VANCOUVER, WA -- Heidi Stewart was dead for eight minutes on February 12 when she passed out and her heart stopped in school.
Now she wants to share her amazing story of survival and thank the heroes who came to her rescue.
Heidi was working with her leadership class to decorate the halls on the day she collapsed. She remembers feeling dizzy and walking to the office to get help.
Right as she was opening the door, she passed out and suffered sudden cardiac arrest. Evergreen High School's secretary radioed for help.
Then the school nurse, Debbie Fowler, grabbed an automated external defibrillator and shocked Heidi three times.
After about eight minutes, Heidi's heart started beating again. Heidi said she doesn’t recall any sort of out-of-body experiences, or bright lights - just a lot of nothing.
“It was just like when you go to sleep and it’s black, but yeah, I do believe in heaven,” she said.
Stewart, 18, was rushed to a hospital and later diagnosed with a rare heart condition.
This was the third time a staff member at Evergreen used an AED to save a student's life.
The defibrillator that saved Stewart was donated to the high school by the Quinn Driscoll Foundation, named after a 13-year-old student at Vancouver's Wy'east Middle School who died during gym class in 2009.
Stewart recently met Quinn's father and thanked him for helping save her life.
To see video, click here.
SOURCE: KGW.com