A woman who experienced a 17-minute clinical death following a workout has shared her experience of what she saw before being revived.
Victoria Thomas, a sports enthusiast from Gloucester, UK, was in the midst of a boot camp session at the gym when she began feeling unwell.
Post weightlifting, she described the sensation as if all her energy “just drained from my body,” and elaborated: “I was also feeling slightly dizzy.”
The then 35-year-old had just mentioned her discomfort to a friend when she “suddenly collapsed on the floor,” according to The Mirror.
It became clear that the accountant was in cardiac arrest. As paramedics arrived and performed CPR, Victoria’s heart stopped, causing panic.
She has now shared her experience during that frightening moment, stating that her world “went black and there was nothing”.
“Then I became aware of looking down on my body,” Victoria continued. “I was floating near the roof and was looking down at myself on the gym floor.”
“I didn’t see a light, or feel peaceful, I was just watching myself, and I could see some yellow machines around me,” she added.
After an intense 17 minutes, emergency services managed to restart Victoria’s heart.
“They never gave up on me,” the now 41-year-old mother stated. “The minutes ticked by, but they refused to stop trying. I was so young, fit and healthy and it had come completely out of the blue.”
Once revived, she spent three days in a coma and received a defibrillator to protect against future cardiac arrests.
Nevertheless, her health challenges persisted as her heart stopped several more times in the following months, with the defibrillator reviving her each time.
Victoria, who has no known family history of heart issues, attributes her survival to the medical device, which allowed her to continue living her life as usual.
“I went back to playing netball three weeks after it happened, with my defibrillator,” she said. “It was a shock whenever it went off, but it allowed me to carry on living my normal life, which I was so grateful for.”
Her heart faced further challenges during her 2021 pregnancy, leading to frequent cardiac arrests.
At 24 weeks pregnant, Victoria was diagnosed with Danon disease, a rare genetic condition, necessitating an emergency caesarean delivery of her baby boy, Tommy, at 30 weeks.
The Cleveland Clinic notes that the condition is inherited and can affect the heart, muscles, retina, and brain, although Victoria is the first in her family with the diagnosis.
Thankfully, Tommy is healthy, but Victoria’s heart condition worsened, with a 2022 check-up indicating only 11 percent function, a sign of severe heart failure.
“I asked the doctors how long I had left and they told me I had just another couple of months.
“It was devastating. All I could think of was Tommy. I vowed I wouldn’t leave him,” she said.
In a miraculous turn, Victoria underwent a successful heart transplant in April 2023. She now aims to participate in volleyball and basketball at the World Transplant Games in Germany.
Tests show that three-year-old Tommy is not affected by Danon disease.
Victoria concluded: “I feel like I’ve been given a second chance at life, and to be a mum. It’s the greatest gift I could ever have asked for.”