I was out of my body looking down at the whole scene — Woman who died and came back to life shares what she saw in the afterlife

A woman identified as Barbara Bartolome has opened up about her near-death experiences and the extraordinary things she claims to have witnessed in the afterlife after reportedly dying and coming back to life twice.

According to Barbara, her first experience happened when she was just 18 months old. She explained that she stopped breathing for a short period after suffering from a high fever.

She recalled that her body turned purple and lifeless before she eventually came back to life.

Barbara revealed that nearly three decades later, she experienced another terrifying incident while undergoing lumbar decompression surgery to treat severe nerve pain in her back.

During the medical procedure, doctors injected iodine into her spinal cord to check for possible damage. However, an X-ray technician accidentally pressed a button that moved the table she was lying on, causing the dye to leak into her brain.

She said she immediately began losing consciousness, and when she regained awareness, she saw medical personnel — including an orthopaedic surgeon, neurosurgeon, two X-ray technicians, and a nurse — desperately trying to save her life.

Barbara further explained that she suddenly found herself floating near the ceiling of the hospital room, watching doctors work frantically on her body as they attempted to revive her.

Narrating her experience to The Sun, she said:

“I was out of my body looking down at the whole scene.

“The panic I was feeling in my body was gone. I felt wrapped in a beautiful blanket of love and acceptance, and I felt absolutely wonderful.

“I looked down at what was happening below – the surgeon was calling ‘code blue’. I calmly said, ‘If I’m up here and my body is down there, and he’s calling code blue, I think I just died’.

“Right when I said that, there was a feeling of a being that was right next to me, and the being felt like I had known him forever. It felt like it was god.

“I felt absolute acceptance and absolute love and comfort – when he was next to me, I was a pure being, a pure spirit.

“It was just incredible. It was life-changing to have that feeling of him being right there. I had been on the earth for 31 years at that time, but I felt it was way beyond that”.

Barbara explained that while observing everything happening around her, she felt the urge to return to life.

“I was saying I needed to go back, while I was watching everything down below.

“They had an oxygen mask on my face, and they were switching between that and chest compressions”.

“I watched my body while that happened, and watched the whole thing from above, and my body jerked.

“I didn’t go back into my body, but up on the ceiling, as I was looking down, the being spoke to me”.

She also revealed that she was asked what she would do differently if she returned to life.

According to her, painful memories from her past suddenly flooded her mind, making her realise that she needed to make major changes in her life, including ending her marriage and prioritising both herself and her children.

Barbara said she pleaded for another chance at life.

Adding, she said:

“The second I said it, the surgeon did the second cardiac thump, and it restarted my heart.

“I opened my eyes, and I was back in my body with the oxygen mask on my face. They were all astonished”.

Barbara recalled that doctors later stabilised her condition before she was able to fully explain everything she experienced.

She said one of the surgeons became extremely frightened and left the room, while another doctor encouraged her to repeat the story in detail.

After resting overnight, Barbara underwent the planned surgery — a laminectomy discectomy — the following day and remained in hospital for four days while recovering.

According to her, nobody around her wanted to discuss the incident afterward, but that did not make her question what she experienced.

Barbara stated that she had never taken drugs, consumed alcohol excessively, or experienced hallucinations before, insisting that the experience felt completely real to her.

“It was as real every time I thought about it, as it was when happening.

“Talking about it now, if I were to shut my eyes, I would see down where the table is, where the people were, I could see the whole room”.

She revealed that because people found it difficult to believe her story, she remained silent about the experience for 12 years.

However, as time went on, Barbara gradually began sharing her story with others, including one of Juli’s friend’s mothers, who introduced her to the term “near-death experience” and informed her that many people online had shared similar stories.

Barbara now believes her near-death experience happened for a reason and helped her find the courage to leave her marriage and rebuild her life.

“It helped change who I was in major ways, and helped me to understand much more than I’ve ever understood before,” she said.

“When you open the door to the other side, it’s amazing how they’ll come through for you in so many instances.

“I think that the other side is listening all the time. They’re here and ready to help everybody.

“But a lot of people close their doors, and when they get an intuitive hint, they think it’s their intuitive hit, instead of a message from the other side helping them.

“I really wish everybody understood – it’s not someplace far away, they’re here and with us.

“I see in many ways, the other side was teaching me all along, and planting me in places where I could grow and could get to the point of talking about this without worries of anybody’s judgment or non-belief.

“I can talk to anybody about this – so that’s what I do every day”.

Barbara said she is now passionate about sharing her experience and encouraging others to be open-minded about near-death experiences, which she describes as her “life’s purpose”.

“I do not believe that we are judged by anyone after death, but instead we see a life review, and we view our actions and connections with others, and we see both the positive and the negative ones.

“I feel that we are here to ‘grow our soul’ – and our choices and experiences here do that.

“I believe that we reincarnate and return here many times, to experience alternate lives and life experiences.

“I don’t believe we go to heaven or hell, but instead we return home, where we originated from.

“We can call the being that was with me during my near-death experience God, or Buddha, or Creator, or any other name – he doesn’t care.

“But he does want people to develop a close connection and relationship directly with him rather than with organised religion.

“His love for us is immense, and he does orchestrate miracles, healing, and other amazing experiences in our lives.

“I have no fear of death and look forward to returning home at some future point – when I have experienced my soul’s growth and my life purpose has been fulfilled”.