Six-year-old Zola had a near-death experience when she began hemorrhaging at home for ten days and claimed she spoke to God while passed out.
Brittani Tomic was pregnant when Zola was born. Doctors told her that Zola was at high risk due to her previous miscarriages. Although an ultrasound revealed that Zola had a choroid plexus cyst, doctors dismissed the possibility of her having down syndrome.
Tomic noticed at six months that her daughter was not developing as she expected. She also began experiencing seizures at the age of two.
After consulting doctors and ruling out some conditions, they decided to bring her to an ENT for possible sleep apnea. The ENT found that Zola’s tonsils were enlarged and could block her breathing, so he suggested removing them. Tomic shared:
“We were confident. We felt like this was going to be the end of all of her seizures and the medical issues. This is going to be the surgery to fix everything.”
However, things only went downhill from there. Zola was bleeding profusely a week later. Later, they discovered that Zola had suffered from hemorrhaging and required an emergency blood transfusion.
“They weren’t sure what was going on,” Tomic added. “They were like, ‘Just so you know, the blood is already in the waiting room for her ready, and we’re gonna do everything we can to save her cause her blood levels were so low at that point.”
Zola survived and was returned home just a few days later. Three-year-old Zola was diagnosed with Ehlers Danlos syndrome. This rare condition affects tissue connectivity and is very rare.
According to Tomic, Zola’s condition will make her bruise easily and experience pain and fatigue. While it is not considered life-threatening, severe complications could occur.
While their family was relieved to know what was wrong with Zola, something surprised them when the little girl opened up about her illness. Tomic shared:
“I was getting her ready, and it wasn’t even like we were talking about anything God-related beforehand […] she just asked, ‘When can I see God again?’”
Surprised, Tomic asked her daughter when she saw God, to which Zola replied, “the night I died.” According to the six-year-old, God hugged her and still talks to her.
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Interestingly, Zola never flat-lined in the hospital, which makes Tomic suspect it was a near-death experience. Zola added that Jesus “thanked her for being his friend and loving him.”
With everything that had happened, Tomic felt a calling to start a non-profit organization, Zola’s Zebras, to raise awareness and help other children with EDS.
Recently, another mom opened up about her daughter’s rare genetic condition, Sanfilippo syndrome, a type of Alzheimer’s disease for kids.
Mom Brittany Lagarde shared how she found out about her daughter’s illness while at work and how it has been for their family.