Some religions believe that good deeds lead to Heaven and wrongdoing leads to Hell, though others remain skeptical. The truth about what happens after death remains unknown, and many find comfort in believing in an afterlife to cope with the fear of death.
Victoria Thomas, now 41, had her own extraordinary experience when she was clinically “dead” for 17 minutes at age 35. While weightlifting, she felt dizzy, told a friend she didn’t feel well, and collapsed. Paramedics performed CPR, but as minutes passed, they believed her heart had stopped for good.
During that time, Thomas recalls everything going black before finding herself floating near the ceiling, looking down at her body on the gym floor. She didn’t see a light or feel peace, but noticed swollen legs and yellow medical equipment around her.
Her heart restarted, and she was rushed to Bristol Royal Infirmary, spending three days in a coma. A defibrillator was implanted to restore her heartbeat if it failed again—which it did multiple times in the months that followed.
Remarkably, she returned to playing netball just weeks later. In 2021, she became pregnant, but the strain on her heart led to frequent cardiac arrests. At 24 weeks, doctors diagnosed her with Danon disease, a rare genetic condition.
Though doctors wanted to deliver her baby early, she pushed to wait until 30 weeks, when an emergency C-section was performed due to fluid buildup. Her son Tommy was born healthy, but her heart function dropped to just 11%.
Given only months to live, Thomas was placed on a transplant list and successfully received a new heart at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.
Now fully recovered, she plays netball four times a week and cherishes life with her young son. Her story is a testament to resilience and survival.
