A woman who claimed to have spent 11 minutes in heaven after a near-death experience shared the extraordinary visions she encountered in the afterlife.
In September 2019, Charlotte Holmes was undergoing a routine check-up with her cardiologist when her blood pressure suddenly skyrocketed to a dangerous 234/134.
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A woman who claimed to have spent 11 minutes in heaven after a near-death experience shared the extraordinary visions she encountered in the afterlife.
In September 2019, Charlotte Holmes was undergoing a routine check-up with her cardiologist when her blood pressure suddenly skyrocketed to a dangerous 234/134. 
Doctors quickly informed her that she was either experiencing a stroke or a heart attack. Recalling the moment he feared losing his wife, Charlotte’s husband Danny told The 700 Club: “Immediately, they called a code and everyone started rushing in.”
Charlotte was rushed to the hospital as medical staff worked frantically to stabilize her, while Danny could only watch in helpless fear. “They just started working on her,” he remembered, “and I thought, well, I’m wondering if I’ll even be able to bring her home.”
As her condition worsened, Charlotte began describing visions of flowers, even though Danny could see none in the room. It was then that he realized something extraordinary was happening. “That’s when I knew she was not in this world,” he said.
Charlotte’s heart had stopped, and for the next 11 minutes, she was clinically dead. During this time, Charlotte claimed she was watching from above, observing the doctors and nurses as they worked to revive her. “I could smell the most beautiful flowers I’ve ever smelled, and then I heard music,” she recalled. “When I opened my eyes, I knew where I was. I knew I was in heaven.”
The Kansas native described being surrounded by indescribable beauty, with everything moving in harmony with the music she heard. “I can’t convey to you what heaven looked like because it’s so beyond what we can imagine, a million times over,” she said. According to Charlotte, she was then led further into the afterlife by angels. “There’s no fear; it’s like pure joy when the angels take over,” she explained.
During her heavenly journey, Charlotte said she saw her loved ones who had passed away. “I saw my mom, I saw my dad, I saw my sister, I saw family members standing behind,” she recalled. “I saw saints of old. They didn’t look old, they didn’t look sick. None of them wore glasses. They looked like they were in their 30s.” She added, “Yet it says in the scriptures, ‘We will be known as we were known.’ I knew them there in their new bodies. They looked wonderful.”
One of the most emotional moments for Charlotte was when she saw a toddler, which initially confused her. “I remember thinking, ‘Who is this?’ And I heard my heavenly father say, ‘It’s your child.’” Charlotte shared that she had lost a baby when she was five-and-a-half months pregnant. “I can remember them holding the baby up and saying, ‘Charlotte, it’s a boy.’ Then he was gone.” She asked God how it was possible to see this toddler, and He explained, “They continue to grow in heaven—but there’s no time, it’s eternity.”
However, Charlotte’s experience didn’t end in heaven. She said she was taken to a place that was the opposite of the paradise she had just witnessed. “God took me to hell, and the smell, the rotten flesh—it smelled like that…and screams,” she described. “After seeing the beauty of heaven, the contrast to hell is almost unbearable.”
Explaining why she was shown this place, Charlotte said, “And He says, ‘I show you this to tell you, if some do not change their ways, this is where they shall reside.’ I heard my father say, ‘You have time to go back and share.’”
Afterward, Charlotte felt herself being pulled back into her body. Danny noticed her eye twitch as she began to return to life. Charlotte—who eventually made a full recovery and was discharged from the hospital two weeks later—said, “I felt the pain, where I hadn’t felt pain, I felt the sorrow.”
Following her near-death experience, Charlotte felt compelled to share her story with others. “People need hope,” she said. “They want to know there’s really something out there, they want to know that everything’s okay. Heaven is more than you can imagine. I can look you square in the eye and tell you for sure, heaven is real.”
According to The Ozark County Times, Charlotte passed away on November 28, 2023, at the age of 72, following a heart attack. She was survived by her husband of 52 years, Danny, their daughter Chrystal, and her grandchildren.
