What It's Like To...

What It's Like to Survive a Death Event


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In July 1990, Joyce Mikal-Flynn died after finishing a swimming race and sinking to the bottom of the pool.  After 22 minutes of CPR, she was revived--but her recovery took much longer than that.  One of her doctors later said, "You are the luckiest person I've ever met."  In this episode, Dr. Mikal-Flynn describes her death-defying--and life-altering--experience, her road back to health, and how she found new purpose in helping others grow and thrive.  She is now a professor and an expert in resilience and recovery; she also has developed a system called metahabilitation, which helps veterans, first responders, people dealing with addiction, and others with post-traumatic growth.  Dr. Mikal-Flynn's story--and her work--are models of courage and resilience.

In this episode:

  • Describing the actual event (01:58)
  • What happened (medically)? (03:47)
  • Waking up in the hospital the first time, and the impact on her kids (09:15)
  • Beginning to rehab her body, and her brain (13:19)
  • Processing, making sense of (even finding positives in) the experience (17:07)
  • Learnings about post-traumatic growth (18:30)
  • Coming to appreciate "the little things" (21:49)
  • Describing metahabilitation and the steps involved (25:49)


Want to know more about Dr. Joyce Mikal-Flynn?

  • Find out about the upcoming conference: https://www.csus.edu/hhs/ptg-conference
  • Check out her website: drjmf.com 
  • Follow her on Instagram: @dr.jmf
  • Find her on Facebook: facebook.com/dr.jmf
  • Shop at their store: mkt.com/metahab
  • Buy the book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1642937274


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What It's Like To...By Elizabeth Pearson Garr

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