Four years ago diplomat Chris Agius was crossing the road near the Addolorata Cemetery – where he had gone to visit his grandfather’s grave located close to the British war graves – when he was hit by a car.
As he lay shattered and helpless on the ground, the next thing he saw remained imprinted in his memory forever:
One of them smiled sadly at me and said: You’ll be coming home. I felt at peace and was ready to follow them
“I saw… my beloved grandpa, racing frantically towards me, from the Addolorata Cemetery entrance. Running by his side were a group of young men, wearing British Army khakis. My grandfather, a trained medical man, knelt by my side, rolled up his shirt sleeves and yelled that he would take care of me," Agius, 54, wrote in a poignant Facebook post in which he marked four years since the accident.
“The young soldiers passed us by in single file, looking down at me with concern and encouragement. One of them smiled sadly at me and said: ‘You’ll be coming home’. I felt at peace and was ready to follow them, as they formed an infantry square around me and my grandad,” wrote Agius, who today is part of the diplomatic corps stationed at the Embassy of Malta in Dublin, Ireland.
But Agius did not follow them. The last thing he recalled before losing consciousness was the worried face of his colleague who had run across from the Transport Malta offices, where he worked at the time, to assist him.
He woke up from a coma one week later in the Intensive Therapy Unit.
people who are nearing the end, often claim to see long dead relatives...
Agius cannot explain what happened – but is relying on his faith. “Sceptics may understandably attribute this experience to the trauma I sustained. Friends in the medical and nursing professions, confide in me that people who are nearing the end often claim to see long-dead relatives and friends or tunnels with light at the end…. I believe them.”
Research has suggested that around three per cent of people report a near-death experience at some point in their life, with characteristics ranging from out-of-body experiences to reports of passing through tunnels or encountering deceased loved ones.
A 2011 study argued that there is nothing paranormal about these experiences. "Near-death experiences are the manifestation of normal brain function gone awry, during a traumatic, and sometimes harmless, event," researchers wrote.
A life lesson - never give up
Speaking to Times of Malta, Agius said this experience had strengthened his faith and become a life lesson - never give up. In fact, after the accident he battled for a year to recover from his extensive injuries that included fractures and breakages to his legs and face. And, as he soldiered through, he completed his studies in diplomatic relations.
In his candid Facebook post, Agius explains that, back then, when he was working at Transport Malta he often visited the grave of his grandfather, respected pharmacist Joseph Agius of Paola.
“I would tend his grave, place flowers and yes – talk about my troubles, frustrations, woes and hopes with him,” he wrote. Whenever he went there he passed from in front of the British War Graves located just a few metres away from his grandad’s resting place and paid his respects to the many young men buried there – often picturing the scene when the news was broken to their parents that their son was dead.
[attach id="917538" size="large" align="left" type="image"]Chris Agius and his dog Gutch[/attach]
Later that day he got to experience it. The accident happened on September 1, 2016, at about 7.10 am when Agius, from Marsascala, was crossing in Vjal Santa Lucija, across the Addolorata cemetery on the pedestrian lights that were not working.
Miles away, at his home, his springer spaniel Gutch was howling and his parents, who he lived with, instinctively knew something was wrong. Sometime after, his mother received a phone call informing her son was in ITU battling for his life.
[attach id="917580" size="large" align="left" type="image"]Surviving a traffic accident has strengthened Chris Agius' faith[/attach]
Agius’ survival often left him wondering what those words – "you'll be coming home" - could have meant. Time has given them a whole new interpretation. Since then he has completed his studies and was assigned a diplomatic posting at the Embassy of Malta in Dublin, Ireland.
“As I pack my luggage, the memories of my near-fatal accident come flooding back, as they do every day, since that fateful 1st of September of 2016. I again see my dear and long-departed grandfather, working frantically to save my life and the young soldiers, protecting us. And I recall again the words of the young trooper. It has indeed come to pass – today, I am coming home,” he wrote.