When I was a child, a family member had a brush with death that is now famous in our family. He’s since had others as well, but this one was special in one way: he says that his near-death experience included the whole white light, tunnel, the rest of the near-death shebang that we see in the movies and hear about from various people who’ve almost died.

Though science has given explanations for this experience, many believe that this experience is actually the route to Heaven (or the afterlife, etc.), resulting in a belief in religion, a second chance at life, and perhaps more do-gooding within their lives.

So I have to wonder if Ann Mintram of North Wales experienced this white light and tunnel phenomenon once, or twice, or all 114 times she was brought back to life recently.

Mintram, 55, was given electric shocks to resuscitate her body, which died that many times in less than two days. Though extremely grateful, Mintram reports scorch marks on her body from the medical team’s efforts. A victim of Sudden Adult Death Syndrome, in which the heart stops from beating for no apparent reason, Mintram had collapsed while watching television.

She had reported feeling dizzy and giddy, having passed out last April, and wrote it off as her age. Thankfully when she went unconscious, her husband was home and was able to help care for her.

Mintram went to the Ysbyty Gwynedd Clinic in Bangor for a night of observation, but all seemed well—until she was just about to leave, when her heart stopped beating. The CPR and defibrillator work then commenced. When her poor daughter asked about her mother’s condition and what plan there was to care for her after her 18^th resuscitation, she was simply told, “This is the plan, there’s nothing more that we can do.”

She was then transferred to a specialty unit for heart patients at Liverpool’s Broadgreen Hospital. Between the two places, she died more than 100 times.

When I imagined this, I thought of Mintram as unconscious during the ordeal, but not so; she was awake every time after she was brought back to life, full of fear every time that it would be the last time she’d ever wake up. Can you imagine such an ordeal? All I can say is I’m amazed by both Mintram and her strength during the entire two days, as well as by the doctors who never gave up on her. Talk about dedication to your patient—and true heroism.