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'Healthy' woman who died for 17 minutes at gym only saw one thing when heart stopped

Victoria Thomas had never had any previous health issues when she collapsed at the gym aged just 35 - she was clinically dead for 17 minutes and remembers just one thing after her heart stopped

[Victoria Thomas in hospital ]

Victoria Thomas died for 17 minutes

A woman who collapsed at the gym and died for 17 minutes says she only saw one thing when her heart stopped.

Victoria Thomas was a healthy 35-year-old who loved playing netball and working out when her life was turned upside down.

She said she was rarely ill or injured and there were few warning signs when she keeled over during a training session with a pal.

Victoria's heart stopped for an 17 minutes before she was brought back around and placed in an induced coma. She credits her coach Adam's persistent CPR efforts for preventing lasting brain damage.

The Brit revealed she doesn't remember much from the life-changing experience, but she does recall one aspect of the medical emergency.

Speaking to OMG Stories, Victoria said: "I remember being above my legs and thinking: 'Oh my gosh your legs are really fat.' I don't know if that was an out of body experience or something like that.

[Victoria Thomas ]

Victoria remembers only one thing from the period she was clinically dead (Image: Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)

"It was like I was in the roof of the gym and I was looking down on me, people were around me. I was there and I saw the size of my legs and they were absolutely huge.

"That's all I can remember. When I actually look back at pictures of that day, my body had blown up like a balloon, just before it happened. It was quite shocking actually how big I was.

"I just remember being around, I didn't go anywhere. I just stayed there. Maybe that's because I didn't die and he got me back. I was just hovering above and saw it."

Victoria was rushed to Bristol Royal Infirmary where she spent three days in the coma before doctors brought her out of it. They fitted her with a defibrillator, a device that delivers a controlled electric shock to the heart to stop dangerous abnormal rhythms, before they released her a week after the incident.

Despite appearing to make a full recovery, Victoria was not completely out of the woods. When she became pregnant with her son Tommy a couple of years later, her heart started to deteriorate because the pregnancy was putting so much pressure on the organ.

[Victoria Thomas ]

The mum-of-one has since had a heart transplant (Image: Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)

Genetic testing diagnosed her with Danon disease, a rare condition which can thicken the heart muscles. Victoria was the first person in her family to have the disease because it was caused by a mutated gene.

The doctors wanted to deliver her son at 24 weeks. She managed to persuade doctors to let her continue with the pregnancy but he was born at 30 weeks via C-section when she couldn't breathe properly.

By the time Tommy was six months old, further testing revealed Victoria's heart was operating at only 11% of its capacity and she was in end-stage heart failure.

She went on the transplant list and finally received a viable heart hours before hers gave up.

Things are now looking up for Victoria. Tests have shown that her son doesn't have Danon disease. She was selected to play volleyball and basketball at the World Transplant Games after she was "given a new lease of life".

She said: "I'm probably fitter now than I've ever been before. I worry less about certain things in life.

"To give. To become part of the donor register. Giving your organs can save so many lives and so many different families. I want to travel more, play sports and enjoy every single day."

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