Yellowstone spinoff star Danielle Vasinova shares memories from being 'dead for 3 minutes' during Covid fight

She was recently announced as a cast member on the upcoming Yellowstone spinoff series The Madison. 

And now Danielle Vasinova is opening up about her memories of one of her greatest trials — the brutal battle with Covid-19 that left her legally dead for three minutes.

The 42-year-old actress — who previously accused her Shark Tank star ex-boyfriend Robert Herjavec of rape  — was struck with the pandemic-spawning illness in late 2019, which led doctors to initially misdiagnose her because of their lack of familiarity with the new virus.

'On December 12, 2019, I died for three minutes,' Vasinova — who also appeared in an episode of Yellowstone co-creator Taylor Sheridan's prequel series 1923 — told People on Thursday.

She admitted that she assumed it was just the standard flu bug that she was suffering from in the early days of her illness, and doctors weren't much more helpful at that time, before some areas went into lockdown and many businesses temporarily closed.

Vasinova was diagnosed with strep throat and given a prescription for antibiotics after she visited an urgent care as the illness continued to increase in severity. 

'But by the next day, I could barely walk,' she recalled. 'My legs wouldn't move. It was bizarre.' 

By 2 a.m. that night it was clear to her that something was seriously wrong.

'I felt like I was going to die,' she admitted.

The noted equestrian said that her uncle dropped her off at an emergency room, which may have been the key to saving her life, though he was greeted by a shocking sight when he returned to visit her at her hospital room. 

'He said people were running around me, and a tiny girl jumped on top of my chest and began pumping, pumping, pumping,' she recounted to People. 'And then he saw my heartbeat on the monitor just go. Flatlined.'

According to Vasinova, a full three minutes passed without any heart activity. During that time a nurse continued chest compressions, and eventually her heart began beating again. 

At that point, doctors transferred Vasinova to the hospital's intensive care unit, where she was put into an induce coma in hopes of keeping her alive.

She shared that she was suffering from 'complete organ failure' at that point as the novel coronavirus wracked her body. 

'I went from young and healthy to this infection that completely took over my body all of a sudden,' she said. 'It just came on, and it just rocked my world.'

The experience didn't leave Vasinova with any of the cliched memories that people whose hearts have stopped beating for extended periods sometimes recall, but she nevertheless felt that a higher power was protecting her.

'I didn't see the light or a tunnel but they say it can come back to you in flashbacks,' she admitted.

Afterward, though, she began to see the presence of angels in her daily life, and she began to notice unusual number sequences, like '5555' or '7777.' 

'It was bizarre, but something was telling me, "There's something more for you. You weren't meant to go just yet. You're meant to do something else,"' she said.

Vasinova described her brief 'death and rebirth' as a 'turning point' for her that left her feeling 'much more connected.' Now she's grateful for everything life has to offer her.

'Life is so precious and it is such a gift,' she mused. 'We're here to do some good in the world, to be of service, and to be forever grateful.'

Later, after she had recovered, Vasinova was happy to be able to share her gratitude with the ER nurse who didn't give up on her until her heart was restarted. 

She presented the miracle worker with a bracelet decorated with a ruby as a 'Thank you for saving my life.' 

'I didn't know if she was going to recognize me, but when she opened the door, I started crying, and she just lost it,' the actress recounted. 'She told me she never knows who lives or dies after they get transferred. She just gave me the biggest hug. Because I'd been gone for three full minutes. But I came back.'

Now things are looking brighter than ever for Vasinova, who was announced earlier this week as part of the cast of the upcoming Yellowstone spinoff The Madison, which will star Michelle Pfeiffer in a lead role. 

Vasinova, who is of native background, will be playing Kestrel, 'an indigenous woman married to a Montana rancher who lives with her family on a double-wide trailer on [Pfeiffer's character Stacy's] ranch,' according to the show's official logline.

The show's is described as a 'heartfelt study of grief and human connection following a New York City family in the Madison River valley of central Montana.'