Hey, welcome to Round Trip Death everybody. I
just got done interviewing Shanna Arnold, which
is going to be the focus of the show today. And
I wanted to bring up a couple of things. One
is that she was in a horrible traffic accident
and ended up with a traumatic brain injury. As
you know, these things can affect one's speech
and movements and a lot of other things physically
and even mentally in some ways. But Shanna is
just the sweetest thing. And her story isn't
one that's all flashy that you're going to go
yell at all your buddies going, wow, God came
down and visited this lady and there was thunder
and lightning and everything. No, it's just a
brief, sweet story. The fact that there isn't
a lot of explanation about it doesn't make it
any less true or any less of something for us
to learn from. So as you're listening give Shanna
some grace and Look for what to take away is
for you. It's probably gonna be different for
all of us All right. Thank you. Let's jump right
into it From the time that they pronounced me
that was a good 45 minutes They cut my clothes
and then they paddled my heart my heart stopped
and I could see people screaming and crying but
I didn't realize that was actually my physical
body because I was somewhere else. The only thing
that I could feel, if you can imagine, absolute
love and peace. There wasn't anything else to
be felt. I was greeted by people I had known
in the past. I'm back home again. Incredibly
safe and felt at home. Welcome, welcome to Round
Trip Death everybody. And I have in front of
me today, Shanna Arnold, and we're so happy to
meet you, Shanna. How are you today? I'm good,
thanks. I'm Eric. How are you? I'm great. I've
been looking forward to our interview today.
Before we jump into your near death experience,
tell us just a little bit about you. Who is Shanna?
I'm Shanna Arnold. I'm from Texas and I have
a mother to two little girls who are really outgoing.
And fun. How old are they? They are 13 and 8.
And you're in Lubbock, right? Yes. I'm trying
to think which university is in Lubbock. Texas
Tech. Okay. We'll be playing them in football
this year. Yes. They're supposed to be good this
year, but we're going to win anyway. I don't
think so. And you've got a red shirt, so you
must be a big fan. Yes. All right. Well, hey,
let's jump back in time. I want to get right
into your experience. There's a lot to talk about.
We're going to go back to, I believe it's 2003
when you were in this horrible car crash. Would
you just give us a little bit of lead up to it?
I don't need a whole bunch of detail about where
you were going, but how did you find yourself
in this car and what time of day was it and what
happened? Okay. I was going to a football game
with two of my friends. I'm on our way home from
the football game. It was around midnight or
so we came home in the car and I had a feeling
that I was I stopped in front seat with my seatbelt
on and then I had a feeling that I need to move
to the back seat and I I didn't really Obey the
prompting at first. I was just like, okay, I'm
just gonna interject I Saw a picture of the car
you sent me and if you had been in the front
seat we wouldn't be talking right now. No. So
you found yourself to the back seat and then
what happened? I told the driver that my friend
didn't have her seatbelt on and she said it's
okay we'll be home in a little bit don't worry
about it we'll be home and so I struggled with
my seatbelt on and then I just fell asleep I
guess and then I woke up at in the hospital three
and a half months later so a lot of what happened
as far as the accident people had to fill in
for you correct yes yes what have they told you
what happened well see at the time i didn't even
know i started high school yet i thought i was
still in junior high that's how much time i lost
and i was in high school for actually six weeks
but i don't remember any those six years at all
they told me that i went to Monterey High School
and that I was on the softball team and I remember
playing on the softball team when I was still
in junior high. I played my freshman year. I
went every day to the high school from junior
high to play softball. So what happened in the
accident? What caused the accident? My friend
who's driving says that a car was coming up close
behind her really fast. And that she's moving
on the way. But some people just assume she fell
asleep at the wheel. So, I don't know. And then
the car rolled? Yes. The car flipped four times
and it ejected me and my friend, my best friend
who's next to me, out of the vehicle and she
was thrown 50 feet and I was thrown 150 feet.
And my friend, the driver, Courtney, found my
friend about 50 feet away from the car and she
was pretty much gone and they couldn't find me
at all and so she called 911 she couldn't find
her phone anywhere so she said a prayer to find
her shoes so she could find her phone and then
after she did that she found her shoes and then
her right shoe was my mom's cell phone that flew
out of my pocket and landed in her shoe Okay,
you flew 150 feet and somehow the phone landed
in her shoe. That's not a coincidence, is it?
No. Miracle. Yeah, I like miracles. Even weird
ones like that are cool. So how were your two
friends? Well one unfortunately passed away.
And my friend who's older than me who's driving,
she walked away from the car accident. Okay,
so you were thrown 150 feet. So half the length
of a football field. Yes. Could have been in
any direction. How did they finally find you?
They found me through a helicopter. Wow. And
what kind of shape were you in? I was not...
I broke my pelvis and everything and I just...
I didn't have too many... injuries to my face
or anything, which was a shock. You know, I flew
out of the car 150 feet, so you'd think there'd
be more messed up, but I really wasn't. But you
had a traumatic brain injury, right? Yes. The
most severe thing that happened to me was my
TBI. Any broken bones? I broke my pelvis and
several other bones, like my legs or something,
but it wasn't... Too bad, I don't think, but
I was in a coma for three and a half months,
so I don't remember. Sometimes that's a blessing,
I guess, to not remember all the trauma. But
man, that is a long time. And you were in the
hospital overall for even a couple more months
after that, right? Yeah, for about five and a
half months. From the hospital, they sent me
to a neurological rehab center in a different
town about six hours away for another whole year
after that. Do you mind if I ask, and we didn't
talk about this before, but how did your parents
deal with all this? My parents were... My mom
wrote me a journal. And in that journal, she
wrote that my mom and I were just shocked, you
know, they're too numb to cry. And they're just
so scared and only the hospital, they didn't
know which hospital to go to. And so they're
trying to get a hold of my football coach. Anyways,
they saw the Monterey bus, the school football
bus, and so they followed them to tell them what
happened. Then they decided to go to Covenant
because that's where the helicopters land, at
Covenant Hospital. And they got there and I had
just barely landed when they told my parents
that I was there. Yeah, wow. As a parent, I just
can't imagine getting that phone call. All right.
You had told me that you had some kind of a near
-death experience, in other words, a time where
you felt like you were out of your body in the
spirit world. Would you jump into that now? Yes.
After the accident happened, I didn't know what
had happened, you know, so I was walking with
my best friend, my very best friend who was next
to me in the car. We were walking somewhere and
it was just kind of a dark space. I didn't know
what was around me. I couldn't see anything around
me. I could just see her. And we were giving
each other a hug over and over and over. We were
both crying. And I said, I'll see you again.
I'll do your work for you. And then that was
the last thing I remember seeing. And then after
the accident, after I woke up from my coma, people
would tell me that Janelle had passed away. I
said, no, she didn't. I argued with them. No,
I didn't think that she really passed away because,
I mean, I just saw her. And I really didn't realize
what had happened to me. Did you see anybody
else? No. Just her. Where do you think you were?
I mean, this could just be a dream, right? Or
was it something more than that? You know, I
don't really know actually because we just were
walking somewhere like a hallway kind of, I guess,
not really a hallway, but like a dark space and
we were hugging each other. That's all I remember.
You don't remember any words that were expressed
or anything else? Oh, yeah. He said, well, I'll
see you again. And I said, yes, I'll see you
again. Okay. What kind of feelings do you remember
from that experience? I was feeling scared because
I didn't know where I was, but You know, my best
friend was with me, so I couldn't have been somewhere
too bad. Yeah, we were just hugging each other,
so it was a good experience. And now that you've
had time to reflect on it for a few years, what
do you think it was? I don't want to try to put
words in your mouth, but tell me what you think
happened. What do you think this was? I think
we were at Heaven's Gate, I think, personally,
that the Savior was not ready. Yeah, for me to
come because I still have work to do here on
earth. I married my covert husband. I introduced
him to the gospel, married him, and brought two
wonderful girls into this world. Well, that's
awesome. I'm glad you made the recovery. What
has your life been like since? Has this changed
anything in you? Oh, yes, tons, lots. Like I
said, I used to be an athlete. But I can no longer
do sports or anything. I mean, I forgot how to
do everything. I had to relearn everything. In
the hospital, I was considered to be at a second
grade reading level, where I woke up from a coma.
But after I did my rehab and stuff, I returned
back to school and worked as hard as I could.
And I graduated the following year with honors.
Well, that's awesome. So with the other people
of your age? Yes. Congratulations on that. Thank
you. How has this changed you personally though,
besides sports and things like that? Is Shanna
the same person that she was back then? No, I'm
not. I think I have a closer relationship with
my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I mean,
before I thanked God for the talent He gave me
for playing softball. Because I was you know,
I really guess up I think several player and
so and that time came from him and My dad's talking
to me talking to me and he said be sure to think
He goes, do you know why you're so good? and
I said Because I practice like was yes, but why
are you so good though? I said Why dad? He said
who do you think gave you that talent? And I
said, my father in Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ
gave me that talent. And he says, yes, be sure
to thank him in all that you do. And so I was
sure to thank him for the talent I had, playing
softball. And how do you spread that message?
We should be thankful for all that God has given
us. Have you told your kids about this? Yes,
multiple times. How do they react to it? Well,
um... At first they were amazed, you know, but
now that their fears have passed, then I don't
know how one daughter or older feels about it
now, but they think that I'm pretty amazing though
for still being here, even though they argued
with me a lot. So I talked to a lot of people
that have had, for lack of a better term, deeper
near -death experiences. In other words, They
remember a lot from the spirit world or heaven
or however they describe it. And they come back
with absolutely no fear of death at all. How
about you? Actually, I'm looking forward to death.
I don't say that because after death, you know,
I won't be living in this mortal body. My mortal
body has been broken many times and it's not
the same as it was. walk different, I talk different,
I think differently, and I just miss the old
me, you know? I want to go back to what I was.
What do you think it's going to be like after
you die? Where are you going to go? What's it
going to be like? I'll have lots of friends and
I'll run up to them and I'll actually run up
to them and say how much I miss them. Is there
anything else that you'd like to tell our listeners?
I think you should treat others with kindness
and respect because you don't know what battles
someone else faces. A lot of people in this world
are suffering and if you take the time to know
someone's story before judging them, then you'll
think a whole lot differently about them. How
about someone who may be struggling with the
death of a loved one? That there's a reuniting
in death that will be reunited again with those
who have passed on for us. A reunion of sorts.
Yes. Last thing, what is it that you're looking
forward to the most? Let me back up a sec because
I just want to make sure that people understand
when someone on this show says something like
they're looking forward to death, it doesn't
mean they're going to commit suicide today. Yeah,
yeah, yeah. Please explain how you feel about
that. In other words, I'm guessing what you would
say is something along the lines of I'm happy
here and I and I'm loving my life and It's going
to be great to go to the spirit world someday
whatever your thoughts are on a topic like that.
I Do think my life here is great right now. It
hasn't charged and hardships in it but I'm just
looking forward to Being reunited again with
all those who have gone before me. All right,
Shanna. Thank you for your time. I appreciate
you being with me. Thank you, Eric. And say hi
to your family, the hobby and the two girls.
Hi, Dane. Hi, Olivia. Hi, Bradley. Love you guys.
Thanks again for listening and sharing this podcast.
Don't forget to hit the follow or subscribe button
and sign up for our newsletter at RoundTripDeath
.com. If you want to share your near -death experience,
or if you have questions or comments about the
show, send an email to eric at roundtripdeath
.com. Until then, I wish you everything good
that you're looking for in this life and the
next.