Man spent 18 days in a coma after a skateboarding crash, then he says Jesus met him eye to eye and told him this

Gabe Poirot has shared his vivid memories of an encounter with Jesus during an 18-day coma, one he fell into after a catastrophic skateboarding accident at the age of 20. The account was first highlighted by UNILAD, drawing fresh attention to the intense, personal nature of near-death experiences that have fascinated researchers for decades.

The accident itself was severe. Gabe was traveling at roughly 30mph on his skateboard when he struck an object in the road, went airborne, and hit his head directly on the sidewalk. Because he wasn’t wearing a helmet, he suffered a shattered skull and catastrophic head injuries. His friends reportedly gathered around him to pray while he was unconscious, and Gabe later said he was aware of those prayers even while in the coma.

In an appearance on The Lila Rose Show, a Christianity podcast, Gabe described being “suctioned up to an appointment with Him.” He recalled that Jesus was roughly 5ft 11 to 6ft tall, met him eye to eye, had darker, Middle Eastern-toned skin, and medium-length hair that was “slightly curly.” He told the host that no painting could do justice to what he saw, adding, “There is no image that you can hold in your hands that does him justice.” He previously told The Christian Broadcasting Network that the environment he witnessed was a “city of pure glory, pure light, pure love.”

Researchers have long debated what near-death experiences actually reveal

Near-death experiences, or NDEs, have been documented since the 1890s, when figures like Victor Egger and Albert Heim began collecting accounts from soldiers and climbers. By 1975, psychiatrist Raymond Moody popularized the term as an umbrella for phenomena including out-of-body experiences, tunnels of light, and life reviews.

Modern guidelines published in 2022 now often refer to these as recalled experiences of death, or REDs, with researchers working to distinguish authentic events occurring during cardiac arrest from ICU delirium or drug-induced states. Amid ongoing cases where medical care during life-threatening incidents has come under scrutiny, an Oregon teen’s fatal infection lawsuit has drawn renewed attention to how medical staff respond in critical moments.

The scientific community remains divided on how to interpret NDE accounts. Spiritual models suggest they point to an immaterial soul leaving the body, while physiological models point to cerebral hypoxia, neurotransmitter activity, or stimulation of the temporal lobes. Neuroscientists Olaf Blanke and Sebastian Dieguez have proposed that specific types of NDEs may stem from damage or stimulation in different regions of the brain.

Large-scale studies like the AWARE study, led by Sam Parnia, have attempted to scientifically measure consciousness during cardiac arrest, though results remain debated. Not all reported experiences are transcendent, either; some people describe encountering complete darkness or a quiet, formless void rather than light or religious figures.

Psychologist Kenneth Ring, who has studied NDEs extensively, found that survivors frequently develop a greater appreciation for life, reduced fear of death, and a renewed sense of purpose. The experiences tend to prompt lasting personal change regardless of how they are interpreted.

Gabe’s account joins thousands of similar reports that researchers continue to examine for what they might reveal about consciousness at the boundary of life, a subject that has drawn renewed public interest amid stories like the 2009 death inside Utah’s Nutty Putty Cave, which was permanently sealed shut with the victim still inside.