
Where Science Ends and Wonder Begins in Riverside, Kathmandu
There is a moment during cardiac arrest when, by every measurable criterion, a person is dead — no heartbeat, no brain activity, no signs of consciousness. And yet, when these patients are resuscitated, a significant percentage report vivid experiences: traveling through a tunnel, encountering a brilliant light, meeting deceased relatives, undergoing a comprehensive review of their entire life. In Riverside, Kathmandu's hospitals, physicians have heard these reports and struggled to reconcile them with their medical training. Physicians' Untold Stories by Dr. Scott Kolbaba gives these physicians a voice, presenting their accounts of patients' near-death experiences alongside the growing body of research that suggests consciousness may be far more resilient than the brain that appears to house it.

About the Author
Dr. Scott J. Kolbaba, MD is an internist at Northwestern Medicine in Wheaton, Illinois. He interviewed more than 200 physicians about their most extraordinary experiences.

Physicians' Untold Stories
by Scott J. Kolbaba, MD • 4.5 stars (1018 reviews)
Miraculous experiences doctors are hesitant to share with their patients, or ANYONE!
Order on Amazon →A Marine Corps veteran, Mayo Clinic-trained internist, and Chicago Magazine Top Doctor — Dr. Kolbaba brings decades of credibility to these extraordinary accounts.
Medical Fact
Neonatal NDEs have been reported — infants who later described birth-related experiences they could not have learned about.
Physician Burnout & Wellness Near Riverside, Kathmandu
Physicians practicing in Riverside, Kathmandu, Bagmati work at the intersection of modern medicine and experiences that resist explanation. In conversations that rarely leave the break room or the on-call suite, doctors in and around Riverside, Kathmandu have reported encounters with phenomena that their training never prepared them for — from patients who describe verifiable details about events that occurred while they were clinically dead, to deathbed visions shared simultaneously by multiple family members, to recoveries that defy every prognostic model available.
The medical community in Riverside, Kathmandu includes physicians across every stage of their careers — residents navigating the exhaustion of training, mid-career practitioners balancing clinical demands with family life, and veteran physicians carrying decades of experiences that challenge the boundaries of conventional medicine. Burnout touches all of them differently, but a common thread runs through: the desire to remember why they chose medicine in the first place, and the rare but profound moments that remind them.
Physician Burnout by Specialty
Percentage reporting at least one symptom (Medscape, 2024)
Medical Fact
Dr. Mary Neal, an orthopedic surgeon, reported a detailed NDE during a kayaking accident in which she was submerged for over 15 minutes.
Physician Wellness, Grief & Finding Meaning Near Riverside, Kathmandu
The Midwest's land-grant university hospitals near Riverside, Kathmandu, Bagmati were built on the democratic principle that advanced medical care should be accessible to farmers' children and factory workers' families, not just the wealthy. This egalitarian ethos persists in the region's medical culture, where the quality of care you receive is not determined by your zip code but by the dedication of physicians who chose to practice where they're needed.
The Midwest's culture of understatement near Riverside, Kathmandu, Bagmati extends to how patients describe their symptoms—'a little discomfort' meaning severe pain, 'not quite right' meaning profoundly ill. Physicians who understand this linguistic modesty learn to multiply the Midwesterner's self-report by a factor of three. Healing begins with accurate assessment, and accurate assessment in the Midwest requires fluency in understatement.
Medical Fact
The human nose can detect over 1 trillion distinct scents, which is why certain smells in hospitals can trigger powerful memories of past patients.
Faith, Medicine & the Unexplained in Riverside, Kathmandu, Bagmati
The Midwest's revivalist tradition near Riverside, Kathmandu, Bagmati—camp meetings, tent revivals, Chautauqua circuits—created a culture where transformative spiritual experiences are not unusual. When a patient reports a hospital room vision, a near-death encounter with the divine, or a miraculous remission, the Midwest physician is less likely to reach for the psychiatric referral pad than their coastal counterpart. In the heartland, the extraordinary is part of the landscape.
The Midwest's deacon care programs near Riverside, Kathmandu, Bagmati assign specific congregants to visit, assist, and advocate for church members who are hospitalized. These deacons—often retired teachers, nurses, and social workers—provide a continuity of spiritual and practical care that the rotating staff of a modern hospital cannot match. They bring not just prayers but clean pajamas, home-cooked meals, and the reassurance that the community is holding the patient's place until they return.
Did You Know?
The most-read chapter of Physicians' Untold Stories is about a woman with MS who made an inexplicable, complete recovery.
Ghost Stories and the Supernatural Near Riverside, Kathmandu, Bagmati
Scandinavian immigrant communities near Riverside, Kathmandu, Bagmati brought a concept of the 'fylgja'—a spirit double that accompanies each person through life. Midwest nurses of Norwegian and Swedish descent occasionally report seeing a patient's fylgja standing beside the bed, visible only in peripheral vision. When the fylgja departs before the patient does, the nurses know what's coming—and they're rarely wrong.
The Chicago Fire of 1871 didn't just destroy buildings—it destroyed the medical infrastructure of the entire region, and hospitals near Riverside, Kathmandu, Bagmati that were built in its aftermath carry a fire anxiety that borders on the supernatural. Smoke alarms trigger without cause, fire doors close on their own, and the smell of smoke permeates rooms where no fire exists. The Great Fire's ghosts are still trying to escape.
Types of Phenomena in the Book
Distribution across 26 physician accounts
Did You Know?
The first successful separation of conjoined twins was performed in 1689 by Johannes Fatio in Switzerland.
Watch Dr. Kolbaba Share These Stories
Did You Know?
The first medical school in the United States was the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, founded in 1765.
Kathmandu: Where History, Medicine, and the Supernatural Converge
The Kathmandu Valley is one of the most spiritually saturated places on Earth, where Hindu, Buddhist, and shamanic traditions create a landscape dense with supernatural significance. Pashupatinath Temple, Nepal's holiest Hindu shrine, is where the dead are cremated on ghats beside the sacred Bagmati River, with sadhus and Aghori ascetics meditating among the ashes and skulls. The 'kumari'—a young girl chosen as the living incarnation of the Hindu goddess Taleju—lives in the Kumari Ghar palace in Kathmandu's Durbar Square, believed to possess divine powers until she reaches puberty. Buddhist stupas like Boudhanath and Swayambhunath are believed to radiate protective spiritual energy. Nepali shamans ('jhankris') are widely consulted for spirit-related illnesses, using drums, chanting, and animal sacrifices to negotiate with spirits. The Himalayan foothills surrounding Kathmandu are reputed to be home to the 'yeti,' with alleged sightings continuing to this day.
Kathmandu's medical traditions blend ancient Ayurvedic and Tibetan Buddhist medicine with modern healthcare in a unique synthesis. Bir Hospital, established in 1889, was Nepal's first modern medical facility, built at a time when the country was largely closed to the outside world. Traditional Tibetan medicine ('Sowa Rigpa'), practiced in monasteries throughout the Kathmandu Valley, uses herbal formulations, mineral compounds, and spiritual practices to treat illness. Nepal's challenging geography—with some communities accessible only by days of walking—has led to innovative healthcare delivery, including remote telemedicine programs and helicopter medical evacuations from Himalayan villages. The Kathmandu Valley is also home to practitioners of 'jhankri' shamanism, who enter trance states to diagnose and heal spiritual causes of illness, a practice that continues alongside modern medicine.
About the Book
Dr. Kolbaba holds faculty appointments and has been involved in medical education throughout his career.
Notable Locations in Kathmandu
Pashupatinath Temple cremation ghats: The sacred Hindu cremation grounds along the Bagmati River, where hundreds of bodies are burned daily on open pyres, are believed to be inhabited by spirits of the dead and are visited by sadhus (holy men) who meditate among the ashes.
Rangjung Yeshe Gomde (meditation caves): Ancient Buddhist meditation caves in the Kathmandu Valley, where monks have practiced for centuries, are said to be inhabited by protective spirits and dakinis (female spiritual beings).
Thamel District: Kathmandu's tourist quarter contains centuries-old buildings with hidden temples and shrines, and locals share stories of ghosts in the narrow alleyways, particularly near the small shrine-topped platforms scattered throughout.
Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital: Nepal's first teaching hospital, established in 1972, is the primary medical training center in the country and the main referral hospital for the Kathmandu Valley.
Bir Hospital: Founded in 1889 by Prime Minister Bir Shamsher Rana, it is the oldest hospital in Nepal and has served as the country's primary healthcare facility for over 130 years.
About the Book
The book has been used in bereavement support groups as a tool for processing grief and finding hope.
How This Book Can Help You
Grain co-op meetings, Rotary Club luncheons, and Lions Club dinners near Riverside, Kathmandu, Bagmati are unlikely venues for discussing medical mysteries, but this book has found its way into these gatherings because the Midwest doesn't separate life into neat categories. The farmer who reads about a physician's ghostly encounter over breakfast applies it to his own 3 AM experience in the barn, and the categories of 'medical,' 'spiritual,' and 'agricultural' dissolve into a single, coherent life.

Reader Ratings Distribution
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Research Finding
Yoga has been shown to reduce inflammatory markers (IL-6, CRP) by 15-20% in regular practitioners.
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