A woman who experienced a three-minute death revealed how she lost something significant but gained something profound. Callie Elwayns faced a tension pneumothorax, a critical condition where air accumulates between the lung and chest wall, applying pressure on vital organs. Her heart ceased beating during the incident.

Recalling her out-of-body encounter during the near-death episode, Callie, hailing from Alberta, Canada, shared her insights on the impact of the experience. She described sensing a lung collapse and feeling a sense of dread that prompted her to seek emergency help. Shortly after, she collapsed due to the tension pneumothorax.

Emergency responders struggled for three minutes to revive Callie, whose heart had stopped. She was successfully resuscitated while en route to the hospital. Callie described encountering a feeling she could only define as “love,” experiencing an expansive awareness that made her feel like a spirit detached from her identity.

She expressed losing her sense of self due to a tumultuous childhood marked by her mother’s erratic behavior. By 13, she felt unsafe at home and resorted to living on the streets. Multiple collapsed lung incidents followed, which she interpreted as manifestations of deep-seated fear and shame.

Despite the challenges, Callie’s health recovered, allowing her to lead a normal life and become a mother. However, the near-death event triggered a profound shift in her perspective, cleansing her body of past traumas. She remarked on feeling complete and rediscovering inner love that had eluded her for years.