NDE TV Presents Missy, Near-Death Experience during Ky. school shooting; shot and left paralyzed .
What Researchers Found
The Story
Missy Jenkins Smith was a 15-year-old student at Heath High School in Kentucky. On December 1, 1997, a 14-year-old boy shot her during a school prayer circle with a .22 gun. The bullet entered her left shoulder, damaged her spinal cord, and caused paralysis from mid-chest down. During the shooting, she felt no pain and floated to the ground. As she grew tired and closed her eyes, she left the scene. It felt like waking from a nightmare. She joined familiar people, laughed, joked, and walked with someone to her right. A bike passed close by. Then everything went black, and she returned to the lobby floor. She felt confused but knew she would be okay and no longer feared dying. After the NDE, Missy stayed calm despite her paralysis. She forgave the shooter, became a public speaker to prevent school shootings, wrote a book called I Choose to Be Happy, earned a social work degree, married, had two sons, and found purpose in helping others.
This NDE lacks any veridical perception claims, featuring only a vague, comforting otherworldly experience with no specific details about physical events, conversations, or verifiable information from the scene. No attempts at verification or corroborated elements are described, limiting evidential value despite serious injury.
Score reflects verifiable perceptions reported. A low score indicates the experience was primarily spiritual or subjective, not that it didn't occur.
Score reflects transformation as described. Domains scored 0 indicate the topic was not discussed, not that no change occurred.
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What Researchers Found
This NDE lacks any veridical perception claims, featuring only a vague, comforting otherworldly experience with no specific details about physical events, conversations, or verifiable information from the scene. No attempts at verification or corroborated elements are described, limiting evidential value despite serious injury.
Score reflects verifiable perceptions reported. A low score indicates the experience was primarily spiritual or subjective, not that it didn't occur.
Score reflects transformation as described. Domains scored 0 indicate the topic was not discussed, not that no change occurred.