People Share The Most Heartbreaking Thing They've Ever Heard
I don't want to hear any of this....
Bad news is something you relive forever. Learning about death and tragedy changes the course of life, it's unforgettable because you always remember the moment your life split in two. We always discuss the awful things we can never unsee.... we should also cover our ears. The screams still return in the dark.
Redditor u/ArethaZum wanted to see who was willing to share somethings they wish they had never heard by asking....
What is the most heartbreaking thing you've ever heard of?
A Miracle
snakes miracle GIFGiphyMy Mom was in a Coma, her mother, my Grandmother came to visit. At this point my Grandmother had buried 5 children and a husband. She sat next to my mom and told her to wake up because she wasn't going to bury another child.
There wasn't a dry eye in the room. It was heartbreaking.
Guess who woke up 2 days later? Yep, my Mom. We were making decisions for a long care facility etc. and she spontaneously comes out of her coma.
We gave credit to Grandma and my Mom's stubborn attitude. Mom lived another 13 relatively healthy years, far longer than she should have and Grandma passed away peacefully about 7 years after my Mom woke up from the coma.
Mixed Emotions
When my grandma died my dad refused to go to the funeral. I was just a young man and didn't know anything so I tried to convince him to go. I drove by the house on the way.
He was crying, but this man was no wussy. I'd never seen him cry before, ever.
I told him to come with me - there was still time to make it and say goodbye... but he stopped me he said:
No I'm crying because this is one of the happiest moments of my life. I can finally go on without her. It's like my life starts now.
God that woman screwed him up.
Clint
When Clint Malarchuk had his throat accidentally slit by a skate during an NHL game, his main thought was to get off the ice as soon as possible so his mom wouldn't see him die.
He lived, barely.
"Malarchuk's life was saved due to quick action by the Sabres' athletic trainer, Jim Pizzutelli, a former US Army combat medic who served in the Vietnam War. He gripped Malarchuk's neck and pinched off the blood vessel, not letting go until doctors arrived to begin stabilizing the wound."
Farewell
disney love GIFGiphyMy grandad crying as he kissed my mum's cheek and stroked her hair about 15 minutes after she had passed away. My mum was my grandparents only child. To this day I have no idea how they have managed to carry on.
bad conditions
I have a friend whose only child died suddenly in college from a never-diagnosed heart condition. Then her husband passed away a year later after a long struggle with cancer.
She always tells me to hug my loved ones tight and tell them I love them, because you never know what might happen, so I'm passing that advice along now to you all too.
I have a friend whose 9 year old son died suddenly from an undiagnosed heart condition. At first they thought it was appendicitis. Then they found out the mom and younger brother had it too. Now they're on medication but they had to lose a son/brother to find out.
The Merciful
When my nana was in a hospital after a stroke, my aunt was visiting her after work, and was brushing her hair and asked her, "do you know who I am?" And my nana answered "you are a merciful lady." It broke my heart. She didn't remember any of her children. She died the next morning.
The Good Dude
My cousin was a really good dude. One of those smart handsome jocks that's also incredibly nice to everyone. Went to college in Chicago and ended up in a bad part of town at a bar to watch a bears game. He had no idea he was at a bad part of town and even though there were some sketchy characters there he chose to believe in the good in people and not judge.
Some guy angry that this young white college kid was at his bar bashes his head in with a beer bottle while my cousin is watching the game. Total sucker punch. The bottle didn't break and now my cousin his forced to life with my aunt and uncle and has the cognitive abilities of a seven year old. Freaking cousin prays for his assailant almost every night.
The Scream
I was at a lake when a kid drowned while playing frisbee in the water. The mother screaming for her child was probably the most soul tearing thing I've ever heard.
Yes You Can
My son: "I CANT DO IT MOM! I AM JUST STUPID!" "I just want one good grade just like the others.." "I think I am just really dumb!"
It breaks ny heart. He does lag behind. He does have a learning disability. I did not realize he started to notice the difference until he was temporarily homeschooled because of COVID. He felt safe enough to express his true feelings and it kills me inside to see him struggle.
BUT: I managed to get him some help for self confidence issues and I organized a tiny "school practice corner" in our home where I am helping him with homework - tailored to his level by his teacher.
Last night, he finished a full page of maths without a single mistake. He cried happy tears and for the first time in a whole year I heard him say "So I CAN do it!!"
Forget Them
phaedra parks bye felicia GIF by RealityTVGIFsGiphyGetting called annoying by someone you really care about.
I got called annoying and i guess i was. It was my need for approval that made me that way. They started ignoring me and you know what, my life is better without them and i have good friends who like me for who i am. You will get better people. Screw them.
Lessons at the Car Wash
True Story that happened 5 days ago. I went to a car wash and the older gentlemen asked me to turn my car off (I didn't realize it was on). We got into conversation and I just explained that I am new to where I live and I just said I wasn't familiar with everything. I needed loonies to continue my car wash, grabbed some change and asked him for some extra loonies and toonies, which he promptly got.
When he came back he was complementing me on the studded winter tires I had and the car I had just bought recently (2019 Mini Cooper Countryman). He came back when my car wash ended and reached into his pocket put 2 dollars in and told me to use spotless touch because it looks good on black and mirrors and stuff.
When he left I couldn't find him to say thank you, I called the store and got him on the phone to say thanks and he told me I reminded him of his son who had passed at 17 a couple weeks prior and started tearing up. I pulled over because my heart stopped and he told me "My son didn't live long enough for me to teach him everything I knew, when I saw you, I saw him, and wanted to teach you something I never got to teach my son."
TLDR: I went to a carwash and the old man there taught me something new because I reminded him of his son who died two weeks ago.
X
Sad Tears GIF by SpongeBob SquarePantsGiphyI recently had a fight with my mom for some stupid reason and we haven't spoken for like 3 weeks and two days ago, while i was still in bed i overheard her telling my father that even X was a better child than me. X is this ex-best friend who i called out for spreading rumors among my classmates about my mother. And now that same mother decides to praise X, knowing very well what she did. :(
The Voice
A week after my brother got diagnosed with cancer (leukemia), my dad told all of my family, but waited to tell my Aunt and Uncle. He wanted to wait because in 2014 their son died from leukemia at 18 yrs old and my brother was also 18 when he got diagnosed. He wanted to figure out how to tell them because my cousins death destroyed them, especially for my Uncle.
When they asked to speak to my brother over the phone they both started crying because my brother sounded exactly like their son.
They talked to my brother as if they were talking to their son and apologized for his death while continuing to cry. They both feel extremely guilty for their sons death and the only reason my Uncle hasn't killed himself is because he still has another son and doesn't want to leave him without a father. It also doesn't help that their son died on the anniversary of my grandpa's death who also died from leukemia.
Stay with Me
When I was 8 my mom was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. For three years she fought it and in those three years I saw her a handful of time cause she was always in the hospital. One day my dad says let's go see mom. I get all excited and worked up cause I hadn't seen her for 7 months. She was staying at a friend's adult family home and I remember walking down this small hallway and hearing the nurse tell my mom "stay with me, stay with me, stay with me."
When I walked in my mom was laying on the bed with 3 nurses next to her. They were trying to stop her from bleeding out of her colostomy bag that looked like a red balloon ready to pop. She died before the ambulance even got there.
Waterworks
My neighbor's children. They're 8 and 10. I only know that because i came home one day and my wife had them at our kitchen table. Their dad's a single, working dad so I'm sure he tries his best. Haven't met him too much. But one day i guess the kids asked my wife if they could have a cup of water because dad was at work and their water didn't work. We sent them home with a few cooked meals and a case of water. For the first time in about 20 years i cried quietly.
While she Slept
Sad Face GIFGiphyI saw a photograph in an article about Syrian children separated from their families. The girl had drawn on the ground a sort of stick figure female that was her mother that she missed so much. She would try to hug the ground to get some comfort. The image was of her laying inside the outline arms spread trying to hold her as she slept.
The Boy
Today, I read about a policeman who picked up a little boy wandering around, alone at night trying to sell his teddy bear for food (In the US). I cried like a baby for all of the other kids who don't get rescued by policemen.
Be Good
As my senior season of football was coming to an end. A coach of mine had one of Those heart to heart talks with me. About how no matter how "Good" you may be in life such as the way you treat people and show kindness, there will be others who just seek to cause harm. His brother died earlier that week, shot point blank after helping a woman in front of a 7/11 I think late at night from a creepy dude who was harassing her.
Really hit hard especially since he wasn't one to open up and share sensitive experiences.
Swept Away
black&white love GIFGiphyA few years ago my brother (a firefighter) saved a man stuck in a tree over a flooded river. he had been holding his 80 yr old father for as long as he could until the river swept him away.
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The Best Ways To Tell If Someone's In An Open Relationship Or Actually Cheating On Their Partner
Views of commitment and monogamy in romantic relationships continue to evolve.
More and more couples have decided to open their relationships, seeing other people while still remaining committed to one another.
Dating someone who's in an open relationship can take some getting used to, however, as the feeling of knowing your new romantic interest is going home to their spouse or partner following your date is strange, to say the least.
Then too, can you ever be certain that they are in fact in an "open relationship," and not just cheating on their partner?
"How do you know when someone is really in an open relationship, and not a cheater pretending to be in one?"
When In Doubt, Don't...
"If you're feeling off about it, don't do it."- Massive-Ad7628
Bad Feeling I Anticipate Problems GIF by America's Got TalentGiphyConfirmation Needed From Both
"When the partner openly knows and acknowledges it."- EngineeringVirgin
"I was seeing a man who was married."
"He assured me that their relationship was open, that he had full permission to do whatever, and that if it would make me comfortable he would give me his wife’s number and she and I could chat."
"We saw each other for about four years."
"I went to pick him up at his house a couple times and his wife would say 'have a nice date!'."
"That’s the way to do it."
"Everything on the table."
"If there’s some sneakiness, something that makes you feel it’s not quite right, you need to listen to that feeling."- theyarnllama
"Ask to meet their partner."
"If they’re really open, it shouldn’t be a problem."- bloomautomatic
Threes Company Reaction GIF by moodmanGiphyAn Oldie But A Goodie...
"Ask them to pinky swear."- Still_kinda_hungry
Give Your Intentions A Second Thought As Well
"Agh."
"Ok so I’m in an open relationship with my partner and he hooked up with this girl, and we called her to go get a drink with us and she was like 'I knew he had a girlfriend, but I didn’t know you knew'.”
"After that I def didn’t want to hang out with her because she thought she was facilitating him cheating on me."
"Not cool."
"Intentions matter."- Physical_Witness_922
Ask And Answer
"In my experience, ask literally anything about what type of poly or open they are."
"Also anyone who isn't willing to get/show a recent std test isn't worth the risk."- Midori8751
just ask leslie jones GIF by Saturday Night LiveGiphyInstructional Videos
"My SO and I just make videos explaining the situation and ground rules."
"That way, our potential partner know what they are dealing with."- TagtheCat
Doesn't Hurt To Check...
"I slept with a woman who was in an open marriage."
"Her husband called to check on her and ask if she was ok."
"She said she was fine and that was the extent of the call. I think that’s a pretty good indicator."- Fit-Concern-81
It's All About The Reaction
"When they introduce you to their SO as their lover and the SO is fine with it."
"Open relationships rarely sneak around on each other."- welltriedsoul·
“'So like…. You know your husbands screwing Ashley right….??'”
“'Yeah I know'.”- AkKik-Maujaq
It Must Be A Mutual Decision
"In my experience, one of my ex's said we were in an open relationship, however I didn't know that."
"So yeah, that's a cheater."
"I briefly dated someone that was in an open relationship (the couple were long distance)."
"I spoke on the phone with the girlfriend before any sex happened so we could all be on the same page regarding boundaries and intentions, what protection will be used, testing, etc."
"It really wasn't awkward, and I appreciated knowing that everyone was aligned."- korova_chew
Cartoons Button GIF by NickelodeonGiphyIf They Say No, That's A Problem
"Ask them if you can talk to their partner."- vivi2626
Don't Ask, Don't Tell... Don't Date!
"I've been poly for closing in on 2 decades."
"I used to run a large poly meetup in a huge metro area."
"I've seen it all, personally talked to several thousand+ poly folks over the years, etc."
"I REFUSE to engage with anyone in a DADT policy at all at this point."
"HARD F*CKING PASS, the vast majority of the time its cheating."
"And when its not I swear 95% of the time is because the couple with the DADT policy hasn't done any work around opening up their relationship and there are a LOT of problems involved."
"And I want nothing to do with that huge nightmare of a cluster f*ck anymore."
"Here's my perspective and where it comes from."
"The amount of cheating I've seen is beyond staggering."
"A huge percentage of the women I know have run into TONS of men that are cheating and try to use poly, dadt, etc as a guise to do it."
"I have zero reason to put that much trust in someone I just met. It's the same reason I ask for proof of STI testing."
"I can't understand people with the attitude of 'if you can't trust them why are you with them' the whole point is you don't know them that well why would you trust them?"
"This is one step in establishing some trust."
"The ethical part of ENM is a big big deal to me, and I refuse to be complicit in cheating and be put in an unethical situation."
"If cheating was rare it would be a different situation, but f**k it's common."
"I've verified 100% of my partners are in ethical situations, and none of them had a problem with it."
"I've had a number of their partners thank me for actually checking."
"I'll accept a few options for verification, a phone call, voice chat, a brief text exchange while my date is present, a prerecorded voice / video message, or showing me snippets of a conversation where being poly is discussed / confirmed and there is a long-standing chat history with said person."
"Most of the time I had already met or seen their partner, so I already knew it was ethical."- f*cklifehard
Schitts Creek No GIF by CBCGiphyMany couples have said that their communication and commitment has greatly improved after opening their relationships.
When one half of a couple seeing other people causes pain and unhappiness, however, it seems clear that that relationship is not open in a healthy way.
Particularly if only one person is truly benefitting from it.
Rumors can be dangerous, especially when they are about scientific facts.
Sometimes, rumors are told and retold so many times that we actually start to believe the rumors rather than the actual fact.
These rumors turn into commonly held beliefs.
When I was little, I used to believe bumblebees were superheroes because they're wings were so small, physics said that they couldn't actually fly. I found out later than I would've liked that that's not true.
Redditors know a lot of commonly held beliefs that have actually been disproven by science and they are eager to share.
It all started when Redditor Redt_Wolf16 asked:
"What is a popular belief that is scientifically proven wrong?"
Heavy Winds
"Hiding under a highway overpass is actually not a good way to survive a tornado."
"It has been scientifically proven that the wind gets concentrated and the speeds increase underneath the overpass."
"If you aren’t shielded by a bridge girder or something similar you’ll just get swept away and mulched."
"Your best bet for survival if you cannot escape the tornado is to find the nearest deep ditch or hole."
– jitsbay
"That's just a rumor that was started by a tornado"
– MikePGS
He Sees You
"Goldfish have a three second memory."
"They don’t and, supposedly, you can even train them to do tricks."
– twerkette
"They can even recognize human faces."
– fractalfrenzy
"So…you’re telling me Pumpkin the goldfish recognized me? 🥹🥹🥹 He was my first pet and I loved him so much"
– Inevitable_Willow_15
"Recognised? Pumpkin loved you."
– ihaveadarkedge
Crack!
"Cracking knuckles = arthritis"
– bigfart99
"There was a guy who only cracked the knuckles on his right hand his whole life to test this. He had no real difference between his hands arthritis-wise."
– Lmtguy
Boil A Frog
"A frog thrown in a pot of boiling water will jump out immediately. If a frog is put in a pot of cool water and that water is slowly warmed, the frog won’t notice and boil to death."
"This is indeed false"
– Backwards_Pessimist
"I love this one, we slowly boiled the water and the frog didn't jump out!after we removed most of its brain"
"Also if you throw a frog into boiling water it's not going to jump out, it's going to f*cking die."
– Enk1ndle
BOOM!
"That rice will make the birds who eat it explode. Birds eat rice all the time! It's actually good for them, especially brown rice."
"I believe this myth was made up so people would stop throwing rice at weddings, but harming the birds wasn't an actual risk. It was getting rice grains stuck in your ear that was."
– Mister_Moho
"The church my family went to had a sign on the door about not throwing rice at weddings, because the birds would eat it and "would get harmed". I think they just got tired of trying to get the rice out of the carpeting."
– genital_furbies
What About The Other 90%?
"We only use 10% of our brain"
– Key-Wallaby-9276
"I'm pretty sure I know a few people for whom this is true."
– maybebaby83
"...and others, that is a very generous overestimation."
– Any_Street
Lightning Flashed
"Lightning never strikes in one place twice."
– JarJarLifts
"Right? The Empire State Building gets hit about a few dozen times per year."
– dcbluestar
"Friends" Lied To Me!
"Despite popular belief, urine is not sterile."
– koalamiracle
"As a corollary: do not pee on jellyfish stings."
– Slant_Juicy
Both Can Be True
"“Fish don’t feel pain” , and simultaneously “Fish do feel pain” are both arguments which ignore centuries of research."
"They lack a Neocortex which deems them unable to “process” pain, however they have several nociceptors located around the mouth which allows them to “feel it”. What does this mean? Well nobody actually knows yet, and it is largely open to interpretation. It’s unfathomably hard for us to understand, as we can both feel and process pain. Some scientists describe “acting on instinct” as symptoms of pain when these nociceptors become compromised. Some scientists describe it as just that though, acting on instinct based on what parts of their body are compromised and hence weaker or vulnerable."
"For example : You hook and release a bass. That Bass now moves slower, eats a little less, and socializes less. Are these actions the result of the fish acknowledging the compromised nociceptors and acting accordingly while giving itself a chance to heal? Or is the fish genuinely hurting and sad? Research points to both being correct, but neither have enough evidence to prove anything yet."
"All we know with certainty is that we don’t have a definite answer supporting either argument, so anyone that leans hard one way or another doesn’t know what they are talking about."
– goldieglocks16
Lazy Simba
"Don't know if it's been said yet still scrolling, but that male lions don't hunt or do anything. Yes, lionesses do most of the hunting but males do help if the prey is too big and strong, such as with cape buffalo or giraffe. Males do a lot, staying back and protecting the territory which is very important if there are cubs, not to mention that the mane not only blows their cover more when hunting, but it tires them out quickly as it's a bunch of hair weighing on their head. Males also have to leave their birth pride at a certain age which of course until they can find a pride, they at that point have to hunt."
"Also on the topic of African animals (wildlife nerd) hyenas hunt more than lions and are more successful predators, and hyenas aren't dogs. Elephants don't think you or any human is cute."
"Edit: I was told wrong a lion's mane doesn't weigh as much as I thought, but it does have more of a negative effect on their hunting compared to a lioness."
– wildnstuff
That's That
"The one about earlobes (free, or attached) being inherited from your mom and dad were taught to us in 8th grade. We were supposed to go home and examine our parents. Mine are free, both my parents are attached and I'm not adopted. My science teacher sadly informed me that I MUST be adopted and that's that."
– snarksneeze
"I have an identical twin and he has one attached lobe and another that is free. Both of mine are attached."
– philodendrin
"I’m sad to inform you that either you or your identical twin MUST have been adopted and that’s that."
– TaintlessChaps
Blue Bloods
"That blood is blue until it comes into contact with air"
– xPunkdaddy
"Wow thanks, this is the first one I read that I didn't know. My old science teacher was amazing and she taught us it was blue, so I really doubted you until I looked it up. In her defense, she was a physics/maths fanatic and openly admitted biology just wasn't her thing. But still, I presume it must have been in our textbook. Madness!"
– guypr
Sweetness
"The belief that sugar causes hyperactivity in children.This belief has been around for decades, but numerous scientific studies have shown that there is no evidence to support it."
– Logpoze3
"One of my all time favorite scientific studies looked into this in the 90s. The researchers setup a randomized controlled study of boys (n = 35; 5-7 yo) who had been reported as sugar sensitive by their mothers. In the experimental group, the researchers told mothers the boys received a high dose of sugar. In the control group, researchers told mothers they received a sugar-less placebo. Mothers in the experimental group reported higher levels of hyperactivity than mothers in the control group. Well, it turns out the researchers fed both groups the same sugar-less placebo. The only thing measured here was the mother's belief that sugar causes hyperactivity."
– Metridia
I used to believe that, actually. Glad to know the truth!
CW: Death, assault, and accidentals.
Katy B. She was my classmate.
She died tragically in a car accident.
Her car hit an oil slick and flew into the air, passing mid-sky over a median and landed on another car.
Katy was beautiful.
Katy was cool.
Katy was popular.
And best of all, she was kind to the unpopular.
She died shortly after graduation.
I hate that.
Life... at its worst.
Redditor leilavanora wanted to hear about the people who left this world too soon, so they asked:
"How did the kid from your school die?"
So many people gone before their time!
Gruesome
Episode One Armchair GIF by PBSGiphy"Fell off a jet ski and then got hit by it when the driver turned around. Drowned."
lindseys10
"Jet skis are insanely dangerous. If you read up on jet ski deaths they are awful much more gruesome too."
anightclubfordogs
Family Issues
"There was a boy from a family of alcoholics, whose parents divorced, he lived with a mom who was a very heavy drinker and a stepdad. Stepdad had a son who spent quite some time in mental facilities and rehab because he f**ked up his brain with drug use. The son eventually came home to live with his father and my classmate. One time the classmate accidentally saw his stepbrother sniffing glue from a bag."
"Stepbrother got mad, poured kerosene on him, and lit him up. When his mother saw her child was burning she jumped out the window and ran away while his younger siblings were trying to put out the fire. Unfortunately, once they managed to he was already dead."
Healthy-Gain-6586
April
"End-stage renal disease. She was doing good for a couple of years and waiting for a transplant while getting regular dialysis but ended up passing away in 11th grade."
whiteoff44
"That's sad. Plug for Organ donation awareness: April is National Donate Life month. Every day, 17 people die in the US waiting for an organ transplant. If you aren't an organ donor already, sign up at https://www.organdonor.gov/sign-up"
jackruby83
It was devastating
"He froze to death in his sleep after passing out in the snow. It was a school trip with his class and they had some beers but probably some of the first few times they tried alcohol. It was devastating. They were moving from one house to another and he had said he needed a break in between but everyone forgot or just thought he was in another house."
"It sounds like an obvious mistake but it's not necessarily that cold even if it's snow, especially after a drink. To lie down and chill on a snow pile with a good jacket is no problem but if you pass out and forget well damn."
Fit-Childhood879
WTF
Shock What GIF by Paramount+Giphy"In middle school, my neighbor accidentally shot and killed his best friend while hunting. Years later he was beheaded by the Taliban along with two English men. Unbearably sad."
Suspicious-War-8839
Guns and hunting. That is just constant danger.
No Violence
No Way Do Not Want GIF by Schitt's CreekGiphy"Wrestling team bully with anger management issues punched an elderly man in a road rage incident and the elderly man shot him dead and was acquitted as it was deemed self-defense."
evolution9673
So Fragile
"He was playing football and randomly passed out. Never woke up again."
Aints*itAngel
"Happened on the soccer pitch next to ours when I was playing 5-a-side with my work buddies. The kid who looked late teens fell down hard and didn't come back up again. They tried CPR and the defibrillator from the office before the paramedics showed up."
"We just stood there speechless watching it go down. And while it looked super bad, they took him away on a stretcher still working on him so I didn't actually find out he died until a week later when we were back for our usual slot and they held a silence."
"Never even found out the kid's name but I still think about it sometimes. Life can so be fragile."
ianjm
Wired
"An electrician screwed up rewiring her family’s house so a live wire was touching a metal pipe connected to the bath. Her mum was wearing rubber work boots when she filled the bath so wasn’t electrocuted but she must have accidentally brushed against the tap or gone to add some more water while submerged and was killed instantly. We lived in a very small town where everyone knew each other so it really rocked our community. She was in the grade above me so would have been around 10-11."
TimedDelivery
Be Safe
Driving Time Lapse GIF by YevbelGiphy"Like 5 of them died of drunk driving accidents, three of them at one time, Little redneck school in the middle of nowhere apparently people seem to think drinking and driving is the only way to have fun."
Maleficent-Touch-67
Life is fleeting and fragile.
Appreciate every second, kids.
Content Warning: Questionable medical care, sexual harassment or assault
Some people are really against making doctor's appointments or attending them when the day comes.
In order to properly care for ourselves, it's important that we follow through on these appointments.
But there are certain experiences that make it perfectly clear why a person would want to stay as far from a medical professional as possible.
Redditor Silent-Zebra asked:
"What's the worst thing a doctor has ever said to you?"
False Prognosis
"I went through treatment for Acute Myeloid Leukemia six years ago. I went through chemotherapy and total body irradiation with an allogeneic stem cell transplant."
"My 28-day biopsy after my stem cell transplant results came in, and my doctor literally came in stoic as could be with paperwork printed out. He just said the transplant didn’t work and I still had residual cancer cells in the flow cytometry of my marrow."
"I simply just accepted it and didn’t even look at the paper. My brain was just thinking of all the different scenarios."
"As the minutes went by, I had a different attending come in and say that there were still other options, which made me reassured. I also had another doctor from the Middle East come in after her and told me I was still young and there were other treatments we can try so it lessened the blow at that point."
"I had always been pretty optimistic even with such a poor prognosis."
"Fast forward another 14 days, I had another bone marrow biopsy to see how much the cancer had progressed to see how we could attack it and there were no signs of any cancer cells. Ever since that day, I have been cancer free."
"My donor cells attacked the residual cancer cells and saved me. I now have the DNA of a French woman that is six years old. Modern medicine can be amazing."
- GregNak
Don't Talk to My Child Like That
"When I was seven, I slipped and hit my head on the door axle. I was rushed to the hospital cause well, at that age, my skull was like butter."
"I was crying a lot, and one of the doctors told me, 'Stop crying or I'll make it hurt more.'"
"My parents couldn't do anything since she was the one responsible for fixing me up. But I know they must have been piping mad at that b***h."
- Foodcarsanime1390
Holy Misdiagnosis, Batman
"They told me that I have genital warts, proceeded to freeze them off, and sent me on my way."
"I went to my family doctor and she told me I did NOT have genital warts and was very confused by the other doctor’s diagnosis and treatment."
"I found out later on that the original doctor who gave me the treatment and diagnosed me with GW had come to Canada because he lost his license while practicing in the USA, then shortly after, his clinic was no longer open in my area."
- aycarambo
No More Martial Arts
"After my knee surgery, my doctor told me that I would still be able to practice my martial arts when I recovered. But I had never done martial arts before."
"He probably told me that because I'm Asian."
"We both had a good laugh when I told him that I didn't do any martial arts."
"I was actually a tennis player, and he told me that my tennis days were over. I still play tennis to this day, lol (laughing out loud)."
- MackumTheKnife
What's Said Behind Closed Doors...
"This was overheard by a friend of mine when a neurosurgeon looked at the CT scan of her son's brain: 'There's no point in doing this one. This kid is done. I'm out of here.'"
"The good news is another neurosurgeon did the surgery and the kid (now about 40) is perfectly fine today."
"Another story I heard while working in a hospital, but cannot verify:"
"A guy was gravely injured due to being shot in the face; there was no chance of recovery and he was expected to die within a very short period of time."
"An intern walked into the room and said, 'Is this the guy we are going to harvest the kidneys from?' The doomed patient was reported to have reacted by briefly bolting up into a sitting position. I hope it is not true, but they did get the kidneys."
- Ordinary_Today401
Incredible Violation
"I was 17 and saw a male doctor because I was scared I had an STD."
"He told me I had to give him a list of the names of all the men I'd had sex with."
"I was so young and very naive as this was a country area. And also I think I was naive by nature. So I gave him the names."
"He made it clear that I'd been shameful. In reality, it was two or three guys."
"Then he said he had to test me. He used some kind of tool to take a small chunk of the inside of my labia. Hurt like h**l."
" He then put vinegar straight onto the cut. Hurt like h**l. He said that that was part of the test for STDs."
"After that, I was messed up for years. I kept going to doctors thinking that there was something wrong with my genitals. It took one very kind doctor to realize that I had an emotional and not a physical issue, and he sat me down and told me that my vagina was in A1 condition, that it was 'beautiful,' and I had nothing to worry about."
"He said it in the most wholesome, genuine way and respectful way. And after that felt okay about my body again."
- thylacinesighting
Just, Gross.
"When I was 19, my primary care doctor (male) told me he could do a pap smear for me at my physical."
"When I told him I already had a gynecologist, he said, 'I can do it professionally or personally.'"
" Needless to say, I never saw him again and reported him."
- 2SadAllTheTime
Be More Reassuring
"'Welp, looks like you're probably going to go blind!'"
"While I have visions of myself walking about tapping a white cane in front of me, he blithely adds, 'But don't worry about it. Corneal transplants are 99% effective, you'll be fine.'"
"I did have transplants later when eyesight got bad enough to warrant it. They worked a miracle, but man, lead with the, 'You'll be fine,' next time."
- SchaefSex
How Frightening
"Three years ago, I went for an eye test, and the optician gave me a note and told me to go directly to an eye hospital."
"I gave the note to the reception at the eye hospital, the lady said, 'Oh, right, come this way,' and I was taken right through the waiting room and put in a CT scanner within 20 minutes of arrival."
"Shortly after, a doctor came and said that, 'There is something in the middle of your brain,' and that an ambulance is going to take me to a neurosurgery specialist hospital."
"A few hours later, I was having a drain put into my skull to get rid of built-up spinal fluid pooling behind my eyes."
"An MRI scan revealed a golf ball-sized cyst in the middle of my head that was causing problems."
"That was a pretty bad day."
- Cubix89
Incredibly Careless
"A doctor said that I obviously didn't dislocate my knee (I had put it back in myself before I went to ER) because it wasn't swollen out like a balloon."
"He then proceeded to push my knee down flat after it had seized in a bent position to put a stretchy bandage on it."
"I went back two days later because I had lost feeling in my toes as the knee had pinched nerves. They did an MRI and I had a complete tear of the ACL, and my bones in the shin bone and femur were bright white from the bone bruises/fractures."
"I absolutely dislocated my knee and the doctor just smashed my knee down and said, 'Off ya go,' basically."
- sillicibin
Abstinence Only
"I was 18 or 19, and at my first gynecology appointment, I told her how something hurt when I had sex and I wanted to start birth control."
"She told me that I was too young to have sex so she wasn’t going to help with that."
- sweetgirl757
More Exercise Isn't Always the Answer
"I would constantly complain to my doctor that I couldn’t breathe when I would walk and I would get shortness of breath, I was always tired and fatigued, and I would get dizzy if I walked too long."
"She always brushed it off and told me to get more sleep or drink more water, even though I was getting plenty of both."
"Finally, I made an appointment to talk to her face to face, and she flat-out told me I was lazy and needed to exercise more."
"I was so embarrassed because I went with my husband and she made me feel like I was just this lazy couch potato."
"I switched doctors, and my new doctor decided to do blood work, which is something that other lady should have done in the first place, and found out I was severely anemic, to the point of needing blood transfusions."
"I felt soooo much better after I got my infusions. Some people just shouldn’t be practicing medicine!"
- NotAsPlanned-
Worst Case Scenario
"At 30, I was rushed into hospital out of the blue with a Heart Infection, and needing a valve replacement."
"The Professor was absolutely brilliant, but she told me off the record that, 'You may want to get any close family to come and visit, and sort out any important paperwork as it's not guaranteed that you'll wake up again.'"
" I obviously pulled through, but her honesty was reassuring, and even after ten years, we still send the odd handwritten letter to each other."
"(We also had these stupid personal televisions at each bed which cost about £2 an hour to watch. The money would seriously rack up as I was in there for weeks, but she blagged me a pirated code so that I could watch it for free.)"
- stanagetocurbar
How Encouraging
"It was to my husband, I was in the room. He said, 'I’m not going to figure out what it is. If it was serious, you’d be dead by now.'"
"Later, we found out that this doctor was the one that my husband’s uncle was seeing before he was diagnosed with colon cancer. By the time another doctor found it, it was too late. He said there was no way it should have been missed."
- Mellopiex
Reality Check
"I’m a physician. Sometimes I worry that I’m not doing a good job because it took me an hour to return a patient’s call, or some other small thing. Then I read stories like these."
- MidnightMiasma
While there are always going to be situations where we need to seek medical attention, instances like this make it perfectly clear why some people would rather skip that appointment.