Ways I almost died

[Anonymous]

Misdiagnosed in podunk ER with potential fatal condition in college. Left with a diagnosis of "nausea," spent the next few days going to class, partying like an idiot, ignoring symptoms until I got proper treatment in a larger city hospital. As a result, I have developed an illogical distrust of the differential diagnosis which sucks.

Driving to the beach on a two lane road, messing around with high school boyfriend, lost control of the car, 360 in the middle of the road, three semi's somehow didn't hit us, the last one diverted into a corn field and emerged with scrapes on his head from the impact. My hero. I should be dead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hit by a drunk driver when I was 12 and a passenger in a friend's car.

Bucked off a horse. Kicked in the head by a horse. Fell off a horse. Run over by a horse. Do you sense a theme?

I haven't learned my lesson, I still ride horses almost every day. But 4 near-death experiences is actually pretty good when you handle many 1200 lb. animals every day for 25 years. I am almost hoping my kids continue to remain uninterested in horses!

Damn, girl, you're lucky to be alive and still able to function mentally. Knew a woman who was kicked by a horse she was standing behind of. Shattered her femur and she was in a cast for maybe a year or so. Took a long time to heal and lots of PT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When I was about a year old, I got some food lodged in my throat and started turning blue. My mom panicked and ran outside screaming for my dad. My 15 year old sister grabbed my from my high chair, held me upside down by the foot, and whacked my back until the food shot out.

Wow!!!! Amazing -- props to your sister.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hit by a drunk driver when I was 12 and a passenger in a friend's car.

Bucked off a horse. Kicked in the head by a horse. Fell off a horse. Run over by a horse. Do you sense a theme?

I haven't learned my lesson, I still ride horses almost every day. But 4 near-death experiences is actually pretty good when you handle many 1200 lb. animals every day for 25 years. I am almost hoping my kids continue to remain uninterested in horses!

Damn, girl, you're lucky to be alive and still able to function mentally. Knew a woman who was kicked by a horse she was standing behind of. Shattered her femur and she was in a cast for maybe a year or so. Took a long time to heal and lots of PT.

Yep, I had a TBI and amnesia. It took me a year to be able to read for more than an hour. I still don't remember six weeks before that accident. Totally gone.

Some of these are scary but mine were actual "nearly died" incidents. I didn't list the merely scary ones.

Thank God for helmets. I was wearing one when I got kicked. It was in three pieces when we examined it later. I always ride with a helmet and protective vest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Liar. A 4yo doesn't have such thought process.

Anonymous wrote:At 4 years of age at a public pool I decided to cross under the line separating the deep end from the shallow end to see what the deep end was like.

I was not aware that under the line was not an incline to the deeper end but an immediate drop from 3 ft to 6 ft. I sank way over my head and bobbed up. People were around me but did not hear my weak, half-choked cries for help. Everyone was busy doing their own thing.

I saw the life guard far away sitting in a chair on a tall white wooden platform. He was not looking my way. I tried to wave to get his attention but I was just one of many people in a pool. He did not look my way. He was looking down at his feet at the people under him.

After several times going under and coming back up I could not stay afloat anymore. As I drifted under the surface I opened my eyes and saw the sun shining above me as I sank lower.

As I was drowning I thought to myself, "I guess this is what it is like to die. Mom will be really sad." I was sad not because I was drowning but because my mom would be heartbroken to find my lifeless body in the pool. I always tried to spare her feelings. Once, when hit in the head by a rock by a mean neighbor kid, instead of going home I went up the road to a neighbor and washed the blood off so mom would not freak out.

I was now beginning to run out of air. I could hold my breath no more. As I resigned myself to die, I saw two arms come at me and a pair of hands grabbed me and lifted me out of the water. It was a girl of about 14 years.

I was so happy I wasn't going to die. I said aloud "You saved me!"

The girl laughed and walked me under the depth divider and put me back in the shallow part of the pool. I thanked her and told her again she saved me but she just laughed and walked away. I was a little angry she did not seem to believe me, that she thought I was playing a game.

As fast as I could I made my way to my mom. She was sitting with my dad and my uncle, aunt, and cousins. Mom offered me something to eat.

She had no idea what had just happened to me, and at 4 years of age I could not put into words how to tell her that I had been one breath away from death.

Of course they do. Well, normally developing kids do.

Well, someone tried drowning me when I was 21 and the last thought in my head while trying to get out was "my moms reaction to my lifeless body"

Nicely written but I'm not buying it.

[Anonymous]

These making anyone else crazy anxious? Yet like I'm compulsively reading them.... Shit, my hypochondriasis just jettisoned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1990: In Germany (was there for summer break; Dad was stationed there at the time). A lovely summer evening, an after dinner bike ride. Hit by two speeding motorcycles riding side by side. Totally their fault. Broken right femur with blood from the bone leaking into my system, crushed left ankle, pelvis broken in three places. Three months in the hospital, eight surgeries, one year of physical therapy, a year of college missed. Screws, pins, and rods holding me together. If I were a horse they would have shot me. Agonizing pain. My ankle is still fucked. Never skied or played any contact sport again. No high impact exercise. Still have nightmares about it.

2010: Pancreatitis from gallstones. My high threshold for pain causes me to ignore the warning signs/pain flares. Passed out on the floor; rushed to Georgetown Hospital ER. Hooked up to IV for a week before they could remove my gallbladder. Glucagon and digestive enzyme levels totally fucked. Props to Georgetown ER... they saved me! Always knew that ER would come in handy one day (I live a mile away).

Holy. You are cat-like with your 9 lives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Liar. A 4yo doesn't have such thought process.

Anonymous wrote:At 4 years of age at a public pool I decided to cross under the line separating the deep end from the shallow end to see what the deep end was like.

I was not aware that under the line was not an incline to the deeper end but an immediate drop from 3 ft to 6 ft. I sank way over my head and bobbed up. People were around me but did not hear my weak, half-choked cries for help. Everyone was busy doing their own thing.

I saw the life guard far away sitting in a chair on a tall white wooden platform. He was not looking my way. I tried to wave to get his attention but I was just one of many people in a pool. He did not look my way. He was looking down at his feet at the people under him.

After several times going under and coming back up I could not stay afloat anymore. As I drifted under the surface I opened my eyes and saw the sun shining above me as I sank lower.

As I was drowning I thought to myself, "I guess this is what it is like to die. Mom will be really sad." I was sad not because I was drowning but because my mom would be heartbroken to find my lifeless body in the pool. I always tried to spare her feelings. Once, when hit in the head by a rock by a mean neighbor kid, instead of going home I went up the road to a neighbor and washed the blood off so mom would not freak out.

I was now beginning to run out of air. I could hold my breath no more. As I resigned myself to die, I saw two arms come at me and a pair of hands grabbed me and lifted me out of the water. It was a girl of about 14 years.

I was so happy I wasn't going to die. I said aloud "You saved me!"

The girl laughed and walked me under the depth divider and put me back in the shallow part of the pool. I thanked her and told her again she saved me but she just laughed and walked away. I was a little angry she did not seem to believe me, that she thought I was playing a game.

As fast as I could I made my way to my mom. She was sitting with my dad and my uncle, aunt, and cousins. Mom offered me something to eat.

She had no idea what had just happened to me, and at 4 years of age I could not put into words how to tell her that I had been one breath away from death.

Of course they do. Well, normally developing kids do.

Well, someone tried drowning me when I was 21 and the last thought in my head while trying to get out was "my moms reaction to my lifeless body"

Nicely written but I'm not buying it.

And your brain was deprived of oxygen for a while, I'm guessing..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Liar. A 4yo doesn't have such thought process.

Anonymous wrote:At 4 years of age at a public pool I decided to cross under the line separating the deep end from the shallow end to see what the deep end was like.

I was not aware that under the line was not an incline to the deeper end but an immediate drop from 3 ft to 6 ft. I sank way over my head and bobbed up. People were around me but did not hear my weak, half-choked cries for help. Everyone was busy doing their own thing.

I saw the life guard far away sitting in a chair on a tall white wooden platform. He was not looking my way. I tried to wave to get his attention but I was just one of many people in a pool. He did not look my way. He was looking down at his feet at the people under him.

After several times going under and coming back up I could not stay afloat anymore. As I drifted under the surface I opened my eyes and saw the sun shining above me as I sank lower.

As I was drowning I thought to myself, "I guess this is what it is like to die. Mom will be really sad." I was sad not because I was drowning but because my mom would be heartbroken to find my lifeless body in the pool. I always tried to spare her feelings. Once, when hit in the head by a rock by a mean neighbor kid, instead of going home I went up the road to a neighbor and washed the blood off so mom would not freak out.

I was now beginning to run out of air. I could hold my breath no more. As I resigned myself to die, I saw two arms come at me and a pair of hands grabbed me and lifted me out of the water. It was a girl of about 14 years.

I was so happy I wasn't going to die. I said aloud "You saved me!"

The girl laughed and walked me under the depth divider and put me back in the shallow part of the pool. I thanked her and told her again she saved me but she just laughed and walked away. I was a little angry she did not seem to believe me, that she thought I was playing a game.

As fast as I could I made my way to my mom. She was sitting with my dad and my uncle, aunt, and cousins. Mom offered me something to eat.

She had no idea what had just happened to me, and at 4 years of age I could not put into words how to tell her that I had been one breath away from death.

Of course they do. Well, normally developing kids do.

Well, someone tried drowning me when I was 21 and the last thought in my head while trying to get out was "my moms reaction to my lifeless body"

Nicely written but I'm not buying it.

And your brain was deprived of oxygen for a while, I'm guessing..

I don't know why everyone is giving this PP such a hard time about this. I remember being 3 and diving off a diving board with one of those "bubbles" of the 1970s on, being face down in the water, someone grabbing me and pulling me out. It was really, really scary, so the details- the bubble, the pool, the bathing suit I was wearing at the time - are etched in my mind. It is a personal flashbulb memory.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My parents used to drive drunk with us. One time, I remember my father was so drunk, swerving all over a dark and winding road that my mother made him stop and switch with her. She was so drunk that she turned on, and then couldn't figure out how to turn off, the windshield wipers, so she just drove with them on, even though it wasn't raining. My little sister and I were clinging to each other in the back seat. That was the worst, but no means only, time.

Almost drowned in a pool when I was four. My mostly deaf great uncle didn't hear me screaming, but my older sister did and pulled me out.

Attacked by a dog when I was eight. Ended up with nothing more than a whole bunch of stitches, but the dog certainly could have killed me.

Is your maiden name Draper?

[Anonymous]

I'm one of the page 1 PPs. My close call happened when I was a child and I vividly remember every detail from the incident, even the thoughts that were racing. There's was a weird, near death experience part. I remember what I was thinking, but don't know what was going on outside my body for a little while. There was no sensory input. It's hard to describe.

[Anonymous]

I choked on something when I was little and my mom saved my life by giving me the heimlich. I also got in the car with a drunk driver — never again. And I'm sure I cut it close a lot as a teen by driving around at high speeds seeking thrills.

[Anonymous]

Fell out of my friend's moving car, going about 30 mph in high school. Was wasted so just ended up with bruises and cuts, could have been a lot worse. Also fell out of white water rafting in S. America, level 4 rapids, was stuck btw some rocks, pulled out just in time. So scary!

[Anonymous]

Wow. We have all been through a lot. I wanted to reply to many of these posters, but only have a few minutes of down time right now.

My scary (albeit, didn't almost die moments):

Being shoved under a seat along with a chicken in Sierra Leone going through a check point in Kenema. Apparently blondes and chickens were hot commodities.
Was caught under an upside down raft on the Pacuare rapids and had to fight off a frantic friend to get our way out. (Discovered three weeks later I was pregnant at the time.)
Helped

a friend climb down from the Brooklyn bridge

Keep on keepin on people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fell out of my friend's moving car, going about 30 mph in high school. Was wasted so just ended up with bruises and cuts, could have been a lot worse. Also fell out of white water rafting in S. America, level 4 rapids, was stuck btw some rocks, pulled out just in time. So scary!

I just posted about level 4 rapids in South America! Seriously, that is the most scared I have ever been, under the raft. I am hesitant for my kids to see our honeymoon pictures, as I don't want them doing those rapids.