Fifty-year-old Tessa Romero, a journalist and sociologist, shares a remarkable story of what she experienced after her heart stopped for 24 minutes while on the school run. This profound near-death experience (NDE) has completely reshaped her understanding of life and death, leaving her with no fear of what lies beyond.
Before this event, Tessa had been battling an unexplained illness for months, with doctors unable to pinpoint the cause despite numerous tests. She felt increasingly unwell, a distressing period made harder by the medical mystery. Now, reflecting on her NDE, she and some experts believe her illness may have been a physical manifestation of intense emotional suffering she was enduring at the time. As she puts it, "Sometimes, what we fail to let out inside ends up being shouted out by the body outside."
The moment her heart stopped, Tessa describes an immediate sense of immense peace, a welcome relief from all physical and emotional pain. She felt a profound lifting of a huge weight. What followed was an out-of-body experience; she remembers floating above the ceiling, looking down at her own body. Initially, it was confusing, as she felt alive, awake, and conscious, yet couldn't understand why no one could see or hear her. Having been a non-believer in such phenomena before, she now knows with absolute certainty that this wasn't a dream but a real, transformative event.
Tessa noticed a distinct shift in her perception of the world around her, as if everything was seen through an "antique filter." Time itself seemed to slow down, everything felt denser and more meaningful. This short brush with death, though only 24 minutes in this world, felt like an eternity to her.
Her perspective on life and death has been utterly transformed. Prior to her NDE, death was a source of deep fear, viewed as something dark, uncertain, and painful. Now, Tessa sees it as a beautiful transition, "like crossing a door into a place where everything makes sense, where love and peace envelope everything." This new understanding has replaced her fear with a profound peace, knowing that life continues and that we are not alone but "infinitely loved." This experience has also deepened her appreciation for life itself, making every moment precious. She now understands that what truly matters is "how we love, how we accompany and how we leave a mark on the souls of others."
