My father was one of the first to have a heart by-pass, performed by the famous surgeon, Magdi Yacoub, who had just left Christiaan Barnard's heart team to work in the UK.
Back then, this op. was major and experimental - unlike the routine thing it has become today.
My father was a very stoic, quiet man who said very little. When he did have something to say, it was always meaningful.
Because he was mostly out of things for days after the op., he was never sure when his experience happened, but he found himself floating around the hospital, turning down various corridors and have a look around. At all times he could see the most incredible sunset which appeared to both surround him and be a part of him.
When the time came for him to leave the hospital, the route out was not unknown to him - he recognised every turn and every corridor he was taken through, because he'd already explored the hospital in his ethereal form
For my father to tell us this was quite astounding - being both quiet and stoical, we had to believe that this must have happened and been pretty amazing - otherwise he would never have told us.