DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Many people wonder what happens when you die, but a Daytona Beach man has lived to tell the tale. William Bacelieri was revived last week after being dead for almost an hour.
Bacelieri, an Air Force Special Ops veteran and recent cancer survivor, began experiencing chest pains last week. He went to the hospital at AdventHealth Daytona Beach to get checked out, only to face one of the most life-altering battles of his life.
Of course it would change your outlook on life; that doesn’t happen every day,” he told News 6.
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Bacelieri died for about 45 to 50 minutes, during which he went into cardiac arrest three times. Doctors and nurses said they performed compressions and repeatedly shocked his heart.
During this time, Bacelieri said he had a vision or dream.
“I showed up in the jungle. There were vines and this gold wall. I’m standing there staring at it when this huge tiger face imprinted its face into the wall. It wouldn’t let me in,” Bacelieri described.
Bacelieri also underwent open-heart surgery before he woke up.
Doctors at AdventHealth emphasize that surviving after 45 minutes of being dead is extremely uncommon. The surprises didn’t end there.
“When the doctor came in and said ‘now be prepared because he might have some brain damage,’ and then when he started moving all his parts and he started talking and knew what was going on and was coherent, none of us could believe it,” said his wife, Kathy.
The doctors and nurses who worked to revive him said it’s a moment that will stick with them.
“He’ll never forget that, and we will never forget him. Certain patients never leave us; we think about them all the time, and he definitely is one,” said Terri Shelton, an ICU nurse.
Bacelieri is now resting up and hopes to be home by Valentine’s Day. When asked about his plans after leaving the hospital, he said, “I’d like to mow my yard!”
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