Haunted Healthcare by Estep Richard

Author:Estep, Richard
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The Departing Soul

Those who believe in the existence of a spirit, soul, or whatever you choose to call the energy life force that comprises and animates us all, often wonder whether there are any physical manifestations taking place when the body dies and that energy is ultimately released.

The literature of paranormal research is replete with a diverse range of accounts and observations of this process taking place. Perhaps the most widely-known attempt to scientifically test the validity of the soul having some form of material existence was the now-infamous ‘21 Grams Experiment,’ conducted in 1901 by Dr. Duncan MacDougall.

MacDougall’s concept was a simple one: if the human spirit or soul had any form of mass whatsoever, then he should — theoretically speaking, and given a sufficiently sensitive weighing apparatus — be able to detect a change in mass, once the soul had departed the physical body and headed off for pastures new.

He made arrangements to weigh the bodies of six terminally-ill patients. As the point of death approached, MacDougall placed their bodies on a scale which was so accurate that, when properly calibrated, was capable of detecting even the tiniest changes in weight. For good measure, he also weighed the bodies of several dogs as they died. MacDougall was nothing if not a completist.

To this day, the results of this experiment remain controversial — although most scientists and physicians agree that a sample size of six patients is far too small a statistical base from which to derive meaningful results. Although some of the patients did indeed lose a very small amount of weight after death (with the greatest amount being 21.3 grams, hence the retroactive naming of the experiment) skeptics have rightly pointed out that peri- and post-mortem fluid loss through the pores of the skin in the form of sweat could potentially explain that. Supporting the skeptical case even further is the fact that none of the canines lost any weight, and dogs do not sweat at all.

At the time of writing, some 117 years later, nobody has seen fit to repeat MacDougall’s experiment, despite the advances in technology and medicine that the 21st century has brought.

Although science has yet to prove or disprove the existence of a soul, there is no shortage of eyewitness accounts from the bedsides of dying patients which suggest that something often appears to leave the human body at the moment of death.

Amanda was caring for an elderly gentleman one evening when she experienced one of the strangest events of her entire life. Her patient was dying of cancer, and sadly had no friends or family members to support him during his final days. For this reason, Amanda made it a priority to spend as much time as she possibly could in keeping him company. After all, she believed that nobody should ever have to die all alone.

After she had made her evening rounds of the ward, Amanda went to the old man’s bedside and sat with him, just holding his hand and reassuring him quietly.

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