Shona Hirons has lived through cancer, a near-fatal bike accident, and was even in a two-week coma, and while she didn’t have any ‘out of body experiences’, she no longer ‘fears death’
A woman who nearly died seven times says there was no bright light or tunnel when she came close to death. Shona Hirons has suffered a mini-stroke, a hole in the heart, a near-fatal bike accident, cancer, Covid, pneumonia and bacterial meningitis over the years.
At one point the mother-of-one was even in a coma with brain swelling. It means the former lawyer says she is no longer afraid of dying.
Shona, a behaviour, fitness and nutrition coach from Portishead in Somerset, says she is now the happiest she has ever been. She says her near-death experiences have even taught her a “lesson” in life.
Shona explained: “I’m no longer fearful of death. Two years after my bike accident, I was diagnosed with cancer and just knew somehow that it wasn’t going to kill me.”
Many people often claim they see bright lights or tunnels when they “die”, but Shona said she didn’t see a thing.
She continued: “I haven’t had any out-of-body experiences [during any of my near-misses]. I guess I realised I was in a dark place at the time, so that didn’t help.
“I don’t have any recollection of me being in the coma and after, I didn’t even feel scared of the surgery. I think these events have been the best things that have ever happened to me.”
Shona says her near-death experiences have “completely changed her mindset”. They even prompted her to switch careers, ditching the legal profession for coaching.
She added: “I’m much more of a positive and confident person these days. It’s taught me to love life and be kind to myself everyday – something I truly struggled with before.”
Shona, who is now in her early 50s, says she dealt with extreme stress and burnout when she was younger. She suffered a mini-stroke when she was just 22 years old.
The hole in her heart was discovered a decade later, needing open heart surgery to fix. It was then she decided to take up cycling to avoid further issues.
But she was in a near-fatal accident in 2017. Shona explained: “My front wheel suddenly hit a puddle on the road.
“I went flying over the handle bars and my face landed on a broken piece of kerb. I fell unconscious and at hospital, I was placed into an induced coma due to swelling on my brain.
“When I woke up two weeks later, I thought I had just broken my finger, so I didn’t understand what all the fuss was about.”
Shona underwent major facial reconstruction surgery after breaking all of the bones in her left orbital area and smashing her cheekbone to pieces. Describing it as “utter hell,” she was given just a 20 per cent chance of survival.
Two years later she developed uterine cancer. She says the accident was a “big wake up call” that she was starting to feel “burnt out”.
She said: “I was working 80-hour weeks and felt like it was my job to do everything, both at work and at home. It made me reflect and I realised I had been given another chance at life.
“[So] my mindset was in a good place [when I was told I had cancer]. I remember my consultant telling me that it may have been caused by the amount of stress and trauma I’d been through.
“I guess we’ll never know for sure. I took one day at a time, underwent treatment and surgery and was lucky I got the all-clear eight months later.”
The mother-of-one faced yet another battle for her life in 2024 when she contracted Covid. As the virus took hold, she also suffered pneumonia and bacterial meningitis.
Despite her brushes with death, Shona just believes it is “life taking its course”. She added: “[When I got sick last year], I didn’t feel like life was punishing me, I actually thought it was quite funny.
“For once, I was no longer in victim mode wondering why so many bad things were happening to me. It was just life taking its course.
“I’m not fearful of anything anymore. My family joke about wrapping me in bubble wrap but I’m determined to keep living my best life and make the most of it, as none of us know when our time is up.
“I prioritise my health, because if you don’t make time for your health, sooner or later, you’ll most likely have to make time for illness.”
