The concept of an afterlife has been a topic of fascination and debate for centuries, with many pondering what—if anything—lies beyond the veil of death.
During what should have been a routine school run, a woman suffered a suspected sudden cardiac arrest and was clinically dead for 24 minutes.
Her experience during those minutes has not only reshaped her understanding of death but also provided her with a newfound sense of peace.
For Tessa Romero, a 50-year-old sociologist from the south of Spain, this question was answered most unexpectedly and profoundly.
Romero’s journey to the brink of the unknown began on an ordinary day as she dropped her daughters off at school.
Without warning, her heart ceased to beat, and she found herself in a state that many would describe as ‘the other side’. In her book, 24 Minutes on the Other Side: Living Without Fear of Death, Romero recounts the sensations and visions she encountered during her near-death experience (NDE).
The first thing Romero recalls is an overwhelming sense of peace, a stark contrast to the physical and emotional pain that had plagued her due to a rare illness she had been battling for months.
‘I felt profoundly relieved as if a huge weight had been lifted from me. I remember floating above the ceiling, looking down on the scene.’
As she floated above the scene, detached from her body, she observed the clinic’s hustle and bustle and saw her daughters in the waiting room. The confusion of seeing her body lying there, yet feeling alive and conscious, was profound.
The experience has ultimately changed Romero’s view on death and the afterlife. Image source: Jam Press/Tessa Romero
Before her experience, Romero was a sceptic of phenomena related to the afterlife.
However, upon waking, she was convinced that what she had undergone was not a dream but a very real encounter with something beyond our typical understanding of life and death.
‘It was real,’ she said ‘everything around me felt different. I had a very strange feeling as if the world had been put through an antique filter.’
The world around her seemed altered, as if time had slowed down and everything carried a deeper significance.
Romero’s account adds to a growing body of anecdotal evidence suggesting that consciousness—or at least a form of it—may continue after clinical death.
Scientific studies have shown that the human brain can function for a short time after the heart stops and can even exhibit bursts of activity during resuscitation, long after it is presumed to have shut down.
These findings have sparked discussions in the medical community about the criteria for declaring death, with some experts suggesting that the current three-to-five-minute rule following oxygen deprivation to the brain may need to be reevaluated.
The possibility of resuscitation after such periods challenges our understanding of life’s finality.
Romero’s experience is not unique. Many individuals who have undergone NDEs report seeing bright lights, encountering deceased relatives, or perceiving a heavenly realm.
While the exact cause of these experiences is still debated, some researchers theorise that the brain’s ‘brakes’ are released during these moments, allowing for vivid and lucid experiences that may draw from our stored memories.
For Romero, the NDE was transformative. She no longer views death with fear but sees it as a transition to a place where love and peace are all-encompassing.
‘I feel a profound peace knowing that life continues beyond what we see, that we are not alone, and that we are infinitely loved,’ she said.
Her story offers a glimpse into the potential continuity of life beyond what we can see and serves as a reminder that we may be more than just our physical bodies.
As we explore the mysteries of life and the potential of an afterlife, we invite our readers to reflect on their beliefs and share their thoughts. Have you or someone you know had a near-death experience?
Also read: The hidden gift of mortality: Why facing death brings life into focus
