Whoah. That should have killed me. Am I alive right now?
Close calls are scary. They really put your entire life into perspective, since it could have ended in this moment.
When you're on the other side of one of these, how do you feel? Grateful? Depressed? Scared? All of the above?
u/Kelvin_Inman asked:
What is your "...and I should have died, but didn't." story?
Here are those stories.
Sanguine Savior
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Got blood poisoning as a kid the red line was almost to my heart if my aunt hadn't of seen my infected finger and popped it then told my mom to take me to the docs .... doc said less than 24 hours it would have reached my heart. I was 5, my mom is legally blind so she would never have seen it.
Aaaaaand We're Back
At 6 I was in the back seat of my dads trans-am. Turning left, a truck ran a red light and hit us going 80 mph. The back hatch of our car broke all over me and I was ejected out of the car where I landed on my head in the middle of the highway. I was pronounced dead but the emt somehow revived me. Had a grandmal seizure for 45 minutes in the hospital until I eventually went into a coma for 4 days. Woke up and couldn't walk or talk. Broke 3 ribs and my hip. Spent a month in the hospital.
I'm 24 now and you'd never know I went through that. I do have seizures now and short term memory loss but other than that I'm doing well!
Havin' The Shivers
Had a windsurfing accident, was blown 8+ miles out to sea with only the board. Was supposed to be a hard freeze that late November evening. About 45 minutes before dark, I heard the coast guard vessel looking for me. I had already resigned myself to death, as only one other person knew I was out there, and as far as I knew he had gotten himself into the same situation. Its really amazing how calm you get and how the fear of death leaves when you've become sure that its going to happen. Or it could have been the hypothermia...
You Gotta Better Chance Of Being Struck...Hey Wait A Sec
I was struck by lightning when I was 15 while hiking in the mountains between North Carolina and Tennessee. It started hailing afterward, I couldn't move but my friends pulled me under a tree and wrapped me in an aluminum blanket because I was going hypothermic in July. The hail pelted holes in the blanket, the hail above us on the mountain melted and ran down where we were laying, soaking us, and thunder rumbled all around for half an hour or more, threatening. I don't think I'll ever hear thunder and not shudder. Also, I haven't seen the color black ("black's not a color" shut up) since then, believe I am permanently flash-burned. At night or when I close my eyes, I see a million dots of faint colored light like static. Anyway. I survived. It happened 14 years ago.
In The Nick Of Time
I went to the hospital after several days of the worst fatigue I've ever experienced.
I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes and a temporary condition called diabetic ketoacidosis, and I was told it was a miracle I brought myself to the hospital because I was mere hours away from a diabetic coma and possibly death.
The River Don't Flow For You
Myself, another guide, and eight 10-year-old campers were stuck in a class 5 rapid for about two minutes. The current underneath was pushing the raft so that it was at nearly a 90 degree angle. I was holding on to as many campers as I could, finally and thankfully we broke out of the rapid.
The other boats had turned around and other staff were already getting ready for a rescue mission.
If our raft had flipped around on to us, there would have been a very high chance we would have gotten stuck circulating in the rapid with the current under the raft, ultimately drowning.
Who Would Have Known?
I'm quite an athletic person, always doing some kind of sport. When I was 20, I started feeling exhausted all the time. My heart would start pounding like crazy when I only so much as stood up and it felt like I had a stone resting on my chest.
Stupid me thought it was a cold, because I was young and fit and couldn't possibly have anything serious.
I ran around like that for three weeks, forcing myself to do sport, even went hiking when I visited my dad. He was shocked because I could barley walk without panting, so he brought me to a doctor. Turned out I had a massive pulmonary embolism (thanks, birth control) the doctor was surprised I was still alive.
This Is Why We DON'T Play Near Train Tracks
I was riding a dirtbike, and attempting to jump a set of railroad tracks. I was running about 45-50 mph, and coming from behind a factory. There was a train coming straight thru at speed, and I didn't see it in time. It knocked me over 100 feet down the line. I came to rest with my right leg and arm up against the rail. Took the train over a mile to get stopped, and I didn't lose any body parts. :) That was over 30 years ago. I have pain that reminds me every day, but I've been blessed, as it hasn't stopped me from doing the things I enjoy.
I'm Stumped
I was skipping school and walking back to my house. My step dad happened to be in the back garage getting some tools for work and would have seen me if I took the usual route home. I knew he would leave soon so I thought i would just hop the neighbors fence so he wouldn't see me go into the house.
As I jumped the fence my shoe lace got caught and i fell face first to the ground. When I looked up there was a tree stump two inches from my face. If i would have fell on it I would have broken my neck and died.
I'm still convinced in a parallel universe I died that day.
Just Call Me Beth March
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On the last day of first grade, near the end of the day, our teacher walked us around to tour the second grade rooms and meet the second grade teachers. As a little nerd, I was STOKED. But, I was also running a fever so high that I was drenched in sweat. Just before we were set to check out the classrooms, I finally admitted to my teacher that I wasn't feeling well. She took one look at my sweaty little face and red, rashy arms and shipped me off to the nurse.
I fell asleep on the nurses cot and woke up to my mom helping me out to the car. We went to the pediatrician, who, seeing my fever hit 103 and my dark red full body rash, for some reason told my mom it was the flu and sent us packing.
After a day at home, my fever hit 104 and my mom plunged me into a bathtub full of ice. When that did basically nothing and my fever hit 106, she took me to the hospital.
At the hospital they took me back immediately, a nurse hoisted me up on the counter and stabbed two IVs in, while another nurse told my mom if she had waited another 10 minutes to bring me in I would have likely died.
I spent a week in the hospital pumped to the brim with fluids. So pumped, in fact, that the skin on my ears burst and my face swelled to an unrecognizable blob.
Was it the flu, you ask? It was scarlet fever. Maybe the full body, dark red rash should've piqued the pediatricians interest but I guess not 🙄
Run The Plank
I was a pretty quiet and coward kid so I mostly kept it to myself in every situation but one summer when I was 10, my cousins and sibling were jumping to the sea from the pier and they also cheered me to do the same. It was all fun and games, everyone was having fun and I decided to just jump one last time before leaving. I was pretty hyped by how brave I was.
So, I started to run on the pier for a final epic jump towards the sea while everyone was distracted and well, I slipped. My head hit the pier's edge hard and knocked me out as I slipped into the sea. Apparently my dad noticed that I was gone after awhile, quickly jumped to the water and pulled me out and I remember waking up puking everywhere... I don't know how was it but according to everyone there, I looked like I was already dead.
I survived and here I am!
110 In The Shade
I was driving from North Alabama to Nashville (about 2 hours away if you drive fast), it was almost midnight when I left. About halfway there I fell asleep behind the wheel. I have no clue how long I was out but I woke up right before I slammed into the back of a semi. Was wide awake for the rest of the drive. I really should have died cause falling alseep cause me to speed up to 110ish.
The Ice You Skate Is Gettin' Pretty Thin
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I was hit in the head on accident with an aluminum baseball bat. In shockingly sober antics my friends and I were pitching chunks of ice to be shattered by a batter. I set one up on a tee but did not back away far enough and was caught on the backswing. Once my brain felt swollen and I started bleeding I knew immediately what happened and focused on remembering as much as possible and playing little brain teasers in my head because I read somewhere that brain activity during a trauma can protect against permanent damage. I was driven to the hospital and got a CT scan where I was by God's grace pronounced not even concussed. Just a chunk of flesh missing in my forehead. I still however don't like baseball bats now and I hate to watch them swing.
Sporty And Speedy
Head on collision on the freeway. A sporty car that I kept seeing speeding and weaving in and out of traffic ended up hitting my back bumper turning me 180 degrees and getting hit by a v8 dodge right after. My car (v4 sentra) was crushed. I did break and shatter a few body parts but I should be dead or at least not able to walk.
Phantom Vibrate Saved Me
Walking home from the store at 10pm one night, I walked down the iron stairs and was about to step out from behind a cement wall, into the ally, ( short cut I take all the time), when my phone vibrated. I paused mid step to fish it out of my pocket. At the exact second, (didn't even have time to pull my phone out), a car blew by doing 50 or so through the ally, about a foot from me. I felt the wind on my face as it sped by! ( didn't hear a THING!) Had my phone not vibrated I would not be here now.
Oddly when I checked later, (after I could move again!), there were no missed calls or texts.
Well This Time, It Was
Waited about four hours to go the hospital during a massive widow maker heart attack. I've had panic attacks for years and been so embarrassed going to the ER over nothing. I was in a ton of pain starting in my stomach and then into back and up in chest. I thought it was just bad stomach pain that spread and my panic was making it worse. The funny and sad thing about it was I've panicked a million that I was having a heart attack and the one time I wasn't thinking that, it was a heart attack. I just thought at 39 there'd be no way I could be having one.
When we're intoxicated, or even the slightest bit tipsy from having a little too much to drink, our immediate perspective on things is hazy.
But there's nothing like a bit of alarming news or a jarring incident to snap us out of the fog and focus on the moment.
Sometimes alcohol isn't always to blame for our impairment.
It can be a state of mind, like a perpetual numbness from being complacent in life, and all it takes is one shocking moment to rattle us back to our senses.
Curious to hear from strangers online about this type of scenario, Redditor Known_Challenge_7150 asked:
"What’s one thing that sobered you up real quick?"
These individuals were witness to shocking events that sobered them up right quick.
Bleeding Out
"Got out of a taxi and found a naked man profusely bleeding from his head crawling up the driveway in my condo. Called him an ambulance completely forgot I was absolutely wasted until 45 minutes later when I'd helped him translate and in to an amublance and stepped in my front door."
"Later a few days later learned he'd slipped in the tub and literally crawled out for help. Poor dude. He was fine but I genuinely thought he was going to die there."
– DongLaiCha
Tragic News
"At a bachelor party and we got a phone call that the groom’s father had suddenly passed."
– accountnameredacted
Bottom Of The Barrel
"I went to visit my parents back in July. I was homeless and deep into fentanyl addiction so I lost a lot of weight. My folks could see it. They knew something was up. Anyway, I spent the night and I was getting ready to leave in the morning and I looked at myself in the mirror for a good long time. I finally had enough and told them everything. They took me to detox, from there I went to rehab. Graduated in August and been living with them ever since then. I have 160 days clean and sober."
– Crotch-Monster
A reality check can be enough for some people to snap out of it.
Like Father, Like Son
"Was driving a drunk friend home, he had been on a bender again and was smart enough to call me for a lift rather than try and drive. As I helped in to his house his mother came down the stairs and said 'your as drunk as your father' and went back upstairs. I haven't seen him drunk since then, he still drinks but the thought of turning into his dad scared him out of hard drinking."
– psycospaz
Busted
"Flashing blue lights."
– FiddleOfGold
"This sobered me up just thinking about it."
– redmaple_syrup
Losing Sight
"Woke up to no sight in one eye. I had cataract surgery so just thought one of the lenses had slipped and it was an easy fix. Eye doc says nope, you had a stroke. I loved soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and salty food, which caused high blood pressure, which caused retina damage. Over six months was able to get most of my eyesight back with medication, and all back within a year. Trying to navigate life with one eye was very sobering. Started taking HBP much more seriously."
– MissHibernia
Quitting The Bottle
"Looked up someone I went to highschool with who was an awesome guy. Found out he had been dead for 3 years from alcoholism, at age 33. I made an overnight change. I hadn't started drinking that night yet, 10 months ago. Haven't touched it again since."
– omgtater
These disturbing moments were enough for Redditors to immediately come to their senses.
Unplanned House Guests
"Me and a buddy Woke up in someone’s living room, realized neither one of us knew the people, they were just nice and let 2 drunk guys sleep on their living room floor. We didn’t even say goodbye."
– Oneinsevenbillion75
Serious Health Warning
"Elevated liver enzymes."
"And the knowledge that this sh** was gonna kill me and I just couldn't orphan my family over it."
"So I opted for recovery, instead."
"Clean and sober since June 5, 2009."
– Far_Meal8674
The Joyride
"Grew up in a rural area. The little town hosted dances at the hockey arena, everyone (adults and kids) went and they overserved everyone, regardless of age. I was maybe 16 or 17 and was absolutely sh*tfaced, and jumped in the back of someone's truck with about 8 other people to go back to someone's cottage for after dance drinking. The driver (still don't know who it was) started racing one of his buddies and we whipped around small dirt roads, flying around blind corners on the wrong side of the road, going god knows how fast. It was basically a disaster waiting to happen. It was crazy scary and I was sober and thankful to be alive when we finally arrived."
– foxfood9116
The human psyche is a fascinating thing, isn't it?
How we can automatically focus on something urgent at a crucial time, even after getting buzzed from drinking too much alcohol.
But as we're in the thick of the holidays, it's a good reminder to drink responsibly and stay off the roads if you drive to your celebratory destination.
Cheers. Stay safe. And happy holidays.
We've all complained or vented about something in our lives which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't exactly a problem, or is very easily solved.
Then there are those who complain about things that others almost hope will happen to them at some point in their lives.
These are known as "first world problems", as they are problems that pretty much only the world's one percent faces.
From having to fly business class instead of first class, or being served Roederer instead of Dom Pérignon, these complaints are often met with amusement, bewilderment, or even anger.
Redditor jennimackenzie was curious to hear the most absurd "first world problems" anyone ever complained about, leading them to ask:
"What’s the most ridiculous 'first world problem' you’ve seen people get worked up over?"
"Tale As Old As Time..."
"I once knew a mom who was legitimately devastated, to the point of tears/grief, because a doctor predicted her 8 year old daughter's final height to be around 5'2","
"Which wasn't tall enough to get cast as Belle at Disney World."
"That was the child's (and her mother's) only dream in life, apparently."
"Didn't appreciate my suggestion that she could be Minnie or Mickey."
"Lol!"
"Only a face character would do!"- TravelLovingMom
"Must Be Funny, In A Rich Man's World..."
"My boss from about a decade ago was this insanely rich dude who always went to the bank to get fresh and crisp currency."
"He'd call the bank in advance to make sure they had some on hand."
"I think he was a germaphobe."
"He had a trash can that he'd throw $1 and $5 bills in that he thought was 'dirty' and regularly just donated it vs spending it."
"I asked him why he did this and he said it was too much trouble and asked if I wanted it."
"I said f*ck yeah dumped it into my bag and when I got home it was close to $400 in singles and fives.
"Another time, he wanted to upgrade all the computers in his studio, so we went to a store and bought 10 PCs."
"They all had $150 mail in rebates and he wasn't bothered to go through the trouble of mailing them in."
"3 weeks later I received $1500 after spending a whole afternoon filling out all those goddamn forms."- azninvasion2000
Money Burn GIF by nog
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Who Wore It Better?
"When I was about 19 years old, I was at my boyfriends family BBQ."
"I was wearing this pretty floral sundress."
"His cousins girlfriend showed up in the same dress and she was SO mad that she went and changed."
"I will never understand being upset when someone is wearing the same thing as you.'
"Did you really think that your shirt you bought off the rack is going to be unique to you?"
"No."- mertsey627
Seeing Red! Or Blue In This Case...
"The blue of the balloons wasn't quite the same as the bridesmaid's sashes."
"Years ago my wife and I attended a wedding."
"It was very low key."
"The dinner was in the dining hall at the university where the couple met, cinder block walls and all."
"It was a Baptist wedding - no booze and very serious."
"The dark blue balloons attempting to liven up the hall were a slightly darker shade of blue than the sashes on the bridesmaid's dresses."
"The bride lost here sh*t and absolutely raved for nearly an hour."
"I can't remember how they finally managed to talk her down."- mechant_papa
south park wedding GIF
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See You In Court!
"Rich neighbors who end up in expensive court battles because they disagree about where a tree can be planted or whether the color of a fence fits in with the street’s 'amenity'."
'These disputes get really heated and rack up huge lawyers’ bills."
"The most pathetic part is after the judgement when they are arguing about who should pay the other party’s costs."
"Lots of affidavits filed citing the 'emotional distress' they had to endure, or painting themselves as brave warriors who were forced to take a stand to fight for 'justice'."
"Also lots of pompous litigants insisting that the judge refer to them by their 'Dr' title."
"An absolutely insane dumpster fire of entitled rich people problems."- ElectrocRaisin
It's Always People With Money Who Don't Want To Pay!
"I work in a public library."
"People will get so so mad if they have to be put on a wait list for a book."
"A popular book that just came out."
"Ok our services are not only free but so are the books."
"You’re welcome, a**holes."- Switchbladekitten
A Warm Butt Is A Happy Butt!
"My own."
"We have a bidet toilet seat (Fabulous! Everyone should have one!) and not only does it wash your bum and blow dry it, but the seat's heated!"
"It's shocking how much a heated toilet seat makes the whole process more agreeable."
"Except: We had a power outage and I went to use the toilet and the seat was cold!"
"Unacceptable!"
"This shall not stand!"
"I was really upset because it didn't feel good."
"Then I stopped and thought: This is the most first-world problem anyone's ever had."
"I was really pissed because my heiny was tepid."
"I got over it."- DeathGrover
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Holy Matrimony!
"Weddings are a gold mine for this question."
"People get so hyped up over their 'most important day of their life'."
"They'll destroy friendships, go into debt, and have crazy expectations."
"It's not always the couple who go crazy, either."
"Sometimes, it's the parents or another family member who feels entitled to control the wedding."
"It's just a party."
"Be considerate of guests, have plenty of food and drinks, and enjoy it."- magicrowantree
When Fast Food Isn't Fast Enough...
"Having to pull off to the side to wait for a drive-thru order to be brought out to you because your food isn't ready and there's a line building up behind you."- demanbmore
In Case You Don't Think Customer Service Employees Are Undervalued...
"I was working the return desk at a Target next to a military base so I have so many stories."
"One of my favorites was a lady who had her baby shower before revealing the gender and was livid that she had received floral newborn diapers when she’s having a boy."
"It was a huge box of super expensive, all organic diapers, that we didn’t carry and therefore could not return."
"I cannot accurately express her fury and disgust."
"How dare either suggest her boy could wear feminine diapers."
"I suggested she donate them if she didn’t want to use them and she instead threw away the entire box."
"When she left we pulled it out and threw it in our donate bin."
"There have also been multiple times where mom’s order massive toys and when we bring them out to the car they get furious that they aren’t wrapped."
"We don’t offer wrapping services."
"Here’s the thing, if you don’t want your kids to see the toys you got them for Christmas or their bit to day DON'T BRING THE CHILD WHEN YOU PICK IT UP."
'I’ve had multiple women scream and curse me out that I had ruined their kids Christmas by bringing the toys they ordered out to the car like they requested."- clever-mermaid-mae
Customer Service Waiting GIF by Juno Calypso
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Happiest Place On Earth!
"I used to work for Disney."
"That in itself should tell you everything."
"However for fun I'll give you two specific stories one form our tech department and one from my wife who worked bookings."
"I specifically worked for their call center to help with technical issues with magic band and the website."
"Suddenly got worse huh?"
"A right of passage call everyone has at least one story of is the 'Dome call'."
"Basically there is a subset of Disney Guest (TM) that believes if it rains at Walt Disney world there is someone that will push a button to encapsulate the whole of Disney property in a dome to keep out the rain."
"I'm not kidding."
"If this button is not pushed they call our tech department to angrily ask why."
"My wife worked booking."
"Pretty much everything including Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique and Pirate's league."
"These two things did roughly the same thing difference being price and theme."
"BBB was expensive did more and was focused on princesses, pirates league did a bit less and focused on mermaids and pirates."
"Lady called up my wife, and got pissed about BBB being booked up (It goes FAAAAST)."
"Karen: 'Im going to give the phone to my daughter and I want you to tell her how you are ruining her vacation by not letting her do BBB'."
"Wife proceeds to explain how pirate's league is so much cooler and how she can be a mermaid or pirate and basically gets the kid to start demanding to their parents about how they want to be a mermaid instead of a princess."- trollsong
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The horror!
Being booked into a junior suite at Disney World instead of an executive suite!
It's almost as bad as having no money for groceries, or no food to feed you children...
Said absolutely no one.