A man who survived a devastating skateboarding accident has described what he says happened while he spent 18 days in a coma.
Gabe Poirot was 20 when he fell from his skateboard while traveling at around 30 mph.
He was not wearing a helmet, and the crash caused a traumatic brain injury and a fractured skul
While unconscious, Gabe says he experienced what he believes was a near-death experience.
He claims he became separated from his body, encountered Jesus Christ and witnessed what he understood to be heaven.
Gabe Poirot’s skateboarding accident left him in a coma
Gabe’s extraordinary account began with a serious skateboarding accident when he was just 20 years old.
He was traveling at approximately 30 mph when he fell and suffered a major head injury.
Because he was not wearing a helmet, the crash caused significant damage, including a fractured skull and traumatic brain injury.
Doctors placed Gabe into a coma, where he remained for 18 days.
Gabe says he became aware of himself outside his physical body during that time.
He claims he could see his own body from above and recognized that he was somehow separate from it.
“It was pretty wild because I was above my own body,” he shared.
“I looked at it and said ‘Wow, that’s me but that’s not me because I am fully alive now.’ It was just my body. Like, that was it.”
He then described being taken somewhere else, saying: “Then I was suctioned up, not just to a place, the heaven I was headed for isn’t just a destination. Heaven is a person.”
Gabe says the experience felt different from a dream and became what he believes was an encounter with Jesus.
He has since spoken publicly about the experience, describing what he claims happened during the 18 days he was unconscious.
He says Jesus appeared before him in Heaven
Gabe says his experience continued with an encounter with Jesus Christ.
He described Jesus as between 5 feet 11 inches and 6 feet tall, with darker-toned skin that appeared close to Middle Eastern.
He also said Jesus had medium-length, slightly curly hair and was 33 years old.
The encounter initially made Gabe nervous because of how he viewed Jesus.
“I was concerned who I would be in such a holy, reverent place. This is the King of Kings. This isn’t some normal Joe.”
Gabe said Jesus did not communicate with him through an ordinary spoken language.
Instead, he described the communication as something he felt internally.
He said Jesus did not speak “in an audible language.”
Gabe described the “words” as being “like spears to my heart” and said the encounter made him feel “so welcomed” and “so loved.”
He also described the surroundings as unlike anything he had experienced on Earth.
Gabe said the mountains, trees and wind appeared to produce a shared sound.
“The mountains and the trees,” he explained. “As the wind hits the leaves, they’ll blow back and forth and they have a note to them. They’ll sing ‘worthy is the lamb’.”
He then said the water joined in.
“And then the waves and the rivers of the waters of life will receive that same note and they’ll sing back, ‘worthy is the lamb’.”
The phrase has a biblical connection, appearing in Revelation 5:12.
Gabe says the experience also allowed him to see what was happening back on Earth.
He says he saw Earth and his family from Heaven
Gabe claims he could see events taking place on Earth while he was in what he understood to be heaven.
Some of what he described was disturbing.
He said he witnessed what he interpreted as ‘demonic forces’ influencing warring nations and presidents, along with what he called ‘chaos over the Earth’.
He also described seeing people praying for him while he remained unconscious
“I literally saw everyone praying for me from heaven’s perspective. The prayers seemed more real than even people.
“The prayers were their own structures, like highways that joined together and every prayer is gathered by Christ.”
One person Gabe specifically remembered was a family friend named Ginger.
While he was in his coma, Ginger prayed over him and later described the moment to the Christian Broadcasting Network.
“I looked at him and I said, Gabe, you know my voice. You know, when I pray, I know you can hear me.
“I know you’re unconscious, but I know that you know I’m here. I’m going to pray that you wake up. You’ve got to wake up. You cannot stay in this coma.”
Gabe says he later saw Ginger’s prayers and those of his family and friends coming together.
“I literally saw these bridges that were being formed,” he insisted.
“And sure enough, the bridges gathered. And then Jesus united himself with them, and they got bigger. And bigger and bigger.”
He continued: “And as everyone was on the Earth, I saw the prayers of those like Ginger. I saw her praying over my body. I saw my parents and my family and my friends and, I saw those prayers go right into the heart of Christ – it was those prayers that I was actually sent back on.”
Gabe says Jesus then sent him back to his body with a message to share what he had experienced.
He says he was told to ‘tell people who I really am’ and that his family should know he was ‘coming back soon’.
After 18 days, Gabe woke from the coma.
The four-word phrase Gabe says he heard in Heaven
One detail has remained particularly memorable in Gabe’s account.
He says the natural world around him appeared to join together through sound, with the trees, wind, waves and rivers producing the same declaration.
“The mountains and the trees,” he explained. “As the wind hits the leaves, they’ll blow back and forth and they have a note to them. They’ll sing ‘worthy is the lamb’.”
Gabe then said the water responded with the same words.
“And then the waves and the rivers of the waters of life will receive that same note and they’ll sing back, ‘worthy is the lamb’.”
The phrase appears in Revelation 5:12 and became one of the central details of Gabe’s description of the experience.
For Gabe, the words were part of an encounter he says changed his understanding of faith, prayer and heaven.
His story remains a personal account of what he believes happened while he was unconscious following the skateboarding accident. The experience has not been independently established as described.
However, Gabe has continued to speak about it publicly and says the events remain among the most significant experiences of his life.
After describing his accident, his alleged encounter with Jesus and the prayers he says he witnessed from heaven, one four-word phrase stands out above the rest.