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       Brenda Crowell, who developed a deadly blood clot caused by COVID-19, speaks to the media, in Calgary on Aug. 19.

       Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press

       CALGARY - Alberta Health Services says a woman considered dead for 30 minutes was brought back to life by Calgary physicians using a new device for what’s believed to have been the first time in Canada.

       Brenda Crowell of Calgary contracted COVID-19 earlier this year and developed a pulmonary embolism in May.

       Dr. Jason Wong with the Foothills Medical Centre says his team received approval to use the device — the Indigo Lightning CAT12 — to extract the blood clot from Crowell’s lungs.

       The CAT12 is a tube the size of a large drinking straw and allows medical experts to remove larger blood clots than previously able with a minimally invasive procedure.

       Crowell says it’s a miracle to be alive after spending almost a month in hospital, including eight days in a medically induced coma.

       She hopes her experience encourages others to get vaccinated, as it did for herself and her family.

       “People say there aren’t miracles anymore, but there are because I don’t think I’d be here if it wasn’t for the touch of God,” says Crowell.

       “I can’t believe what happened to me and how sick I was, how close to death I was.”