Woman who ‘died for 17 minutes’ during gym workout describes the chilling experience

A woman who died for 17 minutes after suddenly feeling unwell during a gym session has recalled the terrifying experience. Victoria Thomas was lifting weights at the gym when she started feeling really tired and dizzy.

She told The Mirror: “I said to my friend that I didn’t feel like I had any power or energy, like it had just drained from my body. I was also feeling slightly dizzy. I’d only just said it when I suddenly collapsed on the floor.”

The 35-year-old accountant then went into cardiac arrest. An ambulance was called and they started doing CPR, but her heart stopped beating for 17 whole minutes, with paramedics fearing her life was over.

“When it happened, it went black and there was nothing, then I became aware of looking down on my body,” Victoria recalled. “I didn’t see a light, or feel peaceful, I was just watching myself, and I could see some yellow machines around me.”

“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. And when I looked at a photo of myself taken just minutes before I collapsed, I could see that my legs were actually swollen.”

However, paramedics worked as hard as they could, and got her heart beating again after 17 minutes. She was taken to Bristol Royal Infirmary, where she spent three days in a coma and was fitted with a defibrillator.

Credit: Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce

“They never gave up on me. 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,” Victoria recalled.

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“I went back to playing netball three weeks after it happened, with my defibrillator. 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.”

After finding out she was pregnant in February 2021, she had more issues with her heart, and found out she has a rare genetic disorder called Danon disease, which causes heart and muscle problems.

Her son was born prematurely at 30 weeks, and she continued to experience problems. In April 2022, doctors found that her heart was only functioning at 11 per cent, and she was only given a few months to live.

However, Victoria had a heart transplant in April 2023 and is now back to full strength, playing netball four times a week. She is also due to compete in volleyball and basketball at the World Transplant Games in Germany next month.

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Featured image by: Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce and Canva