Do you believe in the idea of an afterlife? What if you could get a glimpse of it and get to live life after a near-death experience? This is what happened to 32-year-old Nicola Hodges. In 2019, she was rushed into William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, Kent, after a dangerous shift in her epilepsy medication caused her blood to become painfully acidic. She was kept on dialysis as she quickly slipped into a coma, and her chances of survival were 20%.
While her family members were informed, and they came beside her in distress, thinking that they barely had time left with her. Yet, a miracle seemed to happen, and Nicola woke up. She recalled overhearing phrases that sounded straight out of a medical drama. Her family was shocked since the doctors told them that she would be different if she regained consciousness.
As per The Mirror, Nicola said, “My family were warned that if I woke up, I was going to be very different. This wasn’t the type of thing you can get over quickly.” She spoke about her experience when she was in a coma and said, “The only way I can describe the coma is as a near-death experience. But it wasn’t like all those things you hear; there were no pearly white gates. I didn’t see anything, I just remember feeling warm and an amber light.
However, her experience made her believe that there was undoubtedly something after death. Tragically, six months later, a seizure caused Nicola to fall and suffer multiple brain hemorrhages. The injury changed her overnight: she described her mind as “wrapped in cotton wool.” The injury left her delusional, and “her wit and clarity faded”.
Struggling with constant confusion, isolation, and sensory overload, Nicola increasingly felt disconnected. Nicola struggled to remember the simplest things, like what day of the week it was, and so on. At one point, she gravitated toward the kids’ table, finding it easier to engage with children than keep up with adult conversation. “I thought I could disappear and no one would notice,” she said.
For Nicola, nothing seemed to make sense, and it wasn’t getting any better. A fall down the stairs later left her deaf in one ear, and another seizure nearly took her life. Despite so much hardship, Nicola found purpose through words. She began writing her story. Using a red notebook and a makeshift laptop, she began penning her emotions.
“I’d tried to sit down and write it a few times, but you know those nagging voices we all have sort of told me, ‘you’re setting the bar too high, kid, you can’t do this’, but I sort of had enough of thinking like this,” she noted. However, her father, Nick, a man of few words, read the draft and called it transformative: “This needs publishing.”
Nicola Hodges will be promoting, selling and signing herjust released novel, Spirit Born at the Edenbridge and Oxted Agricultural Fair, near Lingfield, Kent. 24th till the 25th of August.#edenbridge #oxted pic.twitter.com/JACa7DAfhN
— Morning Mist Publishing (@MorningMistBook) July 30, 2025
Those three words from her father acted as the final push she needed to believe in herself once and for all. After eight months of rejections, she signed with indie publisher Morning Mist. Not only did they accept her first book, Spirit Born, but they also offered a five-book deal.
Today at 37, Nicola is not only a published author who gave life another chance, but she also runs “Crazy’s Creative Corner” on TikTok. This page happens to be a writing community for people who have experienced trauma, disability, or mental health issues. Her story remains a real-life example of how self-belief, resilience, and hope can turn someone’s life around and make miracles happen.
