‘I didn’t see a light, or feel peaceful, I was just watching myself,’ Victoria recalled of those 17 perilous minutes
A “FIT and healthy” woman who lay lifeless on the gym floor for 17 minutes after her h.e.a.r.t s.t.o.p.p.e.d revealed what she saw.
At the age of 35, Victoria Thomas experienced weakness and vertigo during a boot camp class at her neighborhood gym, which led to her going into c.a.r.d.i.a.c a.r.r.e.s.t.
After the accountant passed out, paramedics began CPR and an ambulance came, but it took Victoria’s heart 17 long minutes to beat again.
Victoria did not have the serene images and bright light tunnels that many individuals who have near-death experiences describe.
“When it happened, it went dark and there was nothing, and then I became conscious of staring down on my body,” she told the Mirror.
“I was floating near the roof and was looking down at myself on the gym floor.
“My first thought was that my legs looked really fat.”
Victoria would discover that her legs had indeed been swollen when she viewed photos of herself taken just before she c.o.l.l.a.p.s.e.d.
“I didn’t see a light, or feel peaceful, I was just watching myself, and I could see some yellow machines around me,” she recalled.
Victoria’s heart eventually started beating once again, and she was brought to Bristol Royal Infirmary, where she remained unconscious for three days.
The 35-year-old pulled through and she was allowed home after being fitted with a pacemaker to restart her heart in the event her body went into cardiac arrest again.
“I was so young, fit and healthy and it had come completely out of the blue,” she said.
Despite having no family history of heart issues, Victoria’s heart stopped several times in the following months – but she able to keep going with her life, thanks to the pacemaker.
In February 2021, Victoria, who lives in Gloucester, discovered she was expecting a baby.
The expecting mother’s heart was under pressure during her pregnancy, and she started experiencing cardiac arrest more frequently.
At 24 weeks, she was finally diagnosed with Danon disease – a rare genetic disorder that can damage the heart, muscles and brains, thought to affect fewer than a million people worldwide.
It is caused by a problem with a gene called LAMP 2, which results in a buildup of toxins that damage cells and organs.
Victoria remembered being too shocked to take in the diagnosis.
“The doctors wanted to deliver Tommy [Victoria’s son] at just 24 weeks, but I persuaded them to let me hang on a few more weeks,” the mum recalled.”If he had been born at 24 weeks then he may not have survived.
“But by the time I was 30 weeks I couldn’t breathe properly because of the fluid build up around my body, so I had to have an emergency Caesarean.”
The birth went smoothly but Victoria soon discovered that her heart had been further damaged.
By the time Tommy was six months, she was so breathless that just climbing the stairs was a massive struggle
In April 2022, a hospital check-up found her heart was functioning at just 11 per cent capacity, meaning she was experiencing end-of-life heart failure.
The mum was told she’d need an heart transplant and was placed on an urgent waiting list.
She said: “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.
“Two hearts were found – but further tests revealed they weren’t suitable.
“Each time I’d get my hopes up thinking this was it, that I was going to be saved.
“And then I was told that the operation couldn’t go ahead. I didn’t know if they were ever going to find a heart in time. I’d given up all hope.”
When a suitable donor heart was discovered in April 2023, the mother’s prayers were fulfilled, and she was able to receive a transplant at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
The s.u.r.g.e.r.y was a success and she was allowed home that May.
Now that she’s fully recovered, the mother plays netball four times a week.
She is even scheduled to play basketball and volleyball at the World Transplant Games in Germany the following month.
Victoria said: “After the transplant, I didn’t think I was going to be able to play sports again.
“However, I was introduced to the British Transplant Games and that opened my eyes to the fact I could do exactly what I wanted.
“I played volleyball and I was picked for them to play for the British team.
“I’m spending time as a mum with my son and I’m back playing the sport that I love.
“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.”
