‘I was dead for 24 minutes’: Woman speaks out after terrifying death ordeal
A Virginian woman has revealed she was deemed clinically dead for 24 minutes – and what exactly happened during that time.
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A woman has revealed she was deemed dead for 24 minutes before being brought back to life thanks to husband’s CPR skills.
Lauren Canaday, 39, from the US, had suffered a sudden cardiac arrest, resulting in the blood flow being cut off from her body and her breathing stopping as she floated in and out of consciousness.
“My husband was across the hall and heard me say, ‘oh s***’,” Lauren told Newsweek.
“He rushed in to find me unconscious on the floor. I had stopped breathing and turned blue.”
Ms Canaday’s husband called emergency services and performed CPR for four minutes until paramedics arrived and took over, but it took 24 minutes and four defibrillators to start her heart again.
Her husband’s quick thinking with the CPR meant that her body was never without oxygen, which increased her survival chances.
In Australia, only 10 per cent of people who have a cardiac arrest outside of hospital survive, with over 25,000 Aussies suffering from cardiac arrests every year.
She was admitted to the ICU, where she tested positive to Covid and given a diagnosis of myocarditis, which is when there is an inflammation of the heart muscle that reduces blood flow.
Ms Canaday, who has a history of seizures, can't recall much of what happened when she was deemed clinically dead, but said it had a positive feeling to it.
“I have this gut feeling that it was friendly and peaceful even though I can’t report any shapes or personas or visions of that time. I feel like I dissolved, and it was just really nice,” she said.
As she embarked on her journey of recovery she felt frustrated as she struggled with her short term memory and was confused about what was going on around her.
As her recovery continued, though, she found her mindset shifting with none of the worries that used to plague her seeming to no longer matter. She enjoyed simple things such as the joy of eating a cheeseburger.
She was eventually discharged from hospital with MRIs showing no sign of brain damage and her ECG presenting as normal.
Ms Canaday said she feels as though she has a second life, saying it almost feels like she has two birthdays, and her only goals are to love her husband and make life easier.
Since the episode eight months ago, Lauren has been working on her health by walking 10,000 steps per day, going to bed at 8pm and taking quiet time for meditation.
Originally published as ‘I was dead for 24 minutes’: Woman speaks out after terrifying death ordeal
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