She had gone in for what was thought to be a minor corrective procedure
A mum has revealed how she ‘died’ for 33 minutes – and had no pulse for six weeks after her heart stopped. Kamila Jaroslawska, 35, was registered clinically dead after her heart stopped during surgery, where she was told her heart was “irreparably damaged”.
She was then attached to a machine that acted as her heart for six weeks before she found a donor. Her condition was so severe that she was placed at the top of the UK’s super-urgent heart transplant waiting list. After a complex 10-hour procedure, Kamila was successfully given a new heart and a “second chance at life”.
The mother of three said: “I had no pulse for six weeks while machines did my heart’s job. When my heart was finally removed, it had changed colour – it had been lifeless for weeks.
“When I woke up after the surgery, I could hear my heartbeat again. After almost two months without a pulse it was the strangest feeling – for the first time in weeks I felt warm.”
Kamila, of the Wirral, Merseyside, was saved by specialist doctors from Wythenshawe Hospital, run by Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, following complications with a heart procedure. She said she was “fit and healthy” before the surgery, which took place on November 8 last year.
The mum had lived with a minor heart condition since she was a child. She always knew she would one day need mitral valve surgery – a relatively low-risk fix to replace the leaky valve.
Recalling the events before the surgery, she said: “Before the procedure, I was a little worried, but I was reassured that it was a minimally invasive surgery with relatively low risk. I’m not sure exactly what went wrong, but I do know that within half an hour after the surgery, my heart had stopped.”
Kamila’s heart stopped for 33 minutes – the only way doctors got it pumping again was by giving it a hand massage. Specialists from Wythenshawe Hospital’s Heart and Lung Centre were urgently called to the health provider who was performing Kamila’s procedure.
She said: “The doctors saved me, but my heart was irreparably damaged. They told my family that I would need a heart transplant – and fast.”
Kamila was sedated for ten days and transported to Wythenshawe Hospital, where she woke up unaware of what had happened.
“I was in complete shock – my brain couldn’t comprehend it – my world had changed completely. It took me two weeks to understand what had gone on.”
Doctors described her as one of the most critically ill patients in the hospital. She was kept alive using machines that functioned in place of her heart, meaning she had no pulse for weeks.
Kamila spent her birthday, Christmas and New Year’s Eve in the hospital. Then, five weeks later, she was told a suitable heart had become available for transplant
Kamila said: “I will forever be grateful to the woman and her family who chose to donate her organs. It’s a strange feeling to know that my life was saved because someone else died. But I carry a part of her with me, and I want to honour her by living my best life.”
On December 19, 2024, Kamila had the transplant operation that lasted ten hours, as doctors had to detach her from the life-support machines keeping her alive.
Kamila said: “The doctors said if I made it through the first 24 hours, it would be a huge success. My recovery has been a long and difficult journey, every new morning felt like a blessing. But healing will take time, my chest has been opened six times now, and I will carry the scars for the rest of my life.”
As Kamila had been bedridden for so long, she now has to relearn how to walk.
She said: “My muscles had wasted away – even now, I still struggle. Mentally, it has been just as hard as being classified as clinically dead for 33 minutes has left an impact.
“They told me I must be incredibly strong both mentally and physically to have recovered so well. But I owe a lot to my family – Przemek, my fiancé, was by my side every single day, caring for our children and running our household while I fought for my life.”
Now Kamila must visit Wythenshawe Hospital weekly for transplant monitoring and undergo a biopsy on her neck every two weeks a process that will run for many more months.
Kamila said: “It’s daunting especially since I’m terrified of needles – but I have no choice as I have to keep fighting. Przemek has had to stop working to care for our daughter, who has complex medical needs and requires round-the-clock care.”
Doctors estimate that it will take at least a year for Kamila to fully recover. For the first five months she was told she could not drive and had limits on what she could do physically.
Kamila said: “Despite the challenges, life is a celebration now. Every day, my son looks at me and says, ‘Oh, you’re still alive?’ because for so long, it seemed like I wouldn’t make it.
“I think about my organ donor and her family every single day. I can never thank them personally, but I hope to reach out to their family when the time is right.”
