This one goes out to all the teenagers out there. You know who you are, standing there, on top of a brick wall, ready to do a parkour backflip onto a pile of sweatshirts. Maybe slow down, take a breath, remember you're not a real life Spider-Man, and take a look at these peoples' stories below and remember that small moments can lead to large consequences.
Reddit user, u/WetBlanket75, wanted to hear about:
What is a stupid thing you did that damaged you permanently?
Never Challenge The Young Lion
homer simpson GIFGiphyChallenged my teenage son to a friendly wrestling match in the living room. He didn't intend to injure me, but my knee got totally mangled. A five-plus-hour reconstruction surgery and several years later and I still can't run. I likely never will. I tend to walk with a bit of a limp too. Once in a while, I need to use a cane.
Learn The Lesson: Never Make Drunk Choices
Backflipped from a 2nd story balcony when drunk. landed on my feet and busted both my kneecaps and broke my ankles
Something You Never Knew About Your Body
I walked on my toes exclusively from 7 years old onward. My Achilles tendons shortened because of it so I have effectively zero flexion in my ankles on top of clubbed feet. I can't squat properly, or low for that matter, so thats pretty aggravating.
Over Guitar Hero? Guitar Hero?
I hit myself in the face trying to activate starpower on guitar hero. Broke my front tooth in half to the nerve, had to get a route canal and spend 4 hours at the dentist the next morning. Initially they just built it up like a filling. Years later I got a crown.
I was dead sober.
They're Just Giant Jets. What's The Worst Than Can Happen?
Didn't wear the prescribed double hearing protection while working on the flight deck of a naval aircraft carrier for four years. The first layer is the spongy stuff we're all aware of that I left out and the second layer are the Mickey Mouse's that cover your entire ear which is lined with similar material as sound proofing in a sound studio. Then when I got out of the military, I was in a political hip hop group and played hundreds of shows without hearing protection.
Tinnitus, hearing loss, and difficulty pronouncing the "ng" sound at the end of some words like wrong or strong. I have to use a heavy "g" at the end of those words to make myself feel better about pronouncing them.
Started At Such A Young Age
Decided to start calorie counting.
Was anorexic for two years and 3 years after that I still have a horrible relationship with food.
Same here! Started calorie counting in my preteens, still have anorexia fifteen years later and nothing to show for but a sh-tty relationship with food
Protec Your Bac
Twisted my back while lifting a pallet, ended up trapping a nerve and messing up on of my discs, I was 16 at the time now 23 and it still plagues me. Been to multiple chiropractors and even spent money on private one, the second time I went there they kinda just said that I have most likely done permanent damage that can't be fixed due the lack of blood vessels associated with spinal discs.
Long and short of it, look after your back and use the correct manual handling technique.
You Only Get One Set Of Ears
Listening to loud music since childhood. I have tinnitus and it is loud sometimes.
I have severe tinnitus from childhood but I've always had very sensitive hearing and hate loud music. I think mine is from shouting matches or maybe the metal concert i went to at 16 but I wore earplugs for that. It's a constant reminder that somewhere along the line I f-cked up!
Never Think You Can Change Him
Sustaining a 5 year relationship with an abusive scumbag. Thought I might be able to change him or something. Still struggling with my appearance and identity issues years later.
Stop When There's Resistance
Bart Simpson Reaction GIFGiphyI think I got this. I was cleaning my ears after a shower and turned to turn off a light , instead smacked my elbow against the wall jamming the ear bud into my ear drum . The pain , the damn pain was horrible . Then I realised I was bleeding from my ear and couldn't hear too well. I can no longer enjoy the joys of sneezing .
I am in pain just reading this. I can't imagine the pain.
It's Almost Like We Should Be Taking This Stuff Seriously
Got the flu, ruptured my eardrums and permanently lost part of my hearing. Flu shots and frequent hand washing for life now!
Old Man Back In High School
I wanted to carry my friend. Tried sitting down while holding her. Somehow f-cked up my back. No one knows what actually happened, but needed physiotherapy for a while after that and my back has never been the same. I'm 18 and, thanks to my own stupidity, already have back problems
No Push-Ups? Why Even Be An Athlete?
Casual handstands in the park were going well so thought I could try walking on my hands. Did one step and my elbow got twisted, and it didn't heal right. It's kinda weird to be an athlete who can't do the most popular exercises like push-ups or pull-ups 😢
Learn The Lesson All Those Monkeys Learned
When I was younger, maybe 5, I was jumping around on my bed. I slipped and hit the edge with my face, resulting in a black eye. I still can't touch the area beside my eye without feeling a sting and the touch for the next 15 minutes. I also can't lean on my hand anymore. Not a real 'damage', but really annoying when you are sleepy and forget about it.
Playing Badminton? Badminton?
Played badminton for exercise and leisure. Got a little too fast in my razzle dazzle and heard a loud pop - like the sound those rubber inside out popping toys.
Goodbye knee security.
It Always Looks So Fun On Kids' Shows
When I was younger I "agreed" to let my brother and his friends give me a hanging wedgie, they left me up there for a while. I still have scars from where my underwear dug into my skin. Other youngest siblings may understand why the words "agreed" are in quotes .
It's For Something Stupider Than That
Didn't want to overpay for water at a football game, got heatstroke, collapsed and smacked my mouth into the handrail trying to get out of the stands. Broke the bottom halves of my teeth and had to get fake parts glued on. I'm lucky the break was pretty clean and didn't agitate the nerves in my teeth.
Damn doctor who checked me over accused me of being dehydrated due to underage drinking. No, sir, I'm far stupider than that, actually u_u
No. Legal. Recourse.
Donated plasma for money. Undertrained phlebotomist damaged a nerve in my arm. Permanent loss of sensation in the top of my hand. No legal recourse to sue.
From Something So Small
mocking homer simpson GIFGiphyStabbed a sharp corner of a price tag in my right eye when trying on sunglasses at the store. It permanently damaged my cornea, which is frequently "ripping" at the impact point, causing me to suddenly wake up to a sharp burning pain in my eye at night, like someone stabbed me again at that moment. It lasts for about 40 minutes. Then it heals and rips again a few days or weeks later. Had that going for two years now and it's really annoying. At least it didn't damage my vision, so..
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"People who were in a real home invasion situation, what was it like and what did you do?"
He Didn't Know Who He Was Dealing With...
Dude came knocking on the front door and my mom and I ignored it."
"I was about 10 and my mom didn’t want to answer the door to a stranger."
"He knocked a while then went around the back and hopped the gate to try the back door."
"My mom got her gun and opened the back door with it visible, right before he tried to smash the glass."
"He took off running and was arrested on B&E charges the next day after he broke into someone else’s apartment and couldn’t run."- SilverSunrises
It's Always Lunch Money That Gets Stolen First...
"Was in 7th grade home alone after a half day when suddenly there was very hard knocking on my back door."
"I knew immediately something was off because we never have visitors and my father did not knock like that, and froze up in my room."
"I peak out of my room (right in front of back door) and suddenly it's quiet so I go back to my room."
"AS SOON as I close my door I hear glass shatter."
"Turned off my computer and TV and dove under my bed."
"For the next 40 minutes I hear him thrashing around my living room and parents room, then hear them leave."
"During this I'm on call with the cops who think I'm PRANK CALLING THEM and take 70 minutes to finally come over."
"The station is 3 streets away from my house."
"They come and investigate only to find out it was our next door neighbor that broke in and was actually looking for drug money, as it turns out the previous person to live here did at-home haircuts and sold weed on the side."
"The neighbor was arrested and his family moved out a week later."
"THE ONLY THING THIS GUY TOOK WAS MY LUNCH MONEY I LEFT ON A COUNTER OUTSIDE FOR THE NEXT DAY."- level 1Ogletreb
whatever you say bully GIFGiphyThey Actually Apoligized...
"Four guys knocked on my buddies door at 11pm."
"He lived with a bunch of other guys so this wasn’t anything new."
"They burst in and held a gun to his neck and demanded the drugs."
"He stammered that there weren’t any drugs but they could take what they wanted."
"One guy held him there with the gun as the others searched the house."
"Since they didn’t find anything they realized they had the wrong house and left."
"As they were leaving the last guy said ‘sorry, this wasn’t my idea'."- discostud1515
A Gun Needs No Explanation
"My in-laws were home when a young guy broke into their house."
"They don’t speak English very well so my FIL, in the clearest English he could muster loudly said, 'Get me my gun!''
"At that point the intruder left in a hurry."- TheManInTheShack
Could Have Used The Teethmarks As Evidence...
"I was at my friend’s place when it happened to him."
"We were both teenagers then."
"The guy thought everyone was sleeping and he got startled when he saw us, he bit my friend (his arm required stitches from the bite) and ran away."
"No idea who the guy was or what he wanted, never happened again and we never saw the guy again."- Melancholic84·
He Should Have Chosen Which House More Carefully...
"Tackled the guy."
"The hardest I’ve ever hit someone, and I’m a pretty big guy with a football background."
"But he didn’t see me coming."
"It felt very much like a do or die moment so I didn’t hold anything back."
"Broke a few of his bones, messed up his face, and got him sentenced to 6 years."- The_SunDancer
Still Had To Replace That TV...
"Not me, but my aunt."
"She was at home alone in her backyard making food, and when she walked into the living room, she saw a couple of men in the middle of carrying out the tv."
"It seems that they didn’t think anyone was at home; they got surprised, dropped the tv, and ran out after she started screaming."- RitaSaluki
Feline Intuition
"I was in bed asleep at 7am when I heard a loud bang."
"I thought nothing of it because of the large cat tree I have downstairs that's always getting knocked over, so I rolled over and tried to go back to sleep."
"Not long after my elderly cat comes running into my bedroom, jumps up on the bed and tries to hide under the blankets."
"This immediately woke me up because that old fat cat hadn't ran nor jumped on our bed for years."
"As I came two I see two men coming up my stairs."
"At that point it felt like time stopped and somehow ran incredibly fast at the same time."
"I jumped out of bed and started screaming 'GET THE F*CK OUT OF MY HOUSE!' and I remembered thinking while chasing these guys through my house and screaming again and again at the top of my lungs that my voice sounds exactly like my brother and I wondered how strange that was.""I tackled one of them on my front lawn, but he struggled free and got away."
"I saw the get away car and tried to keep repeating the license number, but it faded away in my mind as I was repeating it."
'I remember vividly being so mad at myself that I couldn't remember 7 numbers, and how stupid I was for not grabbing my phone! "
"Looking back on the situation there are so many things that happened that I never noticed, like how I fractured my arm slamming into the wall at the bottom of my stairs, and that I cut my feet up on the splintered wood of my front door."
"The adrenaline rush of a true fight or flight situation is something so strange it's almost impossible to accurately describe."
"The sense of time, not being aware of pain and injuries for hours, and the hyper focus on some details but the complete loss of others."
"Luckily I wasn't seriously hurt and nothing was stolen, but I installed cameras all over my house the very next day."- robot_boat_loan
camera surveillance GIF by MOST EXPENSIVESTGiphySometimes Size Does Matter...
"Girlfriend and I were sleeping in bed, some dummy broke into our apartment, ran real quick when he saw how big my naked a** was."- Croceyes2
FIVE DAYS?!?!
"Blocked the doors when it became clear that someone was trying to break in."
"My husband and I were staying with a friend and her husband; her step son and elderly mother in law were also in the house."
"Someone had heard the old lady had jewelry and decided to try their luck."
"We heard this later through the town grapevine."
"Said person then escalated to trying to kick his way in through the windows (they were leaded)."
"My husband called the police while my friend tried to keep the gap and child calm and her husband and I screamed a lot and sort of flailed at the protruding feet with pokers from the old fireplace."
"On realizing there were more of us than there were of him, he ran off."
"Good thing too; the police never showed."
"They called 5 days later to see 'if we still needed their assistance'."
"Bloody useless."
"In comparison 6 months later I arrived at work to discover the door and cash drawer had been jimmied and the £50 float nicked and they were over and taking fingerprints inside the hour."
"I wonder why trust in the police is so low."
"Total mystery."- Haunting-blade
It's a hard call to decide which is worse, being in the house while it's being burgled, and potentially saving your valuables, or being out and losing them.
Either way, it's a terrible situation no one deserves to be in.
Making the notion of buying a security system and bolts for your doors seem better with every passing second.