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People Who Survived A Murder Attempt Explain How They Lived Through It

Woman carrying a hatchet
Florian Olivo/Unsplash

Hearing people open up about their near-death experiences is fascinating and it can reignite a sense that life is precious and can be taken away from us at any given moment.

But while a renewed perspective on life after narrowly avoiding accidental death is affirming, nothing is more terrifying when considering those who've managed to avoid death when it was motivated.


Curious to hear from those who were lucky to survive violence at the hands of someone with an intent to kill, an anonymous Redditor asked:

"Murder attempt survivors, what happened?"

These Redditors experienced sharp pains after being sliced. They live to tell their story.

Ultimate Defender

"9 years ago, buddy got jumped at a house party. I jumped in to pull the guy off of him. Attacker ended up pulling out a knife and shanking me in the stomach before fleeing to a getaway vehicle."

"Police were called. Caught the guy. We were supposed to come into court to point at him and be like 'he did it' but the day before he pleaded guilty. No idea what happened to the guy after that or what his punishment was but he probably didn't learn anything from the situation."

"Me? I feel completely fine. Sometimes I forget that I even got stabbed. I feel a little uneasy whenever someone has a knife in their hand and its not dinner time, but that's about it as far as trauma goes."

– TheBadman9001

Disturbed Patient

"I was working as a support worker for people with mental and physical disabilities. My client had schizophrenia and BPD due to childhood and substance abuse."

"She stabbed me three times in the chest (once in the heart, penetrating my right ventricle and severing a major artery) after I advised her against a medication (nicotine gum). I almost died, doctors said that it was a miracle I survived, with a 3% survival rate due to the severity of my injuries."

"That only happened back in August this year, I’m still in recovery and I’m dealing with PTSD. She’s completely ruined my life, and I’m now struggling with my identity and what I want to do in life."

– fridaskahlo

Targeting The Paramedic

"A pregnant drunk lady called an ambulance. I was working with a junior colleague but a female one. The patient said she thought she was in labour and was sat on the floor legs open knees bent with a blanket over her lower part. There was a small table next to her, glass top wooden coffee table thing. My colleague asked to examine her and for some reason she got angry and insisted I examine her not my female colleague. After a bit of back and forth I knelt down and went to lift the blanket to have a look when there was a sudden crash. My colleague had put her foot through the glass table and was standing on the patients hand which had a huge knife in it. Turns out she wanted to stab a paramedic and when we turned up she chose me. My colleague saw it just in time and saved my life."

"Patient had already had several children who were in care and had foetal alcohol syndrome. I was asked for a statement when the next one was born and they were also taken in to care."

"She got away with the premeditated attempted murder on grounds of mental health."

– AsleepPipe371

Parents are supposed to raise you, not kill you.

Going For A Spin

"I was 17 at the time. I was wicked sick one weekend and my mother decided I needed to go to the hospital. She had been drinking all day, as she was a terrible alcoholic. It turned out that I had strep throat. So they're typing out my discharge paperwork and my mother approached the desk where the nurse was sitting. Clearly stinking of alcohol, the nurse told my mother that she wouldn't be allowed to drive me home because she was clearly intoxicated. This sent my mother into a drunken rage, swearing and threatening the nurse. Who told her if she left the police would be called. My mother grabbed me and hurries me into the car. I start yelling at her about how irresponsible she is and how she is ruining her life with alcohol. This pisses her off even more. We only live less than a mile away but my mother has taken a different route than normal, when I ask why she just says it's the long way and she doesn't want to get caught. As we're traveling down this dark, Maine back road she begins speeding like crazy. We were doing at least 90 mph when she looks over at me with a blank face and says I'm sorry. She then pulled the E brake and cut the wheel sending us flying off the road."

"The next thing I remember is sitting in the front seat of a pickup truck with an EMT shining a flashlight in my eyes along who the president was. I responded that Bill Clinton was the president (2000). Apparently she had crashed us into a huge rock at the end of someone's property, directly on my side of the car. Apparently I crawled over her and staggered to the door of the property to ask for help. They put us in different ambulance and we headed back to the hospital we just left. Upon arrival, the nurse my mother fought with said 'I knew you'd be back'. My mother in a drunken semi conscious state kept saying I'm sorry I tried to kill you, I love you, over and over. She suffered several broken ribs, a broken collar bone, broken nose and cracked vertebrae. I had a concussion and some cuts on my face from the door window basically exploding on impact with the rock. She was sentenced to some alcohol program through the courts and some community service. She suffered severe depression and six months after this she took her own life in another car accident. She actually asked me if I wanted to go for a ride with her that night and I told her no, I'll see you when you get home. That was the last thing I ever said to her."

– Sentient_DMT_Crystal

Violence At Home

"my mum was incredibly abusive. on one occasion, I was around 12 and she came into my room while I was sleeping and stabbed me in the chest with a kitchen knife, puncturing my lung (I didn't know this at the time). obviously this woke me up and I just rolled out of bed and ran around the house screaming. someone on our road noticed the noise and called the police. just before the police arrived, she started choking me and I lost consciousness. I later woke up in the hospital and (mostly) recovered. she's now in jail. this is not the only time that she tried, but it was the most dramatic and came the closest to actually killing me."

– 1BUK1-M10D4

Don't Do Drugs

"I was 15 and my dad plotted to murder me. My dad had only been back around for a few months after being homeless for a while due to his 20+ year meth addiction. He had never been violent towards me before, but I later found out he had tried to kill my mother just months prior and she brushed it off as him having a PTSD episode."

"I came home from school, he surprise attacked me by suffocating me with a pillow/strangling.

"I ended up being able to get up and run to the bathroom- the only room in our house with a lock. He grabbed the door but I found a sharp object in the bathroom and told him to back up or I’d kill him. I somehow was able to shove the door shut and lock it. He tried to get in the bathroom but couldn’t."

"He actually said 'I’m leaving!' and open/closed the front door to try and lure me out. It was quiet for a while but then I heard him breathing outside the door. He eventually left after a few hours, taking my money I had hidden in my bedroom, and called a relative telling them I’d been in a terrible accident and he needed a ride to the hospital. He ended up running when dropped off and was missing for a year. Most terrifying year of my life."

"His body was found by a fisherman at his favorite lake growing up. They found high levels of meth in his system."

"Later, when investigating the home I was attacked in, they found hammers/duct tape/knives under my mom’s mattress and looked like he very much so intended to kill me."

"Edit: Thank you everyone for the kind words. Certainly the craziest life experience I ever hope to have and therapy was a long journey. The craziest part of it all was that my dad from childhood was still there simultaneously with the horrid attacker. He cried outside the door for a while telling me he was so sorry and I wouldn’t ever see him again, but would switch to trying to lure me out and being aggressive. There were many moments I could hear the duality of who he was. The murderous cracked out crazy person and someone who was regretful and really sad inside. Idk- just thought that was an interesting thing to add for context. It’s not always just so cut and dry between a crazy/bad person and a good/normal person I’ve learned."

– livinlavidaanxious

Gun violence survivors share their harrowing stories.

Obsessed

"Not me but my friend's mom. A coworker of hers was stalking her, obsessed. Convinced he was in love with her and nobody else deserved her, that kind of thing. Eventually he came to their office with a revolver."

"She was bending down to put files away, or something similar. He quickly approached her from behind and shot her in the back before immediately shooting himself in the head. She survived obviously, though the wounds were significant. Incredibly fortunate she wasn't hit in the spine or major organs."

"I often wonder how different it would have played out if she had been standing, or facing him. More than likely she would be dead."

"This was before my friend was born, and his mom made a mostly full recovery. Still has chronic pain and PTSD, but she can walk and has a job. Not reclusive or unfriendly to strangers. Terrified of guns, of course, but that seems fair. Both my friend and her are extremely lucky."

– Cutter9792

Never Welcome Strangers

"At the beginning of October my husband was trying to buy a PS5 on letgo. He wanted to make sure it actually worked so he gave the guy our address. I told him a dozen times that he was going to get robbed. He still had the kid come over."

"As soon as he got there he pulled a gun, grabbed the cash and shot twice. One hit my husband in the abdomen. The second went through the stairs behind him and traveled 30-40 feet to the kitchen."

"I heard the commotion and ran downstairs and chased him away from the house. We got to the front gate and he pulled his gun again and shot at me. He missed my head by less than 2 inches."

"He was caught and is being charged as an adult (16) for 2 counts of attempted murder and a variety of other charges."

– jmrobins00

Fortunately, these examples are of people who were extremely lucky to share their stories after a near-death experience since not everyone is able to escape their fate.

But just because one managed to avoid having their life taken from them, it doesn't mean it gets easier in the aftermath.

The lingering PTSD can be unbearable to live with, and anything can be a trigger that brings survivors back to a scary incident.

We never truly know of the trauma or horrific history of anyone around us.

With that in mind, remember that kindness in general goes a long way.

People Reveal The Weirdest Thing About Themselves

Reddit user Isitjustmedownhere asked: 'Give an example; how weird are you really?'

Let's get one thing straight: no one is normal. We're all weird in our own ways, and that is actually normal.

Of course, that doesn't mean we don't all have that one strange trait or quirk that outweighs all the other weirdness we possess.

For me, it's the fact that I'm almost 30 years old, and I still have an imaginary friend. Her name is Sarah, she has red hair and green eyes, and I strongly believe that, since I lived in India when I created her and there were no actual people with red hair around, she was based on Daphne Blake from Scooby-Doo.

I also didn't know the name Sarah when I created her, so that came later. I know she's not really there, hence the term 'imaginary friend,' but she's kind of always been around. We all have conversations in our heads; mine are with Sarah. She keeps me on task and efficient.

My mom thinks I'm crazy that I still have an imaginary friend, and writing about her like this makes me think I may actually be crazy, but I don't mind. As I said, we're all weird, and we all have that one trait that outweighs all the other weirdness.

Redditors know this all too well and are eager to share their weird traits.

It all started when Redditor Isitjustmedownhere asked:

"Give an example; how weird are you really?"

Monsters Under My Bed

"My bed doesn't touch any wall."

"Edit: I guess i should clarify im not rich."

– Practical_Eye_3600

"Gosh the monsters can get you from any angle then."

– bikergirlr7

"At first I thought this was a flex on how big your bedroom is, but then I realized you're just a psycho 😁"

– zenOFiniquity8

Can You See Why?

"I bought one of those super-powerful fans to dry a basement carpet. Afterwards, I realized that it can point straight up and that it would be amazing to use on myself post-shower. Now I squeegee my body with my hands, step out of the shower and get blasted by a wide jet of room-temp air. I barely use my towel at all. Wife thinks I'm weird."

– KingBooRadley

Remember

"In 1990 when I was 8 years old and bored on a field trip, I saw a black Oldsmobile Cutlass driving down the street on a hot day to where you could see that mirage like distortion from the heat on the road. I took a “snapshot” by blinking my eyes and told myself “I wonder how long I can remember this image” ….well."

– AquamarineCheetah

"Even before smartphones, I always take "snapshots" by blinking my eyes hoping I'll remember every detail so I can draw it when I get home. Unfortunately, I may have taken so much snapshots that I can no longer remember every detail I want to draw."

"Makes me think my "memory is full.""

– Reasonable-Pirate902

Same, Same

"I have eaten the same lunch every day for the past 4 years and I'm not bored yet."

– OhhGoood

"How f**king big was this lunch when you started?"

– notmyrealnam3

Not Sure Who Was Weirder

"Had a line cook that worked for us for 6 months never said much. My sous chef once told him with no context, "Baw wit da baw daw bang daw bang diggy diggy." The guy smiled, left, and never came back."

– Frostygrunt

Imagination

"I pace around my house for hours listening to music imagining that I have done all the things I simply lack the brain capacity to do, or in some really bizarre scenarios, I can really get immersed in these imaginations sometimes I don't know if this is some form of schizophrenia or what."

– RandomSharinganUser

"I do the same exact thing, sometimes for hours. When I was young it would be a ridiculous amount of time and many years later it’s sort of trickled off into almost nothing (almost). It’s weird but I just thought it’s how my brain processes sh*t."

– Kolkeia

If Only

"Even as an adult I still think that if you are in a car that goes over a cliff; and right as you are about to hit the ground if you jump up you can avoid the damage and will land safely. I know I'm wrong. You shut up. I'm not crying."

– ShotCompetition2593

Pet Food

"As a kid I would snack on my dog's Milkbones."

– drummerskillit

"Haha, I have a clear memory of myself doing this as well. I was around 3 y/o. Needless to say no one was supervising me."

– Isitjustmedownhere

"When I was younger, one of my responsibilities was to feed the pet fish every day. Instead, I would hide under the futon in the spare bedroom and eat the fish food."

– -GateKeep-

My Favorite Subject

"I'm autistic and have always had a thing for insects. My neurotypical best friend and I used to hang out at this local bar to talk to girls, back in the late 90s. One time he claimed that my tendency to circle conversations back to insects was hurting my game. The next time we went to that bar (with a few other friends), he turned and said sternly "No talking about bugs. Or space, or statistics or other bullsh*t but mainly no bugs." I felt like he was losing his mind over nothing."

"It was summer, the bar had its windows open. Our group hit it off with a group of young ladies, We were all chatting and having a good time. I was talking to one of these girls, my buddy was behind her facing away from me talking to a few other people."

"A cloudless sulphur flies in and lands on little thing that holds coasters."

"Cue Jordan Peele sweating gif."

"The girl notices my tension, and asks if I am looking at the leaf. "Actually, that's a lepidoptera called..." I looked at the back of my friend's head, he wasn't looking, "I mean a butterfly..." I poked it and it spread its wings the girl says "oh that's a BUG?!" and I still remember my friend turning around slowly to look at me with chastisement. The ONE thing he told me not to do."

"I was 21, and was completely not aware that I already had a rep for being an oddball. It got worse from there."

– Phormicidae

*Teeth Chatter*

"I bite ice cream sometimes."

RedditbOiiiiiiiiii

"That's how I am with popsicles. My wife shudders every single time."

monobarreller

Never Speak Of This

"I put ice in my milk."

– GTFOakaFOD

"You should keep that kind of thing to yourself. Even when asked."

– We-R-Doomed

"There's some disturbing sh*t in this thread, but this one takes the cake."

– RatonaMuffin

More Than Super Hearing

"I can hear the television while it's on mute."

– Tira13e

"What does it say to you, child?"

– Mama_Skip

Yikes!

"I put mustard on my omelettes."

– Deleted User

"Oh."

– NotCrustOr-filling

Evened Up

"Whenever I say a word and feel like I used a half of my mouth more than the other half, I have to even it out by saying the word again using the other half of my mouth more. If I don't do it correctly, that can go on forever until I feel it's ok."

"I do it silently so I don't creep people out."

– LesPaltaX

"That sounds like a symptom of OCD (I have it myself). Some people with OCD feel like certain actions have to be balanced (like counting or making sure physical movements are even). You should find a therapist who specializes in OCD, because they can help you."

– MoonlightKayla

I totally have the same need for things to be balanced! Guess I'm weird and a little OCD!

Close up face of a woman in bed, staring into the camera
Photo by Jen Theodore

Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.

Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?

But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.

It would be so great to be sure there is something else.

But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.

Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:

"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"

Sensations

Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy

"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."

PeachesnPain

Recovery

"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."

"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."

"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."

good_golly99

Take Me Back

"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."

"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."

rayrayrayray

Free

The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy

"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."

TooReDTooHigh

This is why I hate surgery.

You just never know.

Shocked

Giphy

"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."

Admirable_Buyer6528

The SOB

"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."

"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”

1-cupcake-at-a-time

Colors

"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"

Hannah_LL7

"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"

huntokarrr

The Fog

"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."

"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."

Fluffy-Hotel-5184

Through the Walls

"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."

"She's quite alive and well today."

Hot-Refrigerator6583

Well let's all be happy to be alive.

It seems to be all we have.

Man's waist line
Santhosh Vaithiyanathan/Unsplash

Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.

The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.

Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.

Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:

"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"

Redditors didn't see these coming.

Shiver Me Timbers

"I’m always cold now!"

– Telrom_1

"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."

– r7ndom

"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."

– mr_remy

Drawing Concern

"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."

– dee-fondy

"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"

"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."

– LizardofDeath

Unleashing Insults

"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”

"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."

– alanamablamaspama

Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight

"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."

– KeltarCentauri

"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."

– KatMagic1977

"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."

– Jaew96

These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.

Shopping

"I can buy clothes in any store I want."

– WaySavvyD

"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."

– ganache98012

No More Symptoms

"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."

– colleennicole93

Expanding Capabilities

"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."

– Ramblonius

People Change Their Tune

"How much nicer people are to you."

"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"

– LiZZygsu

"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"

"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"

– awholedamngarden

It's gonna take some getting used to.

Bones Everywhere

"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."

– Princess-Pancake-97

"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."

– bekastrange

Knee Pillow

"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."

– snic2030

"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."

– Strongbad23

More Mobility

"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."

"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."

– dma1965

People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.

But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.

That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.