A Woman Wrote “It’s Real,” Referring to Heaven, After “Dying” for 27 Minutes

In February of 2018, an Arizona woman named Tina Hines suffered a cardiac arrest while preparing for a hike with her husband. She had to be resuscitated multiple times but made it to a hospital where she survived the ordeal. You don’t see someone make it through like that very often.

When she finally woke up, after 27 minutes, the first thing she did was ask for a notepad because she had to write something down: “It’s real.”

More recently, her niece Madie Johnson got a tattoo commemorating that moment and shared it online:

View this post on Instagram

(sharing because this story is too cool not to share) A little over a year ago my Aunt Tina, one of the most amazing, discerning, and healthy people I know had an unexpected cardiac arrest and according to doctors had died and was brought back to life four times by my Uncle Brian and first responders before arriving to the hospital. She was put on a defibrillator and after miraculously waking up the first thing she did, unable to speak because she was intubated, was ask for a pen and in my cousins journal wrote “it’s real”. The people in the room asked “what’s real?” and she responded by pointing up to heaven with tears in her eyes. Her story is too real not to share and has given me a stronger confidence in a faith that so often goes unseen. It has given me a tangibleness to an eternal hope that is not too far away. I love you @_tinahines! The way you boldly love Jesus and others has changed the way I hope to live and love❤️

A post shared by Madie Johnson (@madiejohnson) on Jun 18, 2019 at 5:10pm PDT

So… what’s “real”?

When asked what her note referenced, Hines responded by “pointing up to heaven with tears in her eyes,” according to her niece.

“It was so real, the colors were so vibrant,” Hines recalled of her vision, which she said included Jesus standing in front of black gates with a bright yellow glow behind him.

In other words, she had the exact same vision a bunch of Christians have had in similar situations (and we know because they’ve cashed in by writing books about the experiences). It’s a stereotypical, superficial depiction of Heaven. It’s the equivalent of claiming a UFO took you into outer space and all the aliens were little green men.

(One of those authors has since recanted his story, saying “I thought it would get me attention.”)

Hines may have had a vision, but it doesn’t mean her vision was true. (I’ve had vivid dreams, too.)

It also shows she wasn’t truly “dead” for 27 minutes. Close, perhaps, but not dead.

There’s no reason to take her story seriously, and the tattoo should be treated as nothing more than a sentimental memory. It means something to Madie. It shouldn’t mean anything to anyone else. (If anything, it reads more like “It’s Hell.”)

Scientific research has shown that high levels of brain waves are present, leading to vivid hallucinations, are commonplace when you are close to dying. So while people might be tempted to believe that Hines, in her state, had her brain “switched off” until she “came back to life,” it was likely performing all kinds of unusual activities. No wonder the dream she had felt more real later on.

(Thanks to Fromper for the link)