Life is beautiful and can be full of miracles on the daily. Now I know in this day and age, especially in the year 2020, hope in miracles is a difficult concept to believe in but try, they keep happening. Medical miracles occur regularly, or maybe science is just that certain. Who knows? Every once and awhile people pull a Lazarus. You can be on the brink teetering towards the end and suddenly, a turnaround. Proof that our bodies alone are a miracle. So keep the faith.
Redditor u/poetsnaps wanted doctors and medical staff to give us some hope about life by asking.... [Serious] Doctors of Reddit, what unexplainable miracles have you seen in your profession?Awake and in pain
snakes miracle GIFGiphyHad a woman who was practically unresponsive for days, no sign of improvement, deemed to be end of life.
Arranged discharge to a hospice for end of life care, ambulance arrived and transferred her.
Less than an hour after arriving at the hospice she woke up and asked one of the nurses there for a can of fosters.
Eventually went home and lived for a few years after.
Another one, not really a miracle but it scared the hell out of me: I had been off sick with the good old D+V, first shift back we had a new patient arrive a few hours into shift.
Started admitting him, paperwork and so on. Part way through he told me to stand up, looked at me for a while and said "that stomach pain you have been having - I thought it might be your appendix but you had that taken out as a kid in Scotland, never mind."
I did have it removed when I was on holiday in Ayre - yay butlins!
Stayed as far away from him as I could after that.
Sealed With a Kiss
Nurse here. When I was a new grad there was this young woman who had a severe brain bleed to the point that we removed two skull flaps to relieve pressure. She had a really bad prognosis. Her husband always was at her side and kissed her every day even though she was unresponsive. One day she kissed him back. I happened to be in the room hanging a med when it happened. It was her first purposeful movement after her stroke. She ended up making a pretty great recovery last I heard. Walking and talking. Came back to visit us with her husband. Will never forget it.
On a Walk
As a student nurse I did a placement on a Neuro floor. Had a guy who had had a sever stroke. Aphasia (jumbled words) and 3 x assist with a hoist. Late one evening dude walked past the nurses station like nothing had happened, my preceptor carefully followed him and asked what he was doing. He said "oh just going for a walk" like it was no problem. We followed him around the ward for a bit and then he went back to bed.
The next day he was back to being a full assist. The guys wife said he would go for a walk every evening before the stroke. The doctors think it must of been muscle memory or some other part of the brain driving him (I'm not sure maybe a Neuro person could explain, I'm a cardiac nurse now! Haha).
In the ICU
I am an ENT surgeon. During my post-graduation we were just winding up at 2 o'clock a busy OPD, the senior resident of ob's hospital came rushing on a scooter to get us. As theOPD was locked the phone was no reply and it was the year 1989. Turned out that a full term woman was taken for caesarean under spinal anesthesia and was later given general anesthesia in which a breathing tube was required to be inserted through the mouth/nose into the airway. But she hid the fact while giving history that due to a childhood injury, her mouth opening was just one finger. So it was impossible to go through mouth and a blind insertion through nose wasn't working. (No flexible endoscope at that time).
So they called us to do a tracheostomy (making a hole in airway at the front of neck) through which the tube could be inserted. Meanwhile the only oxygen that the pt could get was through mask. Tracheostomy is a 1 mt procedure in emergency but it was easier said than done. The pt was repeatedly arresting and they would do CPR and the moment we began our work, there would be cardiac arrest again. This happened 5-6, times. Ultimately we succeeded in inserting the tube. It seemed a futile exercise to me. Pt.
Was shifted then to the ICU. The next morning i had a call of some other pt from ICU and went there. A woman came and said, thank you so much, my daughter is fine now! I didn't understand then I went to the bed no. She told me and the pt. Was there, conscious, obeying commands, with no hypoxic damage to brain despite a series of terrifying cardiac arrests. Her daughter from caesarean was also fine and healthy (of course she was delivered before the cardiac arrests.)
Kidneys
I'm an RN, not a doctor. I worked in dialysis for almost five years. People who have acute renal failure (somehow injured the kidney, kidneys got messed up due to an illness, stuff like that) will sometimes get better and be just fine. Chronic renal failure patients (kidneys just get worn out, usually from diabetes and/or high blood pressure) don't get better. Between my main clinic and floating to other clinics over the years I've cared for hundreds and hundreds of patients. Chronic renal patients don't get better.
I got into dialysis because my kidneys were failing and I wanted to know what I was in for. I'd had diabetes for 24 years and high blood pressure for a couple. I was very much a chronic patient. My doctor said I had five, maybe ten years before I'd be on dialysis and looking for a transplant. That was twelve years ago and somehow my kidneys are better today than when I first got diagnosed. The only thing I, or any of the doctors I worked with, can guess is that being in the dialysis center scared my body into somehow fixing them so we don't end up there.
Turnarounds
Doctor here. I've seen a good handful of miraculous turnarounds, but the one that stuck with me is a little different.
I was a medical student, and an elderly gentleman had come in with a worsening of his heart disease. Neither the patient or the cardiac surgeons were thrilled with the idea of surgery. So we were treating him medically the best we could, but he wasn't making much progress. While talking with him one afternoon, I discovered that his wife was also very sick, and also hospitalized.
Because hers was an autoimmune problem, and his was a cardiac problem, they were kept apart in two different hospital units. So, we asked around and got approval to transfer his wife up to the cardiac unit into a shared room with her sweetheart. They were both so ill that they couldn't get out of bed, so we pushed them together. After they all got set up, everybody left to do their paperwork, but I stuck around and talked to them for a bit.
They shared with me that they had been married for nearly 70 years, and bragged about each other, and how grateful they were to have shared their lives with each other. They held hands across their hospital beds and expressed a profound contentment with their time on earth.
The following day, I went to check on them on early morning pre-rounds, but the room was empty. The overnight nurse explained that they had fallen asleep holding hands, and both had passed away in the night.
Nailed
Sick Germany GIF by UpReachGiphyMedical assistant here. I saw a nail go through a guy's thumb and to the other side. Glove included. As we were workman's comp/urgent care and he wasn't severely bleeding, we got an X-ray before we sent him to the ER. The nail was a hairline away from the bone.
His story, paraphrased and in English (he spoke Spanish): "I was using a nail gun at work. I turned off the safety to move quickly and my dumb butt forgot to move my hand."
The X-ray was freaking awesome.
The Untold Science
It happened to me a lot of times as a medic. But we, as the doctors, have to attribute it to some physical, explainable circumstance. Problem is: our scientific community is very cropped, very narrow sighted and arrogant. There is an untold paradigm: "Anything that happens but I don't understand, didn't happen or must be converted to something I can explain", instead of accepting our science is limited and we (humans), at our current level, cannot understand or explain certain things. Current science doesn't like to expand; the scientists who are revolutionary explorers of the unknown are mistreated, marginalized and are not financed.
Miracle with a Catch....
I was a CNA. For three years I broke my back moving this women in and out of her wheel chair to bed and vice versa. And you know how some people just seem to be heavier than others, even though they are the same size. BACK BREAKING WOMAN SHE WAS. One night I am doing rounds. Making sure no is falling out of bed in this nursing home. Norma had gotten herself out of bed and walked over to roommate and was suffocating her with a pillow because she was a constant screamer. I saved a life that night.
Life is Messy
Television Doctor GIFGiphyI'm a doctor. I've seen unlikely things, but unlikely is not impossible. So of course I will see unlikely things.
In terms of explanations, loads of things happen I can't totally explain. Good and bad. That's medicine, we don't know everything. I worry a lot about questions like this because it assumes medicine (or science) has some kind of near total knowledge, which is not true. Ie. It assumes that most things are perfectly explained, but instead run the best or most likely odds of certain things happening and if something happens that is less likely then so be it.
We know lots and lots but we do not know everything. And that is fine! We are constantly learning and trying to advance our knowledge.
That's where all these probabilities come from. Life is messy, things go unexpected ways all the time. That isn't the same as something being unexplained.
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Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.