Health
‘Approaching the Light’: Peter Fenwick and Stories of Near-Death Experiences
I didn’t fully understand the limits of my body until this past June, when I fell down my fire escape and floated outside myself in a near-death experience, much like the ones Peter Fenwick — a psychiatrist who researched end-of-life phenomena — documented over the course of his career. (Dr. Fenwick died on Nov. 22 at 89.)
I was at my own housewarming party, standing on the fire escape with two friends, when I fell, tumbling around 12 feet and hitting my head. I lost consciousness for several minutes.
As my friends tell it, the paramedics arrived quickly, detached the screen from a window on the second floor and hauled me downstairs in a stretcher. As they loaded me into the ambulance, I rose above myself and watched the fanfare: the concerned neighbors stepping into the street; the pale pink of sunset; my own body, small and far away in the stretcher as my roommate held my palm and my friend held my ankle. Their touch snapped me back into consciousness. I immediately felt pain and begged for water.
It wasn’t the first time I’d had what felt like an out-of-body experience. When I was a teenager, I became fascinated by astral projection — intentional out-of-body travel — and began to put it into practice at night. One evening, I hurtled toward the ceiling and watched myself sleep. A line tugged out from my sternum to my belly button. It resembled an umbilical cord: silver and long as a rope.
I had a similar sensation after my fall, albeit without the cord. The doctors diagnosed a severe concussion, and I spent the next three weeks recovering in my new home. At first, I struggled to derive meaning from my sudden proximity to death. Then I thought about fragility — and the thousands of minute ways humans evade death every day without knowing it — and my experience concretized into a newfound appreciation of our bodies’ capacity for self-preservation and a diminished fear of death.
I was reminded of my near-death experience when I learned that The New York Times, where I work, would be publishing Dr. Fenwick’s obituary.
His 1995 book, “The Truth in the Light,” which he wrote with his wife, Elizabeth, included anecdotes from more than 300 people who recounted having near-death experiences — which he categorized with labels like “out of the body,” “approaching the light,” “meeting relatives” and “the life review.” Below are some of the stories he collected.
Meeting Relatives
In 1987, Dawn Gillott was in a hospital in England with microplasma pneumonia and undergoing emergency surgery in the intensive therapy unit when she suddenly felt herself floating above her body and through a tunnel, where she came upon an open field.
There was a bench seat on the right where my Grampi sat (he had been dead seven years). I sat next to him. He asked me how I was and the family. I said I was happy and content and all my family were fine.
He said he was worried about my son; my son needed his mother. I told Grampi I didn’t want to go back, I wanted to stay with him. But Grampi insisted I go back for my children’s sake. I then asked if he would come for me when my time came. He started to answer, “Yes, I will be back in four —” then my whole body seemed to jump. I look around and saw I was back in the I.T.U.
Approaching the Light
Avon Pailthorpe was driving on a dark, rainy day in 1986 when her car aquaplaned and she went into a spin. She then felt herself shooting, head first, into a tunnel.
As the tunnel began to lighten, there were presences. They were not people and I didn’t see anything but I was aware of their minds. They were debating whether I should go back. This is what made me so safe; I knew that I had absolutely no responsibility to make any decision. This is an almost unknown situation for me, and it was wonderfully liberating. I also knew I could not influence what decision they made, but that whatever it should be it would be right.
The Life Review
Allan Pring was given anesthesia while undergoing minor surgery in 1979 and quickly lost consciousness.
I experienced the review of my life which extended from early childhood and included many occurrences that I had completely forgotten. My life passed before me in a momentary flash but it was entire, even my thoughts were included. Some of the contents caused me to be ashamed but there were one or two I had forgotten about of which I felt quite pleased. All in all, I knew that I could have lived a much better life but it could have been a lot worse.
Amisha Padnani contributed research.
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For some men, March Madness isn’t just about brackets — it’s also prime time for a vasectomy.
Previous research has shown that demand for the procedure tends to spike during the NCAA Division I men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments, which are held every spring.
Some surgeons have agreed that this is a real phenomenon, largely because the steady stream of games offers the perfect activity for men recovering on the couch.
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A vasectomy is a simple surgical procedure for men that blocks the vas deferens, the tube that transports sperm, serving as a permanent form of contraception.
Recovery typically takes a few days to a week, with doctors recommending rest for 48 hours and light activity soon after.
Previous research has shown that demand for vasectomies tends to spike during the NCAA Division I men’s and women’s college basketball tournaments, which are held every spring. (iStock)
David Gentile, MD, chief of the department of urology at Highland Hospital, recently spoke to the University of Rochester Medical Center about the uptick in vasectomies during March Madness.
“It’s a great excuse to watch without interruption.”
“We tell patients they should plan on going home and putting their feet up after a vasectomy, so timing the procedure to watch some games while you recover works well,” he said.
“And it’s a great excuse to watch without interruption, as you won’t be able to do physical labor around the house while you’re recovering.”
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Jim Dupree, MD, associate professor of urology at Michigan Medicine, has also spoken about the trend.
“Major sporting events are a popular time for men to schedule a vasectomy because we advise them to take it easy for two to three days after the procedure,” he said in a press release for Michigan Medicine.
A vasectomy is a simple surgical procedure for men that blocks the vas deferens, the tube that transports sperm, serving as a permanent form of contraception. (iStock)
“For most men, this means sitting on the couch in front of their television, and sporting events offer them something to watch while resting.”
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Yet another surgeon, Dr. Ali Dabaja, director of male reproductive and sexual medicine at the Vattikuti Urology Institute at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, weighed in on the topic in 2024.
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“After a vasectomy, we ask men to rest, not to lift anything heavy, and to go back to light duties during that week. So, timing the procedure for watching some games while you recover works well, and it’s a great excuse to watch March Madness without interruption,” he told the Urology Care Foundation.
“Historically, we have usually seen a rise in vasectomy consultations and vasectomies during March Madness,” he went on. “Other urology offices have reported a rise in vasectomies between 20% to 40%.”
“After a vasectomy, we ask men to rest, not to lift anything heavy, and to go back to light duties during that week, a surgeon said. (iStock)
A 2018 study published in the journal Urology found that March was one of the higher-volume months for vasectomy procedures, but the highest peaks were actually later in the year, particularly November and December.
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There were some limitations to that study, primarily that the monthly variation was observational, and the data lacked context of patients’ behaviors and scheduling.
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A pesticide commonly used in America’s food supply has been linked to Parkinson’s disease, new research suggests.
A UCLA study published in the journal Springer Nature Link suggests that exposure to chlorpyrifos could increase the risk of the neurological disease.
The chemical is often used on agricultural products like soybeans, fruit and nut trees, broccoli, cauliflower and other row crops, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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The study compared 829 people with Parkinson’s to 824 people without the disease over a 45-year period, focusing on their proximity to chlorpyrifos.
The researchers also conducted mouse experiments, where mice inhaled the pesticide as humans would for 11 weeks. Experiments were also carried out on zebrafish to study cell-level brain damage.
Chlorpyrifos is often used on agricultural products like soybeans, fruit and nut trees, broccoli, cauliflower and other row crops, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (iStock)
In humans, the study revealed that long-term exposure to chlorpyrifos led to more than a 2.5 times higher risk of Parkinson’s.
In mice, exposure to the pesticide caused movement problems similar to Parkinson’s symptoms, loss of dopamine-producing neurons, increased brain inflammation and build-up of harmful proteins.
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Zebrafish suffered brain cell death and damage linked to failure in the cell’s “cleanup system,” according to the study press release.
Dr. Jeff Bronstein, director of the Movement Disorders Program at UCLA and professor of neurology and molecular toxicology, noted that previous human studies also suggested an association between chlorpyrifos exposure and Parkinson’s.
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“[We were] surprised that the mechanism of toxicity was apparent in both mice and zebrafish,” he said. “We rarely find such consistent results in different animal models.”
A researcher commented that the consistency in results between human and animal subjects is “rare.” (iStock)
The researcher emphasized that the association between pesticide exposure and Parkinson’s was “very strong,” and the longer someone was exposed, the higher the risk became.
“People should avoid exposure to CPF and similar pesticides (organophosphates) by not using them in their home, eating organics, and washing fruits and vegetables before eating them,” Bronstein advised.
Study limitations
The study did have some limitations, the researchers acknowledged, primarily that it was observational, meaning it shows an association but cannot prove causation.
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It also estimated exposure based on participants’ locations, and did not measure diet, indoor exposure or personal lifestyle behaviors. Additionally, the results of the animal models can’t be translated directly to humans.
There was also the possibility that chlorpyrifos was used along with other chemicals, which means it could be difficult to measure its specific impact, the study noted.
Chlorpyrifos is used to control different kinds of pests, like termites, mosquitoes and roundworms, among crops. (iStock)
Industry reaction
Chlorpyrifos is used to control different kinds of pests, like termites, mosquitoes and roundworms, among crops, according to the National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC) at Oregon State University.
People can be exposed to the pesticide by breathing it in or by consuming contaminated food or water.
In 2021, the EPA banned the use of chlorpyrifos on food crops, but a federal appeals court overturned that decision in 2023, allowing its use to resume on some crops while regulators revisit the rule.
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In January 2026, the EPA issued an update outlining plans to move forward with a rule that would ban most uses of chlorpyrifos.
“Chlorpyrifos is subject to registration review, a process required under FIFRA (the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act) in which registered pesticides are comprehensively evaluated every 15 years against current safety standards and the latest scientific evidence,” the EPA said in a statement sent to Fox News Digital.
“EPA is currently developing a revised human health risk assessment for chlorpyrifos as part of that review, and will consider this study alongside any other relevant submissions,” the agency said in a statement sent to Fox News Digital. (Getty)
“EPA is currently developing a revised human health risk assessment for chlorpyrifos as part of that review, and will consider this study alongside any other relevant submissions. Where the science calls for stronger protections or tolerance revocations, EPA will act without hesitation and without delay.”
Fox News Digital reached out to several manufacturers of the chemical for comment.
“People should avoid exposure to CPF and similar pesticides.”
Corteva, an Indiana agrichemical company formed in 2019 through the merger of Dow Chemical and DuPont, announced in 2020 that it would end production of chlorpyrifos within the year, citing declining sales.
In April 2022, the German chemical company BASF requested the cancellation of its pesticide registrations for products containing chlorpyrifos.
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“BASF does not manufacture chlorpyrifos and does not have any pesticide registrations issued by the U.S. EPA for chlorpyrifos-containing products,” the company told Fox News Digital.
No products from Corteva or BASF were included in the study linking chlorpyrifos to Parkinson’s disease.
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