Photo: Getty Images, Dave Basner
Tina Hines recently died. It's news that normally would be tragic, but unlike nearly everyone who dies, Tina was brought back to life. In fact, following a heart attack, she was resuscitated six times - four by her husband with CPR and twice more at the hospital with a defibrillator. In total, Tina was considered dead for 27 minutes. While that alone is remarkable, it's what happened after that is actually the most notable part of her story.
When Tina was brought back for good, she wasn't able to speak because she had a tube in her throat, however, she immediately signaled to her family to give her a pen. When they did, she wrote a haunting message to them that read, "It's real." They asked her what she meant and, with tears in her eyes, she pointed to the sky, clearly meaning heaven.
So moved by the moment, Tina's niece, Madie, took the "it's real" note her aunt wrote to a tattoo parlor and had it permanently inked on her wrist. She shared a picture of the tat on Instagram, as well as a shot of her aunt originally writing the message. In the caption, Madie explained in detail what happened with her aunt.
Madie stated that her aunt's story is "too real not to share," adding, "[It] has given me a stronger confidence in a faith that so often goes unseen. It has given me tangibleness to an eternal hope that is not too far away."
Not long after writing her message, the tube was removed from Tina's throat and she was able to speak again and further describe what she experienced and saw. She explained, "It was so real, the colors were so vibrant," revealing that she saw black gates and that Jesus was standing in front of them with a bright yellow glow behind him.
Tina has since made a full recovery.