'I died and woke up in afterlife I no longer fear death because of what I saw'

Patty Ellen says she 'died' on the operating table, experiencing a dramatic life review and feared she was being sent to Hell before being given a choice to return to her body

Michael Moran Audience Writer

08:28, 23 Jul 2026

Patty related her amazing story(Image: YouTube/NDE Diary )

For centuries, people who have come close to death have spoken of their entire life "flashing before their eyes". Neurologists now believe that this is a very real phenomenon, triggered by the brains response to oxygen deprivation.

But Patty Ellen, who had her own near-death experience during an emergency caesarean operation, is convinced that her own life review had a very different cause, and since being given a choice whether to return to her body, has an important lesson to share about the meaning of life.

Speaking on the NDE Diary YouTube channel, Patty described the moment that she died on the operating table: I remember being wheeled in I remember hearing the sound of the heart monitor beeping.

Then I remember it going flat. And at at the very same moment that I heard it go beep, I rose out of my body and I was like just hovering there. I remember seeing a body. I remember seeing the doctors. I remember seeing everything that was going on.

But within moments she was no longer in the operating theatre, but somewhere else. She found herself at the centre of a 360-degree movie screen on which she was shown the key events of her life.

[Four Surgeons discuss each Other Surgical Precision and Healthcare Expertise before the Operation case]

Patty could hear the doctors conferring as they fought to save her life [stock image](Image: skaman306 via Getty Images)

"It was stopping at certain points in my life," Patty recalled, "Some were good, some were not so good in the way I treated people."

As her life's replay seemed to linger on her darkest moments, Patty began to fear she was being damned to Hell: "I think we all have done some things that that we were not proud of, or treated people badly or said an unkind word or something like that.

"Those are the things that I'm talking about, that [the replay] was stopping at. For [music] a split second, I thought to myself, 'I'm going to Hell... they're showing me this because they're going to say to me 'You're going to Hell'."

However, at that moment, Patty became conscious of a presence beside her: "I felt them put a hand on my shoulder and tell me that I was doing OK and not to worry."

She claims that this comforting message was conveyed telepathically: "All you have to do is think something and the other person knows it... I wish that we could communicate like that now."

[Patty was offered the choice of returning to her life]

Patty was offered the choice of returning to her life(Image: YouTube/NDE Diary )

Patty says that while her life review seemed to highlight her worst moments, the most potent message was one of forgiveness, saying: "I believe it's so important for our soul, for our spirit, and not only to forgive other people, but to forgive ourselves. I had a really really hard time forgiving myself.

"I've worked on that a lot. It's definitely a learning thing where we're meant to... it's definitely to teach us where we can do better, where we've done good and where we need to improve."

As the bizarre out-of-body encounter drew to a close, Patty heard her infant's initial wail. She said: "The very same moment that he was crying, the person that was with me, who I didn't recognise, I felt like he loved me forever and ever. It was almost like he just loved me for eternity from back from before I was born until my future. I just felt like he he loved me forever and is going to love me forever.

"That was very comforting. I only wish that I knew who it was. I have no clue."

[Girl looking at a nature landscape being projected onto the wall in a gallery space]

She was shown her life on a huge 360 screen [stock image](Image: Mads Perch via Getty Images)

The enigmatic presence communicated with Patty telepathically one final time, offering her the option of staying put or returning to her earthly existence. Realising her newborn had just arrived, Patty instantly decided to go back and be with him.

She went on: "I was brought back brought back to the hospital room where I saw doctors and nurses, about six or seven {of them]. I believe that they were giving me CPR because I remember them saying, 'She's not breathing,' At that moment when the person asked me, "What do you want to do?

"I was immediately shot back into my body when I said, "I want to be with my baby. " The next day, I was in so much pain. My chest was hurting so badly."

Patty claims she returned to her physical form with an invaluable message: "The biggest thing that I took back from this is that what I was told is that we're here to learn unconditional love, compassion, forgiveness, kindness, acceptance, you know, all these things is what I was told. This is what we are here to do."

Article continues below

Patty revealed that in her youth, she was utterly terrified of death, but her near-death experience has entirely transformed her perspective. "The biggest, most important thing is that I'm no longer afraid to die," Patty said. "And the weird thing is that I can't wait to go back."

[Dailystar Icon]

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Choose Daily Star as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.

[Google Preferred Source Badge]

At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the "Do Not Sell or Share my Data" button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Terms and Conditions.