Victoria Thomas, 41, from Gloucester, UK, says her life changed after she collapsed during a gym boot camp. “All my energy just drained from my body,” she recalled. Paramedics confirmed she had gone into cardiac arrest, and her heart stopped for 17 minutes.

“I remember everything going black, then I was looking down at my body from the ceiling,” Victoria said. “I didn’t see a light or feel peace, I was just watching the chaos around me.” She was revived after life-saving CPR and later fitted with a defibrillator to keep her heart beating.

In 2021, while pregnant with her son Tommy, doctors diagnosed her with Danon disease, a rare genetic disorder. Her heart was functioning at only 11%, and she was told she had months to live. “It was devastating. All I could think of was Tommy. I vowed I wouldn’t leave him,” she shared.

Victoria received a heart transplant in April 2023 and now plans to compete in the World Transplant Games. “I feel like I’ve been given a second chance at life and motherhood,” she said.