In a remarkable account from Colorado, a mother who experienced a near-fatal medical emergency shortly after giving birth has shared her profound story of a near-death experience. Hannah Mercado, now 32, claims her soul left her body and journeyed toward heaven before being abruptly returned to Earth, an event that has deeply affirmed her spiritual beliefs.
The Medical Crisis After Childbirth
In 2021, Mercado had just welcomed her second son, Watson, into the world when she was struck by intense pain and severe bleeding. Initially dismissed as normal by a nurse, the situation rapidly escalated. "I got the most intense pain I'd ever felt before," Mercado recalled. "Then there was blood everywhere and a blood clot came out of me that was the size of a pineapple."
Instinctively sensing something was terribly wrong, Mercado found her room suddenly filled with approximately 25 medical professionals, including nurses, doctors, and anesthesiologists, creating a scene of chaos. Doctors diagnosed that part of her placenta, the temporary organ that nourishes a fetus during pregnancy, had remained in her body, necessitating emergency surgery to remove it.
Clinical Death and the Out-of-Body Experience
During the operation, Mercado began to hemorrhage uncontrollably, leading to her losing consciousness as her heart stopped beating and her blood pressure plummeted. Medical professionals believe she was clinically dead for approximately one minute. It was during this critical minute that Mercado describes an extraordinary out-of-body experience.
"I started really not feeling good then started floating above myself and thought, 'Oh, I think I might be dying,'" she said. "I couldn't see myself because I was surrounded by so many people. I could look down and see all these people working on me." Mercado firmly believes this sensation represented her soul departing from her physical form.
The Journey Toward Heaven
As she floated above her body, Mercado reports being met with "the brightest white light" she had ever encountered. "You could stare into the sun for minutes and it would never be this bright," she described. "It was all-encompassing, I was like inside the bright, white light."
This luminous experience filled her with an overwhelming sense of peace, convincing her that she had indeed died. "That's when I knew I was dead. I felt so at peace, it was like my soul was at peace," Mercado explained. However, this serene moment was accompanied by a heartbreaking realization: "I'm never going to see my kids again."
The Abrupt Return to Life
The transcendent experience proved short-lived as Mercado was suddenly and violently returned to consciousness. "Then it felt like I was drop-kicked into being alive. It was very abrupt and sudden," she recounted. "I was in a panic. I didn't know what had happened."
Following her return, Mercado required two blood transfusions after losing over half a gallon of blood—approximately half of her body's total blood supply. Fortunately, she has recovered fully without any lasting physical complications from the ordeal.
Spiritual Transformation and Affirmed Faith
Mercado's experience places her among the approximately one in ten Americans who report having a near-death experience (NDE), often described as transformative events occurring during severe medical crises. While research from the University of Virginia suggests that between 10 and 22 percent of NDEs may be distressing, Mercado's was ultimately positive despite initial moments of dread.
The experience has profoundly strengthened her Christian faith and eliminated her fear of mortality. "I've always been a Christian. This gave me even more of a realization that I do believe in God and I was going up to heaven," Mercado stated. "It made me realize the afterlife is real. It was definitely a spiritual experience. If anything it's made me closer to God. I'm definitely not afraid of dying anymore."
Now living with her husband and two sons, Mercado views her near-death experience as both a medical miracle and a spiritual awakening that has permanently altered her perspective on life, death, and what may lie beyond.
