I died and came back to life – there’s no light to walk towards but here’s why you shouldn’t fear death
SUFFERING with swelling in his legs, Kevin Hill went to the doctors.
It was the summer of 2021, and the 55-year-old said his puffy legs were down to water retention.
He said doctors dismissed his symptoms until he finally got an appointment at the coronary care unit in Derby.
The writer was then rushed to hospital within hours – beginning his year long stint in hospital.
During that time, Kevin caught rare illness calciphylaxis, an uncommon disease in which calcium accumulates in small blood vessels of the fat and skin tissues.
Whilst having an operation, he said he died and came back to life.
He said there’s no light to go towards, he explained: “I wasn’t looking down at my body, but I was separate from my body.
“It was like I was in the spirit realm – I was conscious of what was going on but I had so much peace.
“I knew I was bleeding. I knew it was serious. The staff kept coming in and out to stop the bleeding.”
Kevin said he was watching the NHS staff from the sidelines trying to save him, adding that the ordeal had made him revaluate things.
He said: “I knew I had died. I was separate from my body.
“Then I just went to sleep and I woke up, alive and the bleeding had stopped.
“I knew it wasn’t my time to die. The situation has made me refocus my priorities.
“When I came out of the hospital my family atmosphere changed dramatically.
“I have become more resilient. I know I can bounce back.”
After first being admitted to hospital, medics found that the water retention Kevin had been suffering was down to his heart valve having two parts instead of three.
In January 2022 he had an operation on his heart valve and it was after the operation that Kevin caught calciphylaxis.
This is a rare condition that only one in five people are diagnosed with.
What is calciphylaxis and what causes it?
Calciphylaxis is the term used for a condition called calcific uraemicarteriolopathy, the NHS states.
It’s a chronic condition that occurs as a result of a build-up of calcium and phosphate in the small arteries of the body.
Guidance states that this build up can cause a brittle, chalky material to form that can often look like bone.
The condition is very rare and at the moment there is no cure.
The cause of the disease is still relatively unknown but researchers say it is thought to be a combination of the following:
- calcium imbalance in the body
- phosphate imbalance in the body
- Parathyroid hormone imbalance in the body (the parathyroid is a gland that controls calcium levels)
People who have it will often have pain and itchy areas of skin around their stomach, this is caused by inflammation, the NHS states.
Kevin had the condition for months and said his skin was ‘eating away’ at him,
“I had three days where my legs were bleeding out – it just wouldn’t stop,” he added.
Kevin lost so much blood that he died for a few minutes until the doctors were able to resuscitate him, he said.
Kevin has made a near to full recovery and is now back at home with his wife Camille Hill, 52.
He said: “I am in the final stages of recovery. In my right leg, I still have some pain but it is not near the level it used to be – I would cry for hours.
“My pain level used to be 100 out of 10 and now it had dropped to a four.
“Everyone said I should be dead,” he added.