A neurosurgeon who gave an account of his near-death experience and journey into the afterlife in the best-selling “Proof of Heaven” is facing fire from doctors who treated him after his slip into a coma and say his book is part bunk.
“Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey Into the Afterlife,” written by Dr. Eben Alexander about his personal near-death experience, has sold almost 2 million copies and has been on best-seller lists for more than 35 weeks. But doctors who treated him say it’s filled with misstatements and inaccuracies, the Daily Mail reported.
For instance, Dr. Alexander recounts in one chapter how he screamed, “God help me,” the Daily Mail reported. But Dr. Laura Potter, the emergency room physician on staff the day he supposedly screamed that phrase said it didn’t happen. He had a tube down his throat that would have made such a scream impossible, she said, as the Daily Mail reported.
Dr. Potter also said Dr. Alexander didn’t slip into a come from e. coli bacterial meningitis, as he claims in his book. Rather, doctors placed him in a medically induced coma and he maintained consciousness — albeit he was hallucinating, she said.
Doctors who refute Dr. Alexander’s account of his trip to heaven also say that he has a past history of fabrication. They say he falsified medical records on one of his patients to disguise the fact he operated on the wrong spot during spine surgery, the Daily Mail reported.
Dr. Alexander’s response to the doctors’ claims: “I stand by every word in this book and have made its message the purpose of my life,” the Daily Mail reported.
An August article in Esquire also states that he hid a surgery-related mistake — and even made exaggerated claims about the weather.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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