I died and went to heaven – there’s a surprising test you must take when you get there

When Amber Cavanagh thought she was going to die, the unconscious mom could hear her family saying their goodbyes before she entered the ‘meeting point of heaven.’

The 43-year-old psychic medium from Vancouver Island, Canada, suffered two strokes in December 2021 and was rushed to the hospital for emergency brain surgery. 

While she was semi-conscious and unable to communicate clearly, her family and doctors thought she wasn’t able to hear them as they said their goodbyes. 

Mrs Cavanagh said: ‘It was horrific. I heard the nurses tell my kids: ”Say everything you want now to your mom, as you probably won’t see her again.”

As she was flown by helicopter to another hospital, she closed her eyes and when she opened them again, she was in another dimension. 

Now, she’s revealed in her book where we go before crossing into heaven and the surprising decision we have to make when we get there.

Amber Cavanagh was 43 when she suffered two strokes and entered the ‘meeting point’ of heaven, she writes in her new book

The mom, from Canada, said she met guides when she crossed over who gave her two options: remain there or return to her family

Mrs Cavanagh, who lived a healthy lifestyle before her strokes, was watching a movie with her family when she suffered a sudden ‘excruciating’ migraine and went to bed early.

A few hours later, however, she woke up and fell to the ground as the right side of her body had become completely paralyzed and she went blind in one eye.

In an attempt to call for help, she banged on the wall to alert her husband who immediately called for an ambulance, rushing her to hospital.

Mrs Cavanagh had suffered a stroke and was semi-unconscious. Doctors then told her she was experiencing a second stroke and her brain was bleeding ‘uncontrollably.’

To stop the bleeding, she was given a blood clotting drug with a 50 percent survival rate due to its intense effects on the body.

However, this treatment was unsuccessful and she was flown to a nearby hospital for emergency brain surgery.

At first, Mrs Cavanagh thought the whole ordeal was a ‘dream,’ but as she arrived at the hospital, reality set in.

Throughout the emergency, her family assumed she couldn’t hear them – but she could, leaving her ‘petrified.’

She said: ‘It was horrific. It was looking more than likely that I was actually going to die.

‘I heard the nurses tell my kids: ”Say everything you want now to your mom, as you probably won’t see her again.”

‘I was literally scared to death, and I was non-verbal, everyone thought I was just mumbling in a state of unconsciousness, when really, I was trying to talk to them to find out what was going on.’

Mrs Cavanagh added: ‘I heard everyone saying their goodbyes and crying, not knowing I was still in there.

‘It’s still, to this day, one of the most terrifying things I have ever experienced.’

While in the helicopter, she recalls taking one last glimpse at the sun before shutting her eyes.

When opening them again, she said she was in another dimension, having crossed to the ‘other side.’

Mrs Cavanagh said: ‘I could see my physical body beneath me, but I could also see my kids being driven by their grandparents to the hospital. I could see my husband weeping over my body. 

‘There was no going toward the light, or people calling me – I was just watching over everything and everyone.’

Mrs Cavanagh said she ‘was [in] an incredible garden, where I could really feel the grass beneath my feet’

Mrs Cavanagh said she could see her husband (pictured above) ‘weeping over’ her body

She added: ‘I went into what I can only describe as the ‘meeting point’ of heaven before officially passing over. There was no fear, only love.

‘I looked like the best version of myself and had everyone I had ever loved that was no longer with us around me – including my childhood dogs.

‘There was no who, what, why, when or where to answer anymore, I just knew everything. Around me was an incredible garden, where I could really feel the grass beneath my feet. 

‘Then, I saw all my loved ones to the right, every version of me, past, present and future to the left, and my guides stood right in front of me. 

‘I spoke telepathically to everyone, including my nan and grandma… there was such a deep-rooted feeling of pure comfort.’

However, Mrs Cavanagh’s ‘guides’ gave her tough decision to make: ‘If I wanted to be with my kids again, or stay in this place where I felt peace like I had never done before.’

If she stayed, her family would suffer and would have to overcome the intense grief of her death.

But if she returned to her physical body, she would face a grueling recovery – and regret the decision.

Mrs Cavanagh said: ‘It sounds bad, but I wasn’t scared for my family, as I knew everything was going to be OK.’ 

However, she knew it wasn’t her time to die yet. She closed her eyes and suddenly, she was back in her own body again.  

She said: ‘Knowing I had to leave this place that had an overwhelming glow of loving light was so difficult.’

For the next two weeks, she remained in the hospital, and doctors were adamant she would need to be in care for the rest of her life.

However, she was talking and moving within hours.

She said: ‘They still don’t understand it. My doctor says I’m his ‘miraculous patient’ as I didn’t even need the surgery like they planned.

‘Yes, there was a lot of damage to my body and brain, but I was alive – and that was the main thing.’

Mrs Cavanagh added: ‘It really wasn’t easy, as it was like coming home, I didn’t want to leave.

‘I’ve had to relearn everything; how to walk, talk and eat. It’s put my family through hell and back, but now, I don’t fear dying or going over to the other side. I fear I won’t be able to go back to that place again.’

Over the course of 10 weeks, the psychic medium had to relearn all her basic functions and go through physical and speech therapy.

While she’s still numb in the right side of her body, life has returned to somewhat normal, though her experience has taught her a valuable lesson and changed her outlook on life.

The psychic medium was given a 50/50 chance of survival upon arrival to the hospital following her strokes

While an experience like Mrs Cavanagh’s may sound like something out of a sci-fi movie, near-death experiences and people who have ‘crossed over’ or gone to the ‘other side’ and returned have been a subject of interest to doctors and researchers for years. 

Dr Jeffrey Long – a cancer expert who practices in Kentucky – has studied thousands of near-death cases. His research has uncovered similarities among different accounts of people’s brushes with death and have upended what he originally believed happens when someone dies. 

In 1998, he and his wife established the Near-Death Experience Research Foundation, a website that allows people from around the world to document their own spiritual and out-of-body experiences.

He has so far collected more than 5,000 accounts in more than 30 languages from people of various religions and cultural backgrounds.  

Through his decades of research, Dr Long has concluded that about 45 percent of near-death experiences include a sense of being out-of-body, in which people’s consciousness is separated from their physical being.

About three-quarters of those who experience this reported wanting to stay in the afterlife because of the immense love and joy that overtook them. More than half report seeing a ‘heavenly’ realm and around a quarter of them are enveloped in light or mist.

Mrs Cavanagh hopes her story will help people feel less afraid of dying and to help us realize we’re never truly alone: ‘Death was the most incredible thing I have ever been through. The whole experience has actually made me grateful for the strokes.’ 

Mrs Cavanagh remained in the hospital for two weeks recovering from her strokes 

She added: ‘I’ve learned a lifetime worth of patience. There’s more to life than society’s expectations of humans – and there’s proof we’re not alone.

‘On the other side, there’s a squad of loved ones cheering us on everyday. I’ve been stripped down and had to build myself back up again.

‘It’s been horrible, but humbling. My family and I are much closer and we don’t take life so seriously.

‘It’s made me appreciate the beauty of life and has given me a new perspective.’

She continued: ‘I am human, so I’m fearful I will have another stroke again, but I’m not afraid of dying anymore.

‘I do worry I’ll leave my kids too soon, as they’ve been through enough and I want to see them grow up.

‘But it’s something I’ll never regret going through, it’s given me a chance to grieve the old me and welcome this new chapter.

‘Sometimes, when I’m having a tough day, I’ll close my eyes and remember feeling the grass under my feet.

‘I question then if I made the right decision; but I know I was given the choice to spread the message that we’re all here for a reason.’

Amber has written a book, At the Stroke of Eternity, in hopes she can educate people on her experience and what happens when someone is on the cusp of death.