A Tennessee construction superintendent revealed that he was clinically dead for 45 minutes during emergency appendicitis surgery, during which he claimed he was given a tour of heaven by a figure who he was sure was Jesus Christ.

He spoke with UNILAD about the experience. He started feeling uneasy during his son’s wedding, something that he attributed to the flu. However, he found it necessary to go to a medical center after the rehearsal dinner and wedding had wrapped up. It was revealed that he was suffering from appendicitis and was rushed to surgery.

McKinsey said that just before anesthesia was administered, he saw a man enter the operating room. He recognized this man as Jesus, despite his appearance not being completely in line with how he is popularly depicted. He described the figure as wearing a white robe, with darker skin than commonly depicted in Western imagery, a short dark beard, wavy dark hair, and dark greenish-blue eyes. McKinsey said the figure took his hand and told him he wanted to answer his prayer.

“[He] had a short dark brown beard with dark wavy hair. His eyes were a dark greenish blue. Even though he looked different, I knew immediately that it was Jesus. As he came closer to me, he held out his hand and said, ‘I want to answer your prayer’. I was very confused and thought I must have died, but I took his hand.”

— Mike McKinsey, Unilad

McKinsey then said he was led to a landscape: a hillside of dark green, “perfectly manicured” grass, followed by a scene of pastel flowers overlooking a fog-covered city. He described a large golden dome near the city’s center, smaller domes, and steeples without crosses. In the distance, he said, was a mountain covered in pine-like trees beneath a sky filled with vivid red, orange, purple, and blue hues, despite there being no visible sun. He also recalled streaks of light crossing the sky, one of which he said struck him and left him feeling warm and loved.

“The only thing that I could feel, if you could imagine, absolute love and peace, there wasn’t anything else to be felt.”

— Mike McKinsey, Roundtripdeath

He would then reveal that, overcome with emotion, he would sink to his knees, which caused him to be pulled out of the vision. He then woke up in the hospital’s intensive care unit.

Researchers have stated that between 10% and 20% of people report having a near-death experience at some point, as reported by UNILAD. A 2023 study on the matter found that common features include a sense of inner peace, out-of-body sensations, the perception of moving through a tunnel, and heightened sensory awareness. McKinsey’s account joins several similar stories that have circulated in recent years from people who say they encountered religious figures or otherworldly scenes during medical emergencies.

Disclaimer: Inquisitr could not independently confirm the facts of this incident and is reporting based on the information available.