What happens after death? The million-dollar question has an answer, at least for Kevin Hill, a 55-year-old writer who lives in Derby, Derbyshire, one of England's 47 counties.
Hill has calciphylaxis, a rare and serious condition in which calcium builds up in the small blood vessels of fatty tissues and skin.
Nicknamed "the miracle man" after going through a borderline situation in which he was "dead," Hill shared his experience of "dying" and coming back to life, saying it was actually a peaceful transition, and that he knew he was gone. "There is no light at the end of the tunnel."
Hill is nicknamed "the miracle man" after going through a borderline situation in which he was "dead".
Kevin that his illness was leading him to agony. when his dead skin, which was caused by blisters, began to eat away at his living skin, which meant he was in constant excruciating pain.
Things got so bad that he bled to death, losing nearly two and a half liters of blood, and his heart stopped before doctors resuscitated him, against all odds.
Kevin recalls, "I wasn't looking at my body, but I was separate from my body. It was like I was in the spirit realm: I was aware of what was going on but I had a lot of peace."
Kevin had an amazing recovery.
"I knew I was bleeding. I knew it was serious. Staff were in and out to stop the bleeding."
"I watched the NHS staff from the side trying to save me, but I knew I had died. I was separated from my body," she recalled.
Kevin recalls that unique moment: "It's like I went to sleep and woke up alive, and the bleeding had stopped. I knew it wasn't my time to die. This situation has made me refocus my priorities," he recalls.
When he left the hospital, his family environment changed drastically. "I've become more resilient. I know I can recover," she says.
Kevin's problems skyrocketed in the summer of 2021, when his legs began to swell because they retained excess water. He consulted several doctors but none gave him the precise diagnosis.
Until he finally had an appointment at the coronary care unit in Derby and was sent to Derby Royal Hospital within hours.
Kevin returned home with his wife Camille Hill.
"I was given a medication to eliminate water retention. After everything happened, they told me I had lost 65 kilos of water."
The water retention was due to Kevin's heart valve having two parts instead of three.
Kevin had surgery to correct that heart valve problem in January 2022. "After my operation I contracted calciphylaxis. This is a rare condition that only one in five people are diagnosed," he said.
"I had the disease for months. My skin was eating away at me. I had three days where my legs were bleeding, it just wouldn't stop."
Kevin lost so much blood that he died for a few minutes until doctors were able to resuscitate him.
"I'm in the final stages of recovery. In my right leg I still have some pain, but it's nowhere near the level it used to be, when I cried for hours." Kevin has made an almost full recovery and returned home to his wife Camille Hill, 52.