44 Hours

Gil Avni was pronounced brain dead and lies unconscious in the intensive care unit. The doctors give him 4 hours to live, his wife kisses him goodbye, his father-in-law goes over his insurance policy and plans to get rid of the family dog, and his friends come to visit for the last time. Only without everyone knowing, he hears and understands everything that is happening around him, as if being a guest at his own funeral. 44 hours later, just when he comes to terms that he is, in fact, about to die, he astonishingly wakes up, and recounts every single minute of his harrowing locked-in experience.

With only 2 known cases worldwide, Gil’s story provides the world’s first living testimony of a case like this, leading to changes in medical ethics and protocol regarding teetering on the verge between life and death.