Some days are harder than others. And some days become such a test of character and everything we thought we knew up until that point that they may as well have been the longest day of our lives.
"What was the 'longest' day of your life?" was today's burning question from Redditor TitanNova. The online community had stories, let me tell you.
Warning: Possibly sensitive material ahead.
"She had a bad headache..."
When I was little, like 5 or 6 years old, they thought my mom might die.
She had a bad headache so she was no fun playing with me. It got so bad she called up my grandma to come take care of me, and my dad took her to the hospital.
Hours and hours went by, and at some point I got worried so the time had already slowed down, my grandma was noticeably worried.
Then the phone rang, and it was my dad and I saw my grandma's face go white and she started crying. There was no hiding it. She said "They scanned your mom's brain and found something. They were going to do surgery to try to remove it."
I read between the lines, I sat with my nervous as hell grandma for hours waiting for that phone to ring hoping it'd be good news.
I don't know how long it was, but my parents walked in the door - my MOM walked in the door.
Turned out imaging was faulty, they thought they saw something terrible (I don't know if it was a tumour or blood clot or what) but they prepped her, etc. and I'm not sure how far they got before more imaging confirmed it was really nothing. Surprised the false alarm didn't give her a heart attack.
That's what I remember as the longest day of my life. Waiting is the hardest, especially at that age for that kind of terrible possible outcome.
"He made arrangements for an appointment..."
A little over a year ago I started having very strange neurological symptoms. After about a week, I finally went to the doctor. He ordered a CT scan of my head and found a mass behind my eye.
He made arrangements for an appointment at a major hospital for the next day.
The day waiting was by far the longest day of my life. I basically spent it watching the clock. I spent the night tossing and turning, I don't think I slept a wink.
"My dad died last year."
My dad died last year.
I got to the hospital at 8:30am and he had just been intubated because he'd crashed overnight.
An hour later I had to sign the form for withdrawal of care, just going with palliative care.
I spent until 3pm hearing the gasping rattle of his breathing getting slower and weaker.
I swear it felt like I was sitting there for a year. Still have nightmares about that room and that sound.
"I had just enlisted..."
9/11/2001
I had just enlisted a month prior but had not yet gone to basic training as I was still a senior in high school. I knew this would lead to a war I would take part in.
I also met this smoking hot chick and we made-out all afternoon because we were terrified and young. I pretty much fell instantly head over heals and despite the brutal casualties and horror, and knowing full well my life would be changing much faster than anticipated, she was all I could think about.
I've been married to her for a dozen years now.
"I was woken up around 2am..."
I was woken up around 2am by my dog vomiting blood all over me, she had eaten rat poison. I rushed her to the emergency vet and was told she had a 50% chance at surviving.
I had to leave the vet at 7am because I was in the process of getting my EMT certificate and had a 12 hour ride along scheduled to start at 8. Spent the day running my @ss off in the back of an ambulance while being sick with worry for my dog.
That was the longest day of my life, fortunately everything worked out in the end, my dog pulled through (she managed to eat rat poison another time about 2 years later and survived again) and I got my EMT certificate and am now working as a firefighter.
"I was in a car accident..."
GiphyI was in a car accident on January 26th 2018, the day before my birthday. I was stuck in my car for 45 minutes waiting for Emergency Services to help get me out, took a helicopter to a hospital for some emergency surgery... It was a pretty awful, long day.
"Yesterday."
Yesterday. Had to bury my friend while being seriously ill.
I've been sick all week. Could not sleep at all that night because I could not breathe at all. Went to the doctors for the third time to see if I could get something. They finally actually examine me (previously they just told me this type if flu goes around right now) and it turns out I have pneumonia.
Well, if that wasn't the kick in the teeth I needed cause in the afternoon I had to bury my friend. I will never forget watching her husband carry my friends urn while her 7 year old daughter walked behind him carrying her mothers crutches. It breaks my heart thinking of it. I just can't. She was my biggest inspiration in life and now she is gone.
Later in the evening I took my first dose of antibiotics which made me throw up. A lot. I haven't eaten since sunday.
So I am trying to mourn my friend while basically unable to breathe and throwing up for hours despite being completely empty.
So yeah.. That was a long day. This day has not been much better.
"First day of USMC boot camp."
First day of USMC boot camp. They deliberately induce sleep deprivation as the first step in breaking you down. After about 36 hours of being screamed at and shuffled around you are pretty much a zombie.
"The day I had to put my dog to sleep."
The day I had to put my dog to sleep. It's been 12 years and I still miss him and think about that day every day. Worst and longest day all in one.
"The evening I had a stroke."
The evening I had a stroke. I swore that evening was long as a day, since I was just laying around with a disabled arm and family around me. I took about 10 days to recover and luckily I celebrated my 27th birthday several weeks later.
"The day my grandson passed away..."
The day my grandson passed away from SIDS. It's been only 5 weeks, and it seems like it's been several months!
"March 8, 2012."
March 8, 2012. The day after my oldest child's leukemia diagnosis. when treatment was being planned, transfusions happened, etc. She turns ten this month, so it's all good now, but 2012 in general and that day in particular really sucked.
"...I quickly understood and lived that feeling."
The day my best friend and roommate of 3.5 years killed himself.
Before then, I didn't understand the "denial" stage of grief. But for the 7 hours between when I found out and when I went to bed, I quickly understood and lived that feeling
"I was working night shift..."
Oh lord it was my sister's wedding. I was working night shift at Wal-Mart stocking at the time and this was in the summer. My family is a bit on the poor side so I spent the entire previous day crafting decorations out of the various ribbons and whatervers they gave me instead of sleeping (I'm the only one in the family with an ounce of artistic talent/the only one reliable enough to get it done). I finish the decorations and go right to work where I picked up the slack of my coworkers who somehow never got fired.
Morning comes and I head right over to the park where the wedding was to be held. I didnt even get to go home to wash. It was a sink bath all the way for this filthy sweaty chick. Once again being the only capable one, I'm in charge of decorating. I also happened to be the maid of honor. In every photo I was in I had this thousand yard stare with glazed eyes. I honestly don't remember much of the wedding so I don't think I did anything too off. To throw salt on that wound I had to work that night as well. I'm getting tired just remembering that nightmare.
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.