A man who was clinically dead for 28 minutes has revealed what he believes he witnessed and has shared what happened to him. The fitness instructor described the life-changing experience he had as he was technically dead for 28 minutes following a heart attack.
Phill Zdybel, 57, suffered a heart attack during a casual basketball match. The taekwondo instructor, from Geelong, Victoria, Australia, said he had an “out-of-body” experience after dying and said he had a strange sensation of looking down on himself and what was happening from above.
His son, Joshua, called the paramedics, and an off-duty nurse who was just happened to be at the gym immediately took actopm, reviving Phill using CPR.
The dad was then rushed to hospital where he lay unconscious for three days while recovering from the terrifying incident. He needed surgery to fit a stent, reports the Express US.
It was only after waking up that Phill discovered he had been clinically dead for 28 minutes. He says he owes his life to basketball and its supporters – and that there were more than enough people in the gym to help him when things turned scary.
He said he doubts anyone would have discovered him otherwise.
Phill spent a week at Geelong Hospital and said his speedy recovery came down to his positive mental attitude and being in great physical shape.
“It’s all about your mindset [that’s] going to keep you going,” he wrote on Facebook after the huge scare.
“In my books, there is only one key element, [which is] hard physical training, but each to their own.”
The martial artist now claims his brush with death has led him to rethink retiring from combat sports. “All the little things we worry about are not worth worrying about,” he told the Advertiser days after competing in a competition alongside his son.
“Don’t let anyone tell you you can’t do anything.”
Phill shared his hope that his experience might encourage others to learn CPR, which can be life-saving. “Everyone needs to do CPR, and all workplaces, sports venues and the like should have defibrillators on hand,” he said.
Around 40,000 to 43,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur each year in the UK with a survival rate of less than 10 per cent, according to the British Heart Foundation.
