I was in a coma for 18 days after my skull cracked open. Doctors prepared my parents for the worst… then I woke up with a message from Jesus
A man who suffered a catastrophic head injury after crashing his electric skateboard says he left his body, met Jesus face-to-face and returned to life with what he believed to be a divine message.
Gabe Poirot, 25, told the Daily Mail that his skull 'immediately cracked from the top down' when he slammed onto the pavement at roughly 30mph without a helmet on.
Doctors warned his devastated family that even if he survived, he would likely be 'nothing more than a vegetable' after his brain stem was '99 percent just gone.'
He flatlined, was resuscitated and remained unconscious for days before being induced into a coma that lasted more than two weeks.
During that time, Poirot claimed he witnessed his own lifeless body lying in the road while a friend prayed over him before being pulled into what he describes as heaven itself. There, he claimed Jesus spoke directly to him and gave him instructions to share with the world.
'He looked at me, he said, "Gabriel,"' Poirot told the Daily Mail. 'Tell my family who I really am.'
But the message did not end there, Poirot said, and Jesus also instructed him to 'tell them I'm coming back soon to get them.'
Poirot, who has since written a book about the ordeal, titled 18 Days in Heaven, said the terrifying crash on October 25, 2021, unfolded in seconds but changed his life forever.
Gabe Poirot, 25, spent 18 days in a coma after cracking his skull in a skateboarding accident
Doctors warned his devastated family that even if he survived, he would likely be 'nothing more than a vegetable' after his brain stem was 'like, 99 percent just gone'
He had been out on a joyride that evening when disaster struck, riding at a high speed when, upon going around a curve of the road, he 'hit just a bump in the middle of the road and flipped off,' he recalled.
'I landed directly on my head. My skull immediately cracked.'
The impact caused catastrophic internal damage. His lungs failed upon filling with vomit and blood.
Emergency responders rushed him to the hospital, but the prognosis quickly turned grim. Doctors were so concerned about swelling and bleeding inside his skull that they drilled into his head to relieve pressure.
Poirot remained unconscious for three days before doctors induced a coma in a desperate effort to save his life.
'So, it was actually three days completely natural… three days, they didn't touch me, and I didn't move,' he said. 'I was breathing about once every 60 seconds.'
He was placed in a coma for roughly two more weeks, leaving his family fearing the worst.
'They talked about me in the past tense,' he said. 'They truly called in my parents from Virginia.'
Against all odds, Poirot has established a new life for himself, marrying his wife, Ally, in 2023, and the couple welcomed their son, Elijah, last year
But while his body lay motionless in the hospital bed, Poirot claimed his consciousness was elsewhere.
'I literally left my body, and I watched my own friend, John Michael Howell, hold my lifeless body in his arms,' he told the Daily Mail.
'I witnessed him praying over my body and asking the Father for healing, and I knew that I would be okay.'
Poirot then saw himself from above before being drawn into what he described as a powerful beam of light.
'I just started traveling,' he claimed. 'Like, literally, I was suctioned through this light.
'This light wasn't just taking me to a destination. This light wasn't even just a visible object - this light was a person that I had an appointment with.'
Poirot described passing through what he believed was a spiritual realm before arriving at what he called 'the third heaven,' describing it as a 'city that isn't just an urban location.'
'This city had its own breath. The city that I was being brought to had its own song.'
Poirot claimed he went to heaven while in a coma and received a message from Jesus. Pictured is Poirot eating his first meal after gaining consciousness
According to Poirot, the experience became intensely personal when he came face-to-face with Jesus.
Poirot claimed Jesus asked him why he is 'concerned about that which is paid for? That which I paid for?'
He claimed to have seen what he believed were wounds from the crucifixion and described the physical appearance of Jesus.
'He was about 5ft, 11in [or] 6ft [tall]… his skin color was a darker tone, definitely Middle Eastern,' he said.
'I would describe him as much more Middle Eastern than a lot of depictions of Jesus.'
The encounter, he added, transformed his understanding of life and faith.
'Tears ran down my face, because I realized the truth of grace,' he continued. 'I realized the truth of the cross.'
Meanwhile, in the hospital, doctors continued to fight to keep their comatose patient alive.
Medical staff were preparing to perform a tracheotomy, a procedure that could have permanently affected his ability to speak.
Family members and friends prayed constantly during the ordeal, he said, claiming that he saw this unfolding from heaven before Jesus sent his spirit back to his body.
To the astonishment of medical staff, Poirot said he quickly began speaking and recognizing family members, something doctors believed was highly unlikely. Pictured is Poirot with one of the doctors
On November 12, after 18 days in a coma, Poirot suddenly regained consciousness.
'My parents ran in, the doctors ran in, they were like, "Oh my goodness, are you there?"' he said.
To the astonishment of medical staff, Poirot said he quickly began speaking and recognizing family members, something doctors believed was highly unlikely.
'Within a day, my memory had just started to come back, and I recognized my sister, recognized my family,' he said.
Medical experts, he claimed, told him that his recovery was unlike anything they had seen before.
'They said, "We've never seen a case like yours survive… and definitely not become normal again,"' Poirot added.
Against all odds, Poirot has now established a new life for himself - marrying his wife, Ally, in 2023 and welcoming their son, Elijah, last year. And today, nearly five years after the crash, Poirot said he has fully recovered.
'I'm really doing… great,' he said. 'I live a much more balanced lifestyle.'
While skeptics question near-death experiences, Poirot insisted that what he witnessed was real and said the memory remains as vivid today as it was the moment he opened his eyes in the hospital.
'It truly was just miraculous,' he said.
