Gloucester’s Victoria Thomas was in a gym when she felt faint and suddenly collapsed. The cause: a cardiac arrest lasting 17 minutes during which her heart stopped.
Victoria says she felt herself floating above her body in the gym, noticing no light but calmly observing. Paramedics performed CPR and brought her back to life after an agonizing wait.
Following the event, she spent three days comatose and received an implanted defibrillator that kept saving her heart during later incidents. Despite no genetic history of heart problems, Victoria faced several arrests, including during pregnancy.
After tests, she was diagnosed with Danon disease, a rare genetic disorder. She gave birth early to a healthy son, Tommy, and later had a successful heart transplant in 2023.
Now healthy, Victoria trains for the World Transplant Games and cherishes the new life and motherhood she fought so hard to keep.
