At 19, Bubba Herrick was a college pitcher heading in for Tommy John surgery — the routine rite of passage every young player counted on. Instead, an allergic reaction to the anesthesia stopped his heart on the operating table, and what followed was a 360° life review he felt not just from his own perspective, but from every character in it: his Vietnam-veteran grandfather, his brother, his father, and the childhood friend whose first-generation iPad quietly shaped the addictions he’d end up dying inside of. Full of regret, Bubba surrendered — and was shuttled into a place beyond time where he met Mike, the stepfather who’d passed a year earlier. Mike offered him a second chance on one condition: live out a great purpose he wouldn’t be told the shape of, and be ready the next time he died. This is the story of Bubba’s death, the deal that brought him back, and the seven-year unraveling that followed — losing baseball, breaking down physically, finding the near-death community, and eventually landing on what “great purpose” actually meant.
“I was supposed to be dead, but I felt more alive than I’d ever felt in my life” – Bubba Herrick
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*Timestamps*
00:00 – Cold Open: The Surgery That Killed Him — floating above the table, watching the flatline
02:15 – Meet Bubba: Tampa, Florida, youngest of four, chaotic household, a father he was afraid of
02:57 – Divorce and Hardship: Dad’s infidelity, welfare, food stamps, and baseball as the only outlet
05:11 – Tommy John: A torn UCL and the rite-of-passage surgery every young pitcher wanted
06:42 – The Pit in His Stomach: The pre-op nurse’s allergy question, and the warning he answered around
09:50 – Flatline: The room’s confidence collapses and Bubba floats up out of his body
11:04 – The 360° Life Review: Every moment of his life, felt from every character’s perspective
12:26 – Grandpa’s Last Story: A Vietnam vet finally opens up — and a Snapchat notification pulls him away
19:07 – The First iPad: An 11-year-old’s birthday party and the shape of the addictions to come
23:14 – Surrender: “God, I don’t know if you’re real, but whatever happens next is what happens”
25:00 – Mike, on the Other Side: The shiny bald head, the red beard, the basketball game recreated
26:20 – The Deal: A great purpose he isn’t told the shape of — and be ready next time you die
34:38 – The Frozen Pizza: Four years later, Dylan hears the story and throws the old life in the trash
40:20 – Finding the Others: A YouTube ad, an Arizona conference, and the peace of not being alone
43:30 – Oak Trees Don’t Try to Be Palm Trees: Purpose isn’t a title — it’s just being who you were made to be
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What a an amazing narrative and it's so inspiring for anyone who wants to be authentic, connected to others, and to God. Beautiful!!!!!
Pretty sure Mike meant you need to fulfill your God-given purpose, get saved and follow Him before you die again. 🙏
There is no other YouTube channel more important to me than this one.
What a wonderful man. What a wonderful, moving story, thank you, Bubba, for sharing.
Ancef, the drug he was allergic to, is an antibiotic given just before anesthesia to prevent a skin infection at the operation site. Allergic reactions can happen but very rarely.
Please read the Bible ask Christ Jesus to save your soul. Repent and be Born Again. Without Christ anything anyone sees is not from Him and deceptive. The Bible says the devil can come as an "Angel of Light". Jesus Christ did not die in vain. Beware of deception.
Extreme wisdom from this guy, particularly in relation to his own and others peoples emotions / intentions.
The mind is a wonderful slave but a terrible master. 💜
Thanks for sharing.
Bubba
I believe I know the purpose you are looking for. Please contact me.
24:42 I need him to take a drink of water this smacking. I can't. I realize it's nothing but for me personally, it makes me shiver and feel uncomfortable.
All ❤ though💫
Ready to die but are you ready to live? Only one Door in.
Thank you for sharing this story, much love and Aloha from Hawaii
What a beautiful story and a beautiful human.
Whelp. im screwed.
"Looking at the outside world from inside a multi-faceted diamond" is an outstanding visual description of an NDE. Thank you for sharing Bubba.
Im from Tampa ❤
While I haven't had an NDE, I have some stories to share. My brother died around 2 years ago, age 35 in the hands of my mom, he wanted to "go" so bad, but didn't want to commit suicide (he had schizophrenia, but was talking about the other side a lot) anyway, soon after he died, he came in my dream. We were in a bubble like spaceship, observing Earthly sceneries, everything down there looked like a game, I was so SO excited like a child, to participate, it was fun. Then he pointed my attention to my mom, who was on the floor sad. He said "tell her that I'm not gone, Imm everything and everyone, I'm a tiny particle in that boy playing over there". It was just a random kid. I told the dream to my mom to help her with her grief, ofc it didn't! A month after came the 2nd dream, in that one I physically saw him! He looked so so happy in his best shape and mood ever! We were so excited and happy, we sat around a table having an absolute blast, we talked for what felt like an eternity, mainly quantum physics, mind you in this "reality" here, I don't even know how to spell that, but there… man.. I understood EVERYTHING! In fact I couldn't wait to come back and tell my partner what I now knew, it was so simple, but then my bro said "I have a message for mom" then I woke up, immediately forgetting the msg and the quantum shi 😂 but had the strongest urge to tell my mom that morning and boy was she happy, she said "I was crying all night asking for a sign from him, that he was happy and he was home". So I believe this time it was a visual confirmation for her to take a serious chill pill ! A year after those dreams I had another with someone else who died and I didn't even know they did, she also had a message.. if anyone is wondering if all this is real, just know.. that when you die, you wake up from THIS dream, you just gonna have to take my word for it. P.S when I woke up from the 2nd dream it was really reality weird, I have never woken up like that, it was so smooth and yet heavy, as if I wasn't awake for a looooong time, and I start from scratch.
This was beautiful! Thank you 🥰
The youngest of 4 siblings??? 3+1+1=? Wait what?
Stories like this give me the hope that I think I've been searching for. Thanks, Bubba, for sharing your story. Mike sounds like an amazing guy; so glad he was the one you met up with. Be well…❤❤