Shona Hirons has escaped death on several occasions, including a mini-stroke, a hole in the heart, a near-fatal bike accident, cancer, covid and pneumonia and has spoken of the experiences
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Shona Hirons shares her stories of near-death experiences
A woman who claims she has nearly died on seven separate occasions has shared what she has learned from the experiences.
Shona Hirons has only just turned 50 but has already suffered a mini-stroke, a hole in the heart, a near-fatal bike accident, cancer, covid, pneumonia and bacterial meningitis. The mum of one’s near misses have left her with an optimistic outlook on life, as she shared what she has learned.
Shona, from Portishead, Somerset, said: “I think these events have been the best things to have ever happened to me. I had a big wake up call.
“I asked myself: ‘If today had been the last day of my life, would I be happy with what I had achieved?’ and the answer was absolutely not. It made me reflect and I realised I had been given another chance at life.
“I was going to start finally living it and focusing on what I wanted, not what everybody else expected of me. I’ve changed my career, 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 suffered a mini-stroke at the age of 22, followed by discovering a hole in her heart at 32, in which she had to undergo open surgery to fix. In a bid to ease some more positivity into her life, and to avoid any further health issues, she decided to take up cycling into work, how, in February 2017, this too nearly ended her life.
She said: “I was alone, cycling to work, minding my own business and trying to avoid my brain diverting to the worst case scenario. Rushing as usual when I came off my bike, 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, but then I was told I had a 20% chance of survival.
“I had to undergo major facial reconstructive surgery as I had broken all the bones around my left orbital area and completely smashed my cheekbone into pieces. Alongside that, my jaw was fractured and so was the base of my skull.
“Doctors were concerned I wouldn’t be able to see out of my left eye again. It was utter hell.”
Shona ultimately decided to leave her successful career as a lawyer and started studying nutrition, before starting her own wellbeing company. Now, she says she is far happier.
She added: “The worst part of all of this was being unsure of the outcomes each time, but I have a healthy set of boundaries now and have learned to say ‘no’ when I want. I actually quite like myself these days. I chose to get back up and it was a good choice to make. 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. Talk to someone you trust – whether that’s a friend, colleague or family member – if you’re struggling.
“I bottled my thoughts and feelings for far too long; and look where I ended up. I am so grateful for all of these experiences, as without them, I don’t think I would’ve changed into the person I am today.”
