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
GiphyShot 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
GiphyWhen 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
GiphyI'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
GiphyWas 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
GiphyBeen 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?
GiphyI 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 daysScaryTerryBeach4Adrenaline Blindness
GiphySomething 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
GiphyA 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
"What's an unspoken rule on a first date?"
EyeContact, And Not With Your Screen...
"Your phone is not part of the date."- Wonderful-Note9289
"Don't be on your phone the whole time."
"And don't talk about your ex."- HoW-LoNg-DoCtOR-YES
Think Very Carefully Before That Second Round
"Don’t drink too much."- drivethruhell
"Had a date like this."
"Within the first 90 minutes they had taken like three shots, and were on their third drink."
"I understand wanting to calm your nerves, but damn."
"The whole 'you need to play catch up LOL' isn't as cute as you think it is."
"We did not go on any other dates."- mothershipq
Drink GIFGiphyThere Is no Scent More Intoxicating Than Your Own...
"Have a shower beforehand."- Porriz
"And take it easy with the perfume/cologne."
Your date shouldn't smell you before they see you."- imnotlouise
No One Likes A Moocher...
"Don't order any extras plates to eat at home with your mom when the other is paying."- lil_wavey999
Always Be On The Same Page...
"Both should know it is a date."- mosquitohater2023
"I met a woman at an out of town festival through a friend of mine that she was hooking up with."
"She ended up taking too many shrooms and I spent an hour with her helping her to feel calmer."
"She is a traveling nurse and was going to be in my city in a few weeks so we exchange numbers and when she gets in town she asked if I want to get some sushi."
"Happy to make a new friend, we meet up, talk a lot about my friend that she’s hooking up with telling funny stories about him."
"Eventually it comes up that I’m leaving the next day for a 3 week trip to Europe with my girlfriend and she screams, 'I thought this was a f*cking date!'"
"Reeeeaaallly awkward."- redmoskeeto
Dating Wtf GIF by MaxGiphyBe Open And Transparent...
"Not a rule but never make the other person carry the conversation."
"You're both here to make an effort and give each other the respect."
"If you both want different things then let it be said after."
"No need to hurt someone's self-respect for your ego."- Arkjump
"Be there with honest intentions and nothing else."- S-Vagus
Or At Least Be Willing To Share
"Don’t order 3 full meals."- WinkMartindale
"AND expecting him to pay for all of it."
"I mean sure if you want to take some home for your mom, you pay for that yourself."- Widowhawk·
GiphyBe Prepared For A Lack Of Shared Interests...
"Leave the coin collection at home, wow her with that on the second date."- IronLion11·
Choose Your Activities Carefully
"Don't go to the movies or a fancy dinner on your first date if you don't already know this person."
"The movies is a place where you sit in silence for 2 hours staring straight ahead."
"That does not give you any opportunity to get to know the other person."
"A sit down dinner can be perfectly fine, but if you know within the first 10 minutes that you have no desire to spend any more time in this person's presence, you're stuck through the rest of the meal."
"First dates should always be intentionally short with an option to extend."
"Coffee, froyo, drinks, things that can turn into an hour of talking or 'would you like to grab a bite to eat?'"- baltinerdist
Get Your Emotions Under Control
"Don't excuse yourself to go to the bathroom and then accidentally think about your ex while in there, have to fight back tears, and then come back to the table after way too long, with puffy red eyes."
"Whoops." - Reddit
Sad That 70S Show GIF by LaffGiphyJust Be Open And Honest... To an Extent...
"Don't: Unload on your date about your trauma."
"Gotta keep that sh*t under wraps until at least date 5."
"Do: Be yourself, unless your whole personality teeters on your traumatic history--in that case, self-deprecating humor will suffice until you can successfully abandon all hope and sit in your car for an hour to cry afterward."-Deep-Essay-4829
A Conversation Is A Two-Way Street
"Usually when asked a question I’d answer it and then hit her with a 'what about you?'"
"To ensure that I wasn’t dominating the convo."
"Let the other person speak."- bumboclawt
... NOPE...
"Bring an egg, uncooked, in your pocket."
"Casually let it fall out at the end of the date."
"This establishes you as a breadwinner, who else has the money to just carry eggs around in their pockets?"
"When your date, inevitably, wants to know more about the egg just shrug it off."
"You're not here to brag, your egg does that for you."- wearywarrior
Broken Heart Love GIF by Share It AgainGiphyIf there is one rule absolutely everyone should follow when going on a first date, it's not being beholden to rules, spoken or unspoken.
After all, the best romances are often the ones which happen organically.
Love cannot be forced.
Not to startle any of you, but death stalks us.
We all have nightmares about diseases and murderers.
But what if, in the end, we just choke on a pickle we inhaled too fast?
Maybe instead of a pickle, a little coleslaw would have been the wiser choice.
We'll never know.
The most minute things can send us packing.
Redditor SuffocatedByThighs wanted to discuss the things that can extinguish our lives in the most basic ways, so they asked:
"What simple mistake has ended lives?"
Tripping over untied shoelaces.
It can break your neck.
TIE YOUR SHOES!!!
Off the Rocks
On No Falling GIF by Outside TVGiphy"There have been too many instances of rock climbers rappelling off of the ends of their ropes, which could have been easily avoided by tying stopper knots at the ends of their ropes."
LZRDLZRD
Seconds
"I worked at a tire place for a summer and the first thing they told me was 'See that torque wrench? One mistake with this and you can kill a whole family in a matter of seconds.' I thought well, better take this thing seriously."
FrenchMicrowave
"Man for a second I was thinking 'F**k you'd have to swing that thing around fast to take out an entire family' and just bluescreened on the idea of changing a tire."
lurking_my_a**_off
How Vexing...
"THERAC-25. The world’s deadliest software error. Cost several radiation patients their lives by administering lethal amounts of radiation, and for a while, the doctors didn’t even know."
Longjumping_Event_59
"THERAC-25 suffered a particularly vexing sort of error known as a race condition. Essentially, the circuit required multiple inputs in a particular sequence, but sometimes the timing of that sequence could get thrown out of whack and it would lead to all sorts of nonsensical output."
"This is less than ideal when all you're doing is manipulating pixels, but when your software is handling radiation beams you really don't want this to happen."
"Even more vexing is that race conditions are frequently heisenbugs, which can vanish altogether when one attempts to study them. If you don't have a good idea of what's causing the error, you may never cotton on to what sort of bad input is required to test it. Under those circumstances, it's easy to write them off as imaginary, only to then find."
dancingmadkoschei
Heavy Drifting
"Leaving the stranded vehicle on the road in winter and trying to walk to get help. It happens in rural parts of our province once or twice a year and they find the body a few days later. They get disoriented and freeze."
Regina_Runner
"I got blown off a road in high winds. Heavy drifting. Less than a mile from a friend's house after I had turned around. Drifts made it impossible to complete the trip. Trying to run a mile in full blizzard conditions was a fight for my life as an in-shape 24-year-old male athlete.
"rotyag
Simple Slips
Uh Oh Omg GIF by BounceGiphy"Almost any simple mistake can end a life if you're an anesthesiologist, that's how my grandpa died in his early 60s."
dwserps
Any second. Any moment.
Stay vigilant people.
Celibacy could be better...
Oh My Wow GIFGiphy"Not being honest with doctors about Viagra. It has many dangerous drug interactions and can cause a lot of problems from what I’ve heard. Trust me the doctor ain’t gonna judge you guys, they have seen many more embarrassing things. And it would suck to die because you wanted to hide something just for it to be later stated in your death certificate."
The_upsetti_spagetti
Check the Numbers
"As a healthcare worker, giving the wrong amount of insulin."
UzumakiHorror
"During the first shift of my first clinical rotation in nursing school, I watched a nurse draw up insulin out of an auto-injector pen that was CLEARLY marked to specifically not do that AND she was drastically wrong about the dosage and almost killed a guy by giving him essentially like a hundred times the intended dose."
someguynamedg
Stay In
"Pulling the knife out of someone."
rcadephantom
"Yeah, I did that but it was a broken tree branch that had impaled my leg. Without even thinking I pulled it out. Blood started gushing so I pulled off my shirt and tied it into a pressure bandage. I was lucky I didn’t bleed to death."
Olddog_Newtricks2001
"Shock is an IQ reducer. I once sliced a bit off the side of my hand with a broken glass, and sort of dazedly picked off the piece of me and tried to stick it back on. It did not work."
UncannyTarotSpread
Stay Dirty
"Mixing cleaning ingredients."
Jonnysource
"My dad was trying to unclog his kitchen drain and mixed drain cleaners by adding one then adding another a few minutes later. It started bubbling and he began coughing intensely. I heard him coughing from the other room, saw what happened, and opened the nearby window to get rid of the chlorine gas he just produced."
"I forgot there was a large hive of wasps that had moved into that window and they did not appreciate this unexpected interruption. I took him to the emergency room for the gas exposure and it was tough explaining that the wasp stings were not why we were there."
CharmingTuber
Dear God
Jeff Goldblum What GIF by The Late Late Show with James CordenGiphy"A friend’s husband locked himself out of their home. He tried to get in through a window that had security bars. While squeezing through his foot slipped and he essentially hung himself on the window sill."
Cokej01
Life is fleeting. Here is proof.
LIVE!! But live smart.
