A routine gym session turned into a life-altering experience for Victoria Thomas, a mother from Gloucester, who recalls feeling something was wrong just moments before everything went dark.
She had been taking part in a boot camp workout when a wave of exhaustion swept over her. “I felt like all my energy just drained from my body,” she said, explaining how she told a friend she felt dizzy right before she collapsed.
Panic quickly filled the room as paramedics rushed to her side and began CPR. The then-35-year-old had gone into sudden cardiac arrest, and her heart had stopped beating altogether.
As emergency responders fought to revive her, Victoria described everything fading to black—until something unexpected happened.
“Then I became aware of looking down on my body,” she revealed. “I was floating near the roof and was looking down at myself on the gym floor.”
She recalled seeing yellow machines around her but no comforting light or feeling of peace, only the unsettling image of herself lying lifeless.
After an agonizing fight, medics managed to bring her heart back. Victoria spent three days in a coma and woke to find doctors had fitted her with a defibrillator to protect her from another attack.
The device saved her life more than once, kicking her heart back into rhythm after several more cardiac arrests. “It was a shock whenever it went off, but it allowed me to carry on living my normal life,” she shared.
In 2021, she became pregnant, but the added strain on her heart triggered even more frequent arrests. Doctors eventually discovered she had Danon disease, a rare genetic disorder that can attack the heart and muscles.
She was forced to have an emergency C-section at 30 weeks. Her son Tommy was born healthy and later tested clear of the disease, but Victoria’s heart condition worsened, reaching just 11 percent function.
Doctors warned she had only months to live, but she refused to give up. In April 2023, a matching donor heart became available, and the transplant was a success.
Now 41, Victoria has returned to sports and will compete in volleyball and basketball at the World Transplant Games.
Looking back, she knows how close she came to losing everything.
“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.”
Only later did doctors explain the staggering truth—Victoria’s heart had stopped for a full 17 minutes before they brought her back.
Featured image: (Canva,x)
