Leah Makanda almost died twice earlier this year. Login or signup to continue reading Both times she had what are known as " near-death experiences ". "I had two experiences like that in January and February," Leah, 39, said.
She lives with Addison's disease, which led her to suffer life-threatening adrenal crises. Her husband Rob Makanda, a doctor, resuscitated her. "Both times I went unconscious and I could hear music far off," Leah said.
"It was like I could see my husband working on me. It was like I was there but not there, not in my body. "I could see him and myself.
I could sense my kids sleeping in the other room. "When I regained consciousness I could still see the fear in my husband's eyes, but I had no fear. It was very strange.
" As a Christian, she believes in life after death. "I was in a critical condition, but I felt this great peace. The sounds I heard were, for me, like angels singing," she said.
"I knew in that moment I was hanging in the gap between life and death. I could feel and sense that. There was absolutely no fear of going.
"I'm glad I didn't. My work's not finished here. I have lots to do and kids to raise.
" She said the experience "makes me live a bit differently, more grateful and probably more courageous". The Newcastle Herald reported in April that Leah was paralysed in Uganda , after contracting malaria and sepsis and suffering a pulmonary embolism. She grew up in Newcastle and Maitland and had been helping the poor for years.
Family friend Ro.