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body ached. My lungs burned for air.
I started fighting to get to the sur-
face, to breathe. It was the way back
to life. I kicked my legs as hard as I
could. My arms raked at the water in
desperation. I wanted to stop, to
rest, but I knew I couldn’t. Keep go-
ing, I thought. For them.
My hand broke through the sur-
face, but I couldn’t push myself any
higher. I sank down, past all the
images I had passed on the way up.
The surface faded away. I was sink-
ing into darkness.
Then the water whooshed down-
ward in a whirlpool, as if someone
had pulled a plug. It swirled around
me and out an unseen drain.“EVANS, YOU HAVE TO WAKE UP!”
I sucked in a huge gasp of hot
desert air.
“Stay with us!” Hands slapped my
face. My eyes shot open. The medic
and the other soldier were leaning
over me. I was still on the ground
where I had lost consciousness.
The medic had just drained the blood
from my lungs. I could breathe
again. I was alive—for now. I could
hear a helicopter overhead. I was
getting out of there. I grabbed hold
of the medic’s shoulder and clung
for dear life as I began my transport
to the nearest medical base.
The road to recovery was long
and difficult. I was stuck in bed for
months. The doctors warned me I
might be medically discharged. The
idea of a future family, the reason
why I’d wanted to live, felt unattain-
able without a career. I wondered
if what I experienced was real or justsome product of my oxygen-deprived
brain. I fell into a deep depression.
Then my mom and stepdad intro-
duced me to their friend’s daughter,
1LU:OLOHKVќLYLK[VJOH[^P[OTL
after hearing that I was going through
a hard time, and my mom thought
speaking with someone my own age
might help cheer me up.
What began as a once-a-week
phone call with Jen turned into talking
every day. She was an incredible
woman. She was so full of patience
and hope and faith. She told me
about her life, how she was in school
to become a teacher. Over time, I
opened up to her too. With Jen’s
encouragement, I made a full recov-
ery. But I decided not to reenlist in
the military. I knew the path my life
needed to take, and I knew with
absolute certainty who would share
that path with me.
Jen and I just celebrated our thir-
teenth wedding anniversary. We
have two children—a girl and a boy.
And when they say, “We love you,
Daddy,” their voices are more famil-
iar to me than anyone will ever
know.Another fascinating near-death experience at Guideposts.org/AndrewsNDEBud today with his wife and kids