European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 28, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday december 28, 1989 the stars and stripes & Page 9 Over Here the living talk about death s threshold afterlife sensations become the focus of one nurse s work by Janet Acostino medical writer death May not he such a horrible event after . Diane Corcoran has Learned. The  nurse draws this conclusion from hundreds of  people who have straddled the line Between life and death and remembered the sensation. They Tell stories of rising out of the body moving through a dark space or Tunnel seeing a Bright Blind ing Light or meeting deceased loved ones. Other shave heard music met a Superior being or seen a Beautiful landscape. There arc Many More  than might be assumed said Corcoran assistant chief o nursing at Frankfurt  regional medical Center. There Are hundreds of people sitting out there who have had this experience and have nobody total to she said. Corcoran s research on the subject is dedicated to educating other health care workers. Her so Lac scribed crusade began in 1981 when a dying patient told her of a near death experience that she was afraid to talk about with anyone else. People Are often reluctant to talk about their recollections for fear of not being believed or of being laughed at Corcoran said. It s very hard to explain. How do Vou say to someone of yes i talked to god and f now have All the knowledge in the world As health care pro viders if we can t be there to listen to them the who will be but some health care providers have difficulty acknowledging near death experiences because they Don t know much about the subject. Corcoran who recently arrived in West Germany plans to change that at Frankfurt. She has talked individually wit staff members and eventually will hold group meet Ings. Or. Capt David Mahone an internal Medicine physician said he had heard of near death expert col. Diane Corcoran ass Scott a. Mixer in pcs but had never been on the Alert for patient who might have experienced one. Doctors like to think that what they do is 100percent scientific he said. Since talking to Corcoran Mahoney has become More aware of people who May be . A doctor May question the meaning of the phenomenon he said but the patient Mill needs help coping with what he believes he experienced. Mahoney recently talked with a patient who fitted the pattern of a near death experience a. The patient entered the  Hospital after suffering cardiac arrest in the emergency room of a German Hospital. The Man told Mahoney that he Felt different about his family and his role As a Soldier. He also said he knew a lot of things he did t know before. The new feelings he told Mahoney stemmed from the time hews in the emergency room although he did t want to talk about the experience in detail. Many people who have had near death experiences come away with a different understanding of what life is about Corcoran said. They become More Loving and emotional less interested in material pos sessions. A Scricc member who had a near death experience Many years ago did t care about Money any More Corcoran said. After receiving his paycheck one Day he met a woman who had been evicted fro her Home. He gave the woman his pay because he fell she and her children needed it More than his own family Corcoran said. No one knows what causes near death experiences. Early explanations included oxygen deprivation to the brain drug reactions wish fulfilment hallucinations or a release of endorphins natural painkiller released by the brain. Corcoran said Many of the Early explanations arc not True. For example Modem medical technology can Monitor oxygen Levels in patients and administer oxygen when needed. The phenomenon was recorded in the Early writ Ings of Man Corcoran said. But the phrase near death cup Cenence was coined in 1975 by or. Ray mond Moody a psychiatrist who was the first to extensively document such experiences. The characteristics of near death experiences Are found to be the same around the world cutting across race religion age culture and education. This is a phenomenon thai happens whether you believe it or not. Everybody has to make their own choices about this Corcoran said. Corcoran who was raised a Catholic practices no one religion but said she is extremely spiritual. She believes near death experiences May help people accept death and to perhaps consider that it is not such a frightening Homble event. Corcoran s research has folded her own feeling about death. I have talked to hundreds of patients Many of whom said they really really did not want to come Back and they made efforts to walk toward the Light. But Many times someone would say to them. It s not your Lime Vou really do get a sense hat someone else is in charge of All of these  Tutwiler s Baker connection serves her Well in . Washington a she sits at the negotiating table with Mikhail Gorbachev advises James Baker travels on air Force one with George Bush and spar daily with the nation s foreign policy pundits. But Margaret Debardeleben Tutwiler says it s laughable ludicrous embarrassing to suggest she s one of the most powerful women in Washington. Others disagree. The 39-year-old Tutwiler a longtime aide to Secre tary of state Baker holds both titles of assistant Secre tary of state for Public affairs and the state depart ment s spokeswoman one of the most visible jobs in government. As spokeswoman she s the first woman to be assistant Secretary of state for Public affairs the Workaholic unmarried Tutwiler appears almost every Day on the Klieg lighted podium to explain . Foreign policy to reporters and television audiences around the world. Her thick Southern drawl bespeaks her upbringing in Birmingham ala., where she comes from a socially prominent family. She graduated from the University of Alabama. While Tutwiler s face has become familiar in the past year most Washington insiders say her influence stems More from her Access to Baker than her sessions at the podium or her knowledge of diplomatic nuance. Theodore Wilkinson president of the american foreign service association said a career foreign service officer undoubtedly would have a stronger grasp of policy but probably would t have Tutwiler s r great asset her Access to Baker. Amid the Oriental rugs and Antiques on the depart ment s exclusive seventh floor suite Tutwiler s cubby Hole has a door leading to Baker s  and colleagues say she s not bashful about opening it to Tell her Boss of nearly a decade what she thinks on subjects ranging from sanctions against China to briefing times at the storm tossed .-sovictsummit on Malta. Behind her Southern Belle appearance is a Strong personality capable of dealing on equal terms with people like Gennady Gerasimov Gorbachev s spokesman. She has Good judgment and instincts about the Public s  says v. Kim Hoggard Tutwiler s Deputy. She judges by her own reaction. That s Why Baker values her and  levelheaded is the Tutwiler Way her childhood Friend Virginia Scruggs describe Tutwiler. Tutwiler is proud of her sense of loyally and he forthright manner. I know he thinks i m Loyal she said of Baker. And in sessions with the Secretary and others in his inner Circle she said she Speaks her mind. I m not playing a game with him in other  Tutwiler s relationship with Baker was forged in the 1980s when she was his assistant at the White House at the Treasury department and on the 1988 bus presidential Campaign. She came to the White House after working in Bush s unsuccessful 19so presidential primary Campaign. Ronald Reagan captured the Republican Nomi nation but named Bush As his running mate. Although Tutwiler served As an assistant Secretary at the Treasury department she preferred to remain be Hind the scenes rarely briefing reporters or talking i Public. That changed at the slate department where she had to grapple with complicated issues and present the . Viewpoint on television. Ill be honest with you. It was absolutely Over whelming she said. To learn All at once the United states foreign policy in Cambodia in Afghanistan in Nicaragua in Al Salvador in  control. To learn All our policies about Germany. To learn the world at  in the daily press briefings the stylish Tutwiler with her fashionable clothes and streaked Blond hair usually reads verbatim statements prepared by diplomats on issues of the Day. At times she seems stilted fearful of making a mistake. But journalists say she s gradually showing a better grasp of the subject matter. Tutwiler s glamorous career has t come without some sacrifice mainly her personal life. I really Haven t had one Tutwiler said. I always keep putting my other interests on the Back Burner and i m definitely doing that  an organized perfectionist Tutwiler keeps a Gruel ing schedule. She rises at 5 30 a.m., is at her desk at 6 30 a.m., and rarely returns to her Home in fashionable Northwest Washington before 9 . Breakfast and dinner often consist of cheese and crackers at her desk. Then there is the seemingly non Stop travel More than 126,000 Miles since february to places As far away As Australia. In december she travelled to Malta for the Summit and then accompanied Baker to London Berlin and Brussels Belgium. Later that month she went to  in the Caribbean with Baker. Over the Christmas Holiday she went skiing with her brother and sister and their families. Tutwiler s philosophy is that life is a Trade off Compromise and she does t know Many people who would walk away from the Chance to sit at the table with Gorbachev or see the Kremlin s inner Sanctum. Money can t buy that she said