Woman who ‘died for 17 minutes’ during a gym workout reveals what she witnessed before being resuscitated

A lady who ‘died for 17 minutes’ following a workout has described what she saw before being revived.

Victoria Thomas, a sports fanatic from Gloucester, UK, claims she was in the middle of a boot camp session at the gym when she felt uncomfortable.

After the weightlifting workout, she described how she felt like all of her energy had ‘simply gone from my body,’ adding, “I was also feeling slightly dizzy.”

According to The Mirror, the then-35-year-old had just told her buddy that she was feeling awful when she suddenly slumped on the floor.

It rapidly became clear that the accountant had gone into cardiac arrest, and while paramedics arrived and conducted life-saving CPR, fear set in as Victoria’s heart stopped pumping.

Now, she has revealed what she witnessed in that terrifying moment between life and death, saying how her world ‘went black and there was nothing.’

“Then I became aware of looking down on my body,” she added. “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,” Victoria shared.

After an excruciating 17 minutes, medical responders were able to assist Victoria’s heart in regaining function.

“They never gave up on me,” the now-41-year-old mother explained. “The minutes passed, but they refused to quit trying. I was very young, physically fit, and in good health when the incident occurred completely unexpectedly.

After being resuscitated, she remained in a coma for three days and was equipped with a defibrillator in case she experienced cardiac arrest again.

However, that was not the end of her health problems; her heart stopped multiple times in the months that followed, with the defibrillator reviving it each time.

Victoria, who has no known family history of heart disease, credits the medical gadget for repeatedly saving her life and allowing her to ‘go on living’ regularly.

“I went back to playing netball three weeks after it happened, with my defibrillator,” she claimed. “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 experienced increased strain when she became pregnant in 2021, and she reported experiencing regular cardiac arrests.

Doctors eventually identified her with Danon disease, a rare genetic illness, when she was 24 weeks pregnant, forcing her to deliver her baby son, Tommy, via emergency cesarean section at 30 weeks.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, the illness is hereditary and can harm the heart, muscles, retina, and brain; however, Victoria is the first in her family to be identified.

Fortunately, her newborn son is happy and healthy, but Victoria’s heart has suffered throughout her pregnancy, with a checkup in 2022 finding it was only performing at 11 percent, which is often indicative of end-of-life heart failure.

“I asked the doctors how long I had left, and they said I only had a few months.

“It was devastating.” All I could think of was Tommy. “I promised not to leave him,” she added.

Victoria miraculously underwent a successful heart transplant in April 2023 and is now planning to compete in volleyball and basketball in the World Transplant Games in Germany.

Fortunately, testing on three-year-old Tommy has likewise shown no evidence of his having Danon illness.

Victoria said, “I feel like I’ve been given a second shot in life and to be a mother. It’s the best present I could possibly have asked for.