Fifteen hundred gather to remember teenager who made heartbreaking video about his near-death experiences and died a week later from heart attack
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 8:46 PM on 30th December 2011
A Texas teenager whose YouTube videos inspired viewers worldwide during his shortened life has been remembered at his funeral in Austin as someone who loved life — and God.
After cheating death three times, Ben Breedlove, 18, lost his life on Christmas night after suffering from a heart attack.
But not before he recorded videos of his near-death experiences, capturing the hearts of viewers around the world as he described the peace he felt at leaving the world he knew.
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An inspiration: Ben Breedlove, 18, was remembered at his funeral service at Gateway Church as a person who 'loved life and loved God'
The teenager suffered from a heart condition known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. It's a disease that makes it difficult for the heart to pump blood properly.
At Thursday's funeral service, Gateway Church pastor John Burke said that Breedlove 'loved life and he loved God,' and expressed the hope that everyone can find the same peace he had found.
Breedlove's sister Ally called the day a celebration, and said she was wearing the earrings her brother had given to her for Christmas.
At the family's request, the service was streamed live by TV station KXAN on its website, showing the 1,500 people who had gathered in a large auditorium to celebrate his memory.
Unique story: In a final YouTube video, he describes his three near-death experiences using flash cards
Acceptance: He talks about bright lights and feeling at peace and meeting rapper Kid Cudi
Heaven: He said the feeling of peace was so immense, he did not want to leave
The teen captured the world's attention in a series of videos in which he offered relationship advice and talked about his health.
He described having three near-death experiences, including one at the age of four in which he said he saw a big bright light above him while he was being wheeled down a hospital corridor on a stretcher. His experiences left him convinced of the existence of God and life after death.
He had a near death experience when he was four, fourteen and then less than a month ago.
A near-death experience refers to a broad range of personal experiences associated with impending death, encompassing multiple possible sensations including detachment from the body; feelings of levitation; extreme fear; total serenity, security, or warmth; the experience of absolute dissolution; and the presence of a light.
In loving memory: Fifteen hundred people gathered to remember the teenager at Thursday's memorial service
Touching: Breedlove's sister Ally called the day a celebration, and said she was wearing the earrings her brother had given to her for Christmas
Grieving: The teenager's parents, Deanne and Shawn Breedlove, said they found solace in their son's acceptance
These phenomena are usually reported after an individual has been pronounced clinically dead or otherwise very close to death, hence the term near-death experience.
According to a Gallup poll, approximately eight million Americans claim to have had a near-death experience.
In the video, he shares these experiences, including the bright light that brought him peace the first time around and the time he was wearing a suit and standing in a white room with his favourite rapper Kid Cudi.
Of this experience, he wrote: 'I then looked in the mirror, I was proud of myself of my entire life, everything I have done. It was the BEST feeling.'
The rapper posted this message on his blog after hearing of Ben's death: 'I am so sad about Ben Breedlove. I watched the video he left for the world to see, and him seeing me in detail, in his vision really warmed my heart.
'I broke down... To Ben’s family, you raised a real hero, he’s definitely mine. You have my love.'
Family: Ben with his family when he was a kid (on top of his father's shoulders)
Hobby: When Ben was alive he liked doing watersports with his brother Jake
Talking about the white light he saw in the hospital when he was four he wrote: 'I couldn't take my eyes off it, and I couldn't help but smile. I had no worries at all, like nothing else in the world mattered.'
Ben had a popular YouTube channel OurAdvice4You in which he dealt out relationship advice to his peers.
It was in his last YouTube video, uploaded on December 18, that he made the heartbreaking video, using a series of flash cards to talk about growing up with the heart problem.
He revealed he regrets not being like everyone else: 'I was never allowed to play sports that my friends did. It kinda sucks that I missed out on that part of my life.'
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