A former lawyer who has almost died seven times has shared what she experienced towards the end.
Shona Hirons’ health chart is bursting at the seams.
Over the years, she has suffered a mini-stroke, a hole in the heart, a near-fatal bike accident, cancer, Covid, pneumonia and bacterial meningitis.
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At one point, the mum-of-one was in a coma with brain swelling.
Because of what she has gone through, the behaviour, fitness and nutrition coach is no longer afraid of dying.
On the contrary, Shona, who hails from Portishead, is the happiest she’s ever been thanks to the “lesson” that near-death has taught her.
“I’m no longer fearful of death,” she told Need To Know.
“Two years after my bike accident, I was diagnosed with cancer and just knew somehow that it wasn’t going to kill me.
“I haven’t had any out of body experiences [during any of my near-misses].
“I guess I realised I was in a dark place at the time, so that didn’t help.
“I don’t have any recollection of me being in the coma and after, I didn’t even feel scared of the surgery.
“I think these events have been the best things that have ever happened to me,”
“It’s completely changed my mindset.
“I’ve changed my career, I’m much more of a positive and confident person these days.
“It’s taught me to love life and be kind to myself everyday – something I truly struggled with before.”
Shona, who is now in her early 50s, dealt with extreme stress and burnout when younger – having suffered her a mini-stroke at just 22.
The hole in her heart was discovered a decade later with her forced to undergo open heart surgery to fix it.
In a bid to avoid any further health issues, she decided to take up cycling.
But this almost caused her time on Earth to come to an end as she had a horrific accident in early 2017.
She said: “My front wheel suddenly hit a puddle on the road.
“I went flying over the handle bars and my face landed on a broken piece of kerb.
“I fell unconscious and at hospital, I was placed into an induced coma due to swelling on my brain.
“When I woke up two weeks later, I thought I had just broken my finger, so I didn’t understand what all the fuss was about.”
Shona had to undergo major facial reconstructive surgery as she had broken all of the bones in her left orbital area and smashed her cheekbone to pieces.
She was given a 20% chance of survival of what she describes as “utter hell”.
Two years later, came the next blow: uterine cancer.
She said: “I had a big wake up call [after the accident].
“It was caused by me burning out.
“I was working 80-hour weeks and felt like it was my job to do everything, both at work and at home.
“It made me reflect and I realised I had been given another chance at life.
“[So] my mindset was in a good place [when I was told I had cancer].
“I remember my consultant telling me that it may have been caused by the amount of stress and trauma I’d been through.
“I guess we’ll never know for sure.
“I took one day at a time, underwent treatment and surgery and was lucky I got the all-clear eight months later.”
In July 2024, the mum-of-one faced yet another battle for her life as Covid took hold and she also suffered pneumonia and bacterial meningitis.
But despite her brushes with death, Shona believes this is “just life taking its course”.
She added: “[When I got sick last year], I didn’t feel like life was punishing me, I actually thought it was quite funny.
“For once, I was no longer in victim mode wondering why so many bad things were happening to me.
“It was just life taking its course.
“I’m not fearful of anything anymore.
“My family joke about wrapping me in bubble wrap but I’m determined to keep living my best life and make the most of it, as none of us know when our time is up.
“I prioritise my health, because if you don’t make time for your health, sooner or later, you’ll most likely have to make time for illness.
