Candice Purchase, a 30-year-old former nurse from the United Kingdom, has left her healthcare career to work as a spiritual medium after experiencing a mystical vision during heart surgery.
The former healthcare worker decided to change professions following a medical procedure to repair a defect in her heart, during which she reported leaving her physical body and entering a different space.
Purchase was diagnosed with a septal defect after suffering a pulmonary embolism and a series of strokes. Surgeons attempted to correct the structural condition by inserting a flexible catheter through her femoral artery while she remained awake under local anesthesia.
As the surgeon guided the catheter through the blood vessel in her groin, Purchase said she experienced a sudden transition into another realm. She described seeing the largest and brightest white light she had ever witnessed and feeling an overwhelming sense of peace and love, without any feeling of fear.
She reported standing at the feet of a massive entity that she described as her mentor. Purchase said she physically felt the fabric of the figure's garment with her fingers, adding that when she looked down at herself, she appeared as a young child.
Medical recovery and career transition
A septal defect is a congenital heart condition involving an abnormal opening in the wall that divides the heart chambers. This opening can cause blood to flow improperly between the left and right sides of the heart, which increases the risk of blood clots forming. Such clots can travel to the lungs to cause a pulmonary embolism or reach the brain to trigger a stroke. Cardiac catheterization via the femoral artery allows surgeons to reach the heart internally without opening the chest cavity.
When Purchase regained consciousness on the operating table, she found herself unable to speak immediately about what had occurred. Fearing that colleagues and family members would not believe her story, she kept the details of the vision private for several months.
The event ultimately led to a complete change in her personal worldview. She expressed conviction that human life carries a deeper purpose and that physical death is not an ending, but a return home to a state of absolute peace and affection. Inspired by the experience, she resigned from her post as a nurse and began working as a spiritual medium.
Her account was originally reported by the British newspaper The Express.
Accounts of near-death experiences
Near-death experiences are documented phenomena in which patients undergoing critical medical care, cardiac arrest, or surgical procedures under anesthesia report vivid altered states of consciousness. Medical experts often attribute these occurrences to neurochemical shifts or a temporary lack of oxygen to the brain during physiological stress, though patients frequently report long-term shifts in their personal beliefs afterward. Spiritual mediums typically work by attempting to facilitate communication between living individuals and the spirits of the deceased.
Purchase's vision shares similarities with an account given by Barbara Bartolome, a resident of the United States who experienced a cardiac arrest approximately 40 years ago.
Bartolome reported entering the afterlife after her heart stopped during a medical emergency. She described feeling as though she were wrapped in a beautiful blanket of love and acceptance, adding that the state felt wonderful to experience.
