motion. After I described what I was experiencing, Merrill told me he was going to call an ambulance. I urged him to not call. He then began taking my blood pressure. It went from 98 (from when I was on the elliptical) to 135. He had his wife, a nurse, on the phone telling me I was going to have a stroke or heart attack. He told me to get to a hospital immediately, so I drove myself there. I felt so weak and very thirsty.

It seemed like miles walking back to the ER unit. I sat in the waiting room for a few hours. They took my blood pressure telling me it was very high. I kept drinking a lot of water. After 4 hours, I was taken back to a room where I met Dr. Y and Dr. L. Dr. Y looked a lot like Eriq LaSalle from the show E.R. Dr. L was very attractive, but this was not the time or place to tell her.

I explained everything that happened. They speculated that I was on supplements or some kind of speed and energy pills. I assured them I was not. They took blood and urine samples 3 or 4 times, looking for anything going on with my body. They couldn’t find anything.

Some time went by and Dr. Y returned to my room. He had slight tears welling up behind his glasses. He pulled them up and wiped his eyes. His eyebrows were arched upward in sympathy.

 “Hey, what’s wrong?” I asked him.

He took a deep breath and sighed. “We can’t find what’s going on with you. And nobody’s heart can stand beating that hard for so long. Now would be a good time for you to call somebody you love because…you might not make it through the night.” That’s when the world and everything around me stopped. Dr. Y continued, “But you’re one of the healthiest people we’ve seen in a very long time. You’ll be easy to revive. We have instruments standing by.” Dr. Y’s eyebrows arched upward again and he said, “I wish there was something we could do.”

 I jumped in and said, “Wait, What?! What’s going to happen? I want to know.”

 Dr. Y replied, “You really want to know?”

 I answered, “Yes, I’d like to prepare myself for this.”

 “Well actually, you can’t.”

 I assured him, “Yes, I’m sure I can. So what’s going to happen?”

“Well, you may go into a heart attack. Your kidneys are going to start to shut down and lose function. Then, the bowels and possibly liver, among other organs shutting down. And it’s going to really hurt when we shock you.” Wow, I wasn’t ready for that. And he continued, “You’re stable now, so it would be a good time to call someone before this happens.”

 I looked at my phone and told him my battery was almost dead. He said he would get his phone and let me use it. I told him not to worry about it. I called my mother earlier and told her I was going to be ok. I also called my good friend Mario and told him that I was going to be alright.

Dr. Y told me to lie back, get some rest and he’d return in a little while to check on me. With the little bit of battery life from my phone, I thought it would be appropriate to get on Facebook. I updated my status asking everyone for prayers. I told them where I was, but didn’t say what was going on. I turned off my phone, leaned back in extreme exhaustion and closed my eyes.

Suddenly, I was bombarded with voices. There were many voices around me. I felt so at peace. Everything around me was calm. I couldn’t hear the commotion from the ER anymore. The voices echoed, whispering several statements. The 3 that stuck out to me the most were “Life is a gift”, “We are all one”, and “Love is the answer to the meaning of life”. Those were repeated many times for several minutes. It was comforting and assuring that I was safe. (I now believe these voices came from Angels.)

Then, I had a personal conversation with God. I thanked God for this great life so far. I explained how I would love a second chance because I wasn’t able to complete what I set out to do. I wanted to start a family and experience so much more in this life. However, if I were to die, I accepted that. The last thing I remember saying before passing out was, “God, into your hands, I give you my soul.”

The next event I remember was traveling through clouds in the sky, headed to the edge of our atmosphere. I could see space. I continued through space encountering several constantly changing geometric shapes. I was going through the center of the glowing shapes as they began changing and opening for me like tunnels. The patterns went from simple geometrics to more complex Spirograph styles. They were beautiful and ever-changing along with their colors. After a while, everything went black.

The next event I remember was waking up underneath a huge tree. It looked like a giant Beech tree. I didn’t know where I was. I had my back against the trunk and my head rested on my arms propped on my upright knees. I stood up and looked around. The grass was overgrown. I walked several feet ahead and looked back in admiration of this large tree. It reminded me of the trees I used to draw as a child, a rich brown trunk and the branches full of dark green leaves. I looked up and noticed the sky was a bright blue with no clouds. The weather was perfect and the only sound came from the wind blowing around me. I looked ahead and saw nothing in the distance but a clean cut, perfectly green, lawn that stretched for miles. I looked down on the ground and discovered many shiny bronze plaques with names and years printed on them. A few feet in front of me was a freshly dug grave that measured several feet down. I realized that this was my grave, my place of rest on this Earth. I looked around, took one last deep breath and filled myself with everything here on Earth. I turned, faced the tree and said ‘goodbye’ to this place. I lifted up my toes and made a backwards dive, as if I were falling into a pool. I slowly descended into the ground. I noticed the clay in my peripheral vision and faced the blue sky above. Then, everything went black.

Next I heard a voice. “Marc, ­­it’s all over. You can get up.” I was tapped on the arm and jumped back when I noticed Dr. Y’s face. I thought he was God for a minute. He stood back and said “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. You’re gonna be ok.”

That’s when I realized I wasn’t dead. I was given a second chance. The nurse and Dr. L also entered the room and said they were going to run an MRI on my neck. They found I had a fractured vertebrae. Turning my head caused a Vertebral Artery Dissection (V.A.D.). I had a car accident 2 months prior to this event. The whole time I had a broken neck and didn’t know it.

Since this experience, everything I see looks different. People are easier to read. I’ve given a greater attention to the simple things we normally take for granted. When I looked in the mirror after this event, I had a deeper understanding of myself. I looked within, rather than just seeing a reflection. I now see the good in everyone. It has also pushed me to follow my dreams now more than before.

I would like to thank Marc for sharing his powerful story. The imagery is beautiful and the message is uplifting. I’m so happy he is following his dreams. I wish him all the best on his endeavors!

Like Marc, I also began to perceive things differently after my brush with death. I’ve experienced so many positive changes over the course of the last 9+ years.  Mysteries over Martinis is a part of that journey. I used to worry about what people thought of my passion for all things weird. Now, I just don’t care. I don’t advertise it, but I also don’t hide it. By opening a dialogue and exploring mysterious topics, I’ve encountered amazing people I’d never have met otherwise.  It’s also instilled stronger bonds with those whom I already had a relationship with. Creating this platform has enriched my life and peaked my interest in the unexplained even more so. I finally feel like I’m moving towards what I’m destined to do. I don’t know exactly what the universe has in store for me, but I will continue my exploration and share my findings with you.

If you’ve had a mysterious encounter you’d like to share, please e-mail me at mysteriesovermartinis@gmail.com. Please pass it along to your friends and family too. I’d love to hear from them. Remember, weirdness is always welcome here at Mysteries over Martinis. Cheers!