I nearly died after my vision went black — I thought I was in heaven

Talk about heaven on Earth.

A woman believed she went to heaven after what she believes was a near-death experience when she lost consciousness.

Courtney Santiago was stressed. She was going through a breakup and one of her friends had died within the span of a few weeks, and the series of unfortunate events took a toll on her overall health.

Seeking medical treatment, the 32-year-old from New Jersey underwent a routine MRI in July last year due to her increased risk for breast cancer with the BRCA-2 gene mutation.

But during the imaging, she recalled feeling “sick,” asking for water and her vision going black — it was then that she believes she saw the “other side.”

“I was only gone for around forty seconds and I didn’t hide the shock on my face, as it had felt like a lifetime,” Santiago told NeedToKnow.co.uk, remembering the “dream state” she was in while unconscious.

While passed out, she claims to have seen an unknown man who assured her that she would be fine as the pair stood on a beach. Then, she said the scenery transformed into mountains that bared a resemblance to her childhood home.

“I wasn’t worried about leaving behind my body, my life, my son or my family and friends – none of that felt important,” she explained. “There was no concept of time whatsoever, just the feeling of complete peace.”

She awoke unable to speak or move, but eventually returned to normal to be discharged, following up with medical professionals the next day to determine the cause.

“You’re not supposed to see much of anything while unconscious – you don’t dream or wake up with any lost time,” said Santiago, who later learned her heart had skipped a beat and was diagnosed with vasovagal syncope.

“I’m 100% certain what I saw was the ‘in-between’ and was much more than a fainting episode.”

When she told the nurse what she had seen, she was informed that “it is possible to pass away during an episode of vasovagal syncope,” but is typically not life-threatening. The condition is triggered by emotional distress, according to Mayo Clinic.

She shared her harrowing tale on TikTok, garnering nearly 80,000 views across the three-part series, noting that she had an eerie feeling something would go awry during her screening.

“When we die, we’re not gone and where we go, we’re happy,” she says as she ends the last installment of the series, eliciting a chorus of agreement and responses from fellow TikTokers who shared their own experiences with death.

Some viewers said the story was “cool” and “inspiring,” while others assured her that they believed her story.

“I feel relieved to have an answer and while it is shocking to know that the stress almost killed me, it’s allowed me to seek treatment to address these symptoms,” added Santiago, who lost her mom during a routine dental procedure four years ago.

Experiencing what happened during her brush with “death” has given her “peace,” knowing that she and her mom could have shared a similar experience.

Instead of scaring her, the near-death experience has allowed her to be “more open” and improve her interpersonal relationships, she said.

“I’m not fearful of experiencing this again and I think managing my stress will reduce the likelihood of this,” she said.

“I’m grateful that it happened and I feel like it serves as confirmation that our existence and consciousness do continue once we’re gone – there is nothing to fear.”