"A deeper meaning" - Former nurse changed view on afterlife after nearly dying during surgery
A former nurse who had a near-death experience during a heart procedure has explained how it completely changed her view on life after death.
Candice Purchase hadn't always known that she had a hole in her heart, but after her diagnosis - on top of a pulmonary embolism and multiple strokes - she underwent a patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure when she was just 30 years old.
As per Cleveland Clinic, a PFO closure involves plugging an opening between your heart’s two upper chambers by putting in a permanent device.
Candice tells UNILAD that she had to be awake for the procedure, which left her 'shaking with fear' while laying on the operating table.
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However, nothing could prepare her for what happened next.
"As the surgeon went to the main artery of my leg to feed the device up towards my heart, I was in another space in an instance," she describes. "I was just being and I was surrounded by peace and love," she told us, as she described what she saw as 'the brightest, purest white light I had ever seen'.
"I remember not thinking, not having any fears, thoughts, worries or stresses. I found myself sitting at the bottom of a big presence, and I believe this was my guide," she recalls.
But Candice didn't only see things, she felt them too.
"I sensed a second presence with him, that I was feeling the bottom of his robe," she explains, describing that she could feel the 'loose material between her fingers'.
"When I looked at myself it was as if I was a child," she says, explaining that she felt the hand of the presence 'coming towards the top of her head'.
Candice then found herself back on the operating table with the doctor asking if she was okay. She was asked by nurses what she saw and felt, however, she says she 'couldn't speak' after experiencing what she had.
She also said she kept her near-death experience to herself for months, due to the fear of people not believing her.
Following her experience, the mom of two says she 'no longer fears death'.
When she was young, Candice believed that once someone had passed away, they had gone forever - but that's all changed now.
"It changed a lot about what I thought, and it brought me even closer to my faith."
"When you pass away, you take nothing with you from the physical life. You are not angry, you're not sad, you're not holding on to anything. You're in a perfect state of peace. And you feel so loved, you feel like you're home," Candice believes.
Since her near-death-experience, Candice said felt like these things come in 'divine timing'.
"I was definitely nudged, I felt like there was a deeper meaning there."
Following the experience, the mother of two found her way to energy healing, which later led to her pursuing a career mediumship.
Now, she works as an Evidential Medium, in which she provides a variety of readings for people.
Kiesha Dosanjh