Lifelong atheist who 'died for 50 minutes' describes what God was like in the afterlife
A lifelong atheist says she has now found faith after claiming she 'met God in heaven' during a life-changing experience that doctors say left her 'healed'.
Riley Courtright claims to have 'died twice' over the course of 18 months, after being diagnosed with vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), a rare genetic disorder that affects the body's connective tissues.
The condition can leave those affected at high risk of dangerous internal bleeding, with Riley claiming her 'first death' happened at home after doctors told her there were no further treatment options.
But the second time occurred while she and her husband were preparing for what they thought would be Courtright's final days.
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"Dying is a funny thing because it all sort of happens at once," she said, speaking on the Round Trip podcast.
But for her, that wasn't the case.
Courtright describes the 'second time' she died as being transported to an otherworldly experience.
And as a lifelong atheist, it wasn't the type of journey she quite anticipated.
"When I died, I instantly shot up to God," she recalled.
"And there was no mistaking that's where I was. He is bigger than the cosmos. I got to wrap my arms around his neck. I got to sit in his lap. I got to play by his ankles. I got to go with him to work."
She added: "It felt like I got to watch him expand the universe. I got to watch him build the next Earth that we're all going to be on."
Courtright claimed that God had 'explained' the universe to her when she got to heaven.
"You get every bit of information that's ever existed in the universe all at once," she said.
She also described the 'first breath' she took back on earth as the 'cleanest' she had ever experienced, alleging that the creator had given her a heart and lungs.
"There was nothing wrong with my heart anymore," she claimed, "My lungs were great. My kidneys, my liver. I was hungry.
Courtright said that she knew in her soul she had been 'healed' by the Lord.
But it wasn't just her who had felt or noticed a difference.
The woman claimed that doctors also said: "We can't explain this, but you look like a healthy 34-year-old. Like, your organs look good. We can't see the past trauma anymore from heart attacks, from strokes, or signs of internal bleeding. Like you're great."
She went onto decline any further treatment, and now claims to have been 'healed' for seven months.
She also reflected on how much the experience has changed her beliefs, as she added: "I was an atheist, and I got to see God. So I also don't want people to be scared of this, like biblical telling or this Baptist telling of, you know, 'fear God' because God doesn't want to be feared.
"He wants to be loved, right?...His love is so unconditional."
Mia Williams