Gunshot and knife wounds are those things that movies and television shows seem to undersell. Many times in cinema, we see our heroes or heroines get shot in the leg or shoulder, spit in defiance, then get up to hobble out of a burning warehouse. Is that really how it goes, though, when an high-velocity piece of metal tears through your flesh?
Reddit user, u/BOTJr, wanted to know from those with firsthand experience what that's like when they asked:
People of reddit, anyone here got stabbed or shot. How does it feels like while everything is happening, how does your brain and body react to it?
Pure, Uncut Pain
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Shot in the hip in my sleep, just remember pure pain and confusion.
Here's the crazy part, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. Why? After I sat up from being hit, a bullet went through my bedroom window right where my head just was.
When It All Becomes A Fun Time
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When I was twenty-two I was shot in the thigh with a .22 handgun outside of a bar in North Little Rock, Arkansas.
It felt like my leg was on fire.
I remember heat & pain.
Then they gave me Dilaudid. After that I was having a great time. My buddy said I acted like I was running for mayor. Smiling, asking people about their families, trying to shake hands. Then I asked the nurse for a Jameson neat and passed out before she could respond.
It's The Come-Down That Hurts The Most
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I've been shot 3 times and stabbed once. I didn't notice at first, but let me tell you, once the adrenaline fades, it gets your full, undivided attention.
- Shot in the chest with low base birdshot at close range while hunting.
- Caught a stray bullet in the ankle in someone else's drive by. Participation trophy.
- Shot in the back with a shotgun. Same dude as before. I don't hunt with him any more.
- Stabbed in the side in a bar brawl. No idea who did the stabbing.
Shock And Awe
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Was shot on accident by a shotgun. Shot went through the wall, hitting me in the right and left thigh, and left ribs. I did not register that I had just been shot (perhaps a mix of shock and a few beers). I was able to walk to the car that took me to the hospital, was very calm, and even made sure to grab my bag before leaving.
After waking up from surgery my entire body was aching and i could definatly tell my body had gone through a large trauma.
Laughing Off The Pain
I got stabbed through my arm into my lung.
At first I didn't know, I was just pissed a guy took a swing at me a knife in his hand. After he went away one of my buddies pointed out that I was bleeding. Once I realized I was bleeding my mind blanked out everything but the basic first aid I knew. I elevated my arm over my head then applied pressure to the wound. After that I just started laughing about it in a mixture of shock and disbelief. The scariest parts was when I was put on a stretcher; the angle they had me at made it so I couldn't breathe for a few seconds.
Luckily that subsided pretty quick. Turned out I had a partially collapsed lung. There was never really any pain other than when the stuck me with a chest tube. I felt that sh-t through powerful pain killers.
What You Feel Before Anything Else
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Been shot in the knee.
Honestly, you feel the impact before anything else. It was like someone kicked me. The pain comes a bit after the blood does. Mine started from my knee, then spread out to my thigh and ankle.
I didn't have much time to react to it, and only really had the option of a field dress at the time. It took about a year to get surgery to repair the damage. In that time, I almost went crazy from the pain.
Do You Feel Lucky?
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I got shot point blank in the chest by a .357 magnum.
It burns
My left lung exploded, four ribs shattered. I felt the muzzle blast first, on my face and what not. Then felt my back open up, then felt pain travel exit wound to entrance. Stumbled back a bit, then covered the entrance wound, took a deep breath and felt bubbles. " F-ck. It pierced my lung." Was walking around on adrenaline for a minute before the pain set in.
I was coherent for about 20 mins waiting for EMTs. Feeling your chest cavity fill up with blood is strange. Also, coughing up blood like in the movies is a very real thing. Had to keep heaving to clear my airway(hurt like hell) just to keep myself from drowning.
When they finally arrived things were getting pretty distant, I was hot, and freezing at the same time. Everything was SO LOUD. But so quiet. Trying so hard to stay alive. But accepting my own fate, one struggled breath at a time.
They picked me up, my whole back ran hot with blood and I realized I had forgotten to block the exit wound. f-ck I thought I had made a mistake that I SHOULD have known about, I was trained for this... I could've saved my own life. But I forgot about that exit would and this was the end. They picked my up and my shoulder collapsed along with all my ribs, pushing bone fragments further into my lung....
That woke me up.
I was loaded into the ambulance, they put me on o2. I came back around a bit. It was just cold, but I was just fighting to make it to the hospital. I figured once I got wheeled into the ER, I had done my part, and the surgeons and doctors would have my back on the rest.
They pulled me out of the ambulance, wheeled me through the doors, and as I hit the threshold of the door, it shook me and that pain was awful.
I heard the EMT tell the ER people "we have one GSW upper left chest here, one more behind him with a GSW to the lower back(my father) They've both lost a lot of blood"
I released all the tension in my body, and everything went black. I woke up two days later.
I flatlined, Twice. Physical recovery took a really, really long time, mentally I am much better but everyone has their days ScaryTerryBeach4Adrenaline Blindness
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Something I can answer, I (stupidly) started a fight at my school in year 11 (around 16 years old) the other guy pulled out a Stanley knife without me noticing and because I didn't notice, he managed to catch me on both of my arms. Because of the adrenaline I didn't actually notice I'd been cut or he had a knife at all until a teacher started pulling my arm to show me.
Life Changing Consequences
Got shot through the side of my body armor in Afghanistan by a 7.62mm round. I was lucky enough to have a clean through and through from my gut which was not fatal but has had devastating effects in the long term. I've lost around 15 feet of small intestine which has severely affected my nutrition intake and as a consequence I tend to not gain weight very well. I don't use a colostomy bag, however I may have to in the future depending on how my stomach functions later on in life. The round exited through my side which basically bored a giant hole into one of my kidneys which had to be removed. I get the occasional stomach pain which is around 4-5 out of 10; cannabis has helped some of this pain. Also I sh-t myself within .5 seconds of realizing what had happened.
When You Walk Away Like A Boss
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A friend of mine got stabbed in a bar once, he can't feel pain very well so he just told the dude to f-ck off and he walked to the hospital.
H/T: Reddit