'It's Real', Says Woman of Heaven after Suffering Near Death Experience

Tina Hines’ niece, Madie Johnson, was so moved by her experience that she tattooed the message on her wrist. (Madie Johnson / Instagram) — Tina Hines’ niece, Madie Johnson, was so moved by her experience that she tattooed the message on her wrist. *(Madie Johnson / Instagram)*

A Near Death Experience (NDE) in early 2018 led one Arizona woman to declare that heaven is real.

Tina Hines, an otherwise active, seemingly-healthy resident of Phoenix, was headed out for a hiking expedition with her husband Brian one morning when she suddenly and unexpectedly suffered a near-fatal heart attack.

"Her eyes didn’t close, and they were rolled back in her head. She was purple and not making any noise or breathing," Brian told local news station KPHO.

Brian resuscitated his wife using CPR, but her heart failed again despite his efforts. Paramedics soon arrived at the scene and brought Tina back from the brink of death several more times.

"We ended up shocking her three times on scene and two en route," one Phoenix firefighter remarked. "I’ve never shocked anyone five times."

It was during this ordeal that Tina said she saw heaven.

"It was so real, the colors were so vibrant," said Tina. She described seeing black gates with Jesus standing in front of them, and a bright yellow glow emanating from behind the messianic figure.

When she regained consciousness, Tina motioned for someone to bring her writing utensils, and she scrawled the words "It's real."

When asked to clarify, she pointed skyward to indicate heaven.

The seemingly miraculous event had not only a powerful impact on Tina, but also on her loved ones.

Her niece, Madie Johnson, was so moved that she had the words tattooed on her arm—exactly as they were originally written.

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

"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," said Johnson in a post to Instagram.

Skeptics claim that Tina simply heard and related the sounds happening around her while being resuscitated, but the events as described by those present don’t match that hypothesis. Nothing in what Tina described matched the actions of her husband and the first responders who kept her alive.

Despite a number of scientific studies on the subject, complete with competing explanatory models ranging from the psychological to the neuroanatomical, no consensus has yet been reached to explain NDEs.

Tina’s experience—and the phenomenon of NDEs—so far remains unexplained.

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