Student Nurses Reveal The Craziest Thing That Ever Happened To Them During Training.
1. Once I went to go check on an elderly woman in a nursing home and I walked in on poop completely smeared on every wall in the bathroom and all on the floor. She was sitting there smiling. Welcome to nursing!
2. I was taking care of a patient with late stage parkinsons disease who was bedridden. He suffered from really bad contractures which means his arms were rigidly immobilized and he barely had use of his legs. The facility had him in a brief (aka an adult diaper) and my fellow student and I were in charge of changing him after he pooped all over himself that morning. There was feces everywhere, and it seemed to take forever to get him completely cleaned up. Just as we thought we were finished, the man stopped us. He asked if we would put lotion on his testicles and pull down his foreskin over his penis before we finished. The other student and I looked at each other in panic, but we had no choice than to do what he said because he obviously couldnt do it himself. Thanks to nursing school, I can now say I have lotioned up an elderly mans balls and wrestled his foreskin into submission all in the name of learning.
3. The bullying and the way student nurses are completely ignored. My first ever placement my mentor didnt even talk to me for the first 2 weeks. Many days didnt even stop for a break during shifts. Nursing in the UK is in a really bad place, we need to protect our student nurses and stamp out the bullying. Not many students are making it to graduation between money and conditions. We should all be very worried for what the future holds for nursing care in the NHS.
4. Hello I am a third year nursing student!
Well for starters, every day is crazy. But this one time I was caring for an elderly patient who did not have much control of her bowels.
With a little help from another nurse, we lifted this patient up in an overhead sling to provide some cleaning to her bottom. This is normally a time when patients do have a bowel movement due to the more upright position that they are in. Just as we are about to lower the lift I hear a rippling sound come out of her backside and quickly step out of the way just in time to (Continued)
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dodge the missile of [poop] that came shooting out of her rectum. Of course, I kept composed and did not laugh or make any rude gestures towards her but I was dying on the inside, like literally dying.
5. On my first day on my first placement as a student nurse, I was looking after a dementia patient, and no one told me he had a fake eye. I was horrified when he pulled his eye out of its socket and rolled it down the corridor. I went running after it to give it back to him he washed it in his orange juice and put it back in his socket while I stood there in surprise. Later that week, the same man threw a bowl of soup at me. It was still hot. My reflexs got a lot better after that.
6. A confused elderly lady once cupped my balls, kissed me on the cheek, and giggled like a school girl while I checked her back and bottom for pressure sores. I couldnt face what might happen if I did an ECG so had to beg another student to do it.
7. Had a cellphone shoved up my bum hole while i was changing his plasters from surgery. i was the one who needed surgery after that.
8. I answered a call bell pressed by a patient I had assisted onto a commode thinking he was finished, instead he said he needed some help and asked me to massage his poo out for him.
9. I once had a patient who was a 10/10 for pain. When I asked if there was anything else I could get for him, he said you could slap me on my ass and get me going! 10/10 pain my ass.
10. One day when I was on my endoscopy rotation we had a patient who had radiation proctitis as a result of prostate cancer treatment and required a procedure about once a year to alleviate the symptoms. (Continued)
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Anyway, he has the procedure and is wheeled back to post op. He tells me he needs to poop. I reassure him, and tell him its just the air they pumped into his colon for the procedure. (Id been in the room with him for the procedure and his colon was definitely empty!). I hooked him up to a monitor and head off to check on someone else. About 15 min later the buzzer in the toilet goes off. As I head down the corridor, I notice that this guys bed is empty. Opening the door to the toilet, Im greeted with bloody fluid all over the floor, up the walls, and into the centre cubicle where my patient is sitting on the toilet looking a bit sheepish. Sorry Nurse, I seem to have made a bit of a mess!
It took us half an hour to clean up. He was ok too, nothing major had happened - he went back for a rescope and was kept in overnight for observation.
11. We were learning how to do dressing changes at a local nursing home. Mr. Smith had a non-healing skin lesion on his chest that turned out to be skin cancer. It ended getting so bad that his chest wall, skin, muscle tissue, and sternum eroded away. Essentially he would sit in the corner of his room and you could see the pulsation of his heart through the big, pink hole in his chest. Our brilliant nursing instructor tried to teach us how to change a dressing, but forgot to dilute the cleaning solution before switching out for the new gauze. She essentially soaked gauze in undiluted bleach and stuffed it onto his heart. He lived. She got fired.
12. Just a little background, if placement where I am isnt NHS they can be a bit funny about leaving you on your own because they dont think our trainings good enough, so we usually dont get left alone, particularly with patients with challenging behaviour.
I was sat with a patient having lunch surrounded by staff and other patients, this particular patient wasnt very happy with their options, cup and plate went flying, staff scattered, no one presses the alarm and I get punched and scratched in the neck while the patient grabs my top. Im left being held by the top, looking like Ive wet myself covered in their drink and trying to find a member of staff to help me out. No one turned up and Im still being held so I decided to strap in and deal with the situation myself, by the time a member of staff shows up to help; the patients calm, Ive been released, were chatting, my legs are feeling very cold and I get told off for being alone with a patient.
13. My patient rang his bell saying he needed the toilet. As soon as he stood up (Continued)
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the floodgates, front and back opened. Luckily I had a pad on me, what I didnt know as a student was that pads werent designed to capture free flowing liquid straight away. At this point I was on my knees panicking and praying it wouldnt get on my face because it kept going and going and going. Lets just say my late shift couldnt have ended any worse.
14. Whilst doing the morning wash round, an elderly gentleman asked me for a wash bowl and a razor. I thought this was pretty weird as he didnt have any facial hair but gave him it anyway. A few minutes later i popped my head in to ask if everything was okay and to my horror he had one knee up to his shoulder and was shaving his balls. He just carried on and started a conversation like it was nothing.
15. I trained as a midwife so slightly different, but I was once performing a vaginal examination on a client at the exact moment her membranes ruptured (waters broke).
It was like a log flume, my clothes were soaked through- right down to my underwear! I had to change into some highly attractive paper pants we give to women postnatally?
16. Used to be a student aide in a nurses office in a middle school. One of my kids hands me a bag with his clothes in it and asks me to carry it around for him while I was chaperoning him for the day (he had seizures). Well, I started smelling crap. It was not from the common core crap they have now I asked him did you have an accident in your pants bud? He said no, in the clothes you have in the bag I did though. I about died. Ill never hold a bag for another kid again lol.
17. I was looking after a child who had been putting push pins into a nerf gun and using it to pop balloons. I guess one of the pins got stuck so he turned it round to look down the barrel and Yeah. Pin in the eye.
18. I was on ward round on a urology Ward. They doctor told me prior to going into a patients room that the patient actually had a (Continued)
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hydrocele (sack of fluid that firms around the testicular area). I had no idea what this was but nodded along politely and when into the room. The patient whips his pants down without a being prompted and revealed that I can only describe as a space hopper between his legs. I was in stunned silence and dont know where to look. Reminded me of Randy Marsh in that South Park episode!
19. There was a physio on the ward and doing exercises with a patient; specifically squats and this lady just took a massive dump in the middle of the ward. All the other patients got up and left the ward space.
20. As a student you are expected to do a community placement, I was with the district nurses (nurse who come to your house if you are unable to reach your gp surgery) from November to Febuary.
In the 2 weeks before christmas the whole nursing team bought the same christmas jumper and worse tinsel in their hair. My mentor and myself adore christmas and strung fairy lights in the car as it was our office and the regular patients we saw we couldnt resist the temptation to sing christmas carols as we knocked on their door before going in to treat them. We got so many mince pies and chocolates in those few weeks! Yum yum!
21. I was once placing a urinary catheter in a male patient with dementia. Halfway through the procedure, he raised his hand, put a hand on each boob and left them there. I asked him to let go but he wasnt complying. I could do nothing about it as I was gloved up at the time with lubricant all over my gloves, and there were no other nurses within calling distance. So I spent the next ten minutes finishing off the procedure, with his hands on my boobs.
22. When I was a student nurse I worked on a long stay ward for people with learning disabilities who had mental health problems. One afternoon I was charged with dishing up dinner. Every other day there had been gravy to go with the food but on this particular day there wasnt, instead there was a (Continued)
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creamy sauce. There was no dessert either
I dished up and poured the sauce on the food. Half way through, one lady said I dont like semolina Turned out, Id put the semolina dessert all over the cauliflower bake!! Oooops.
23. My strangest delivery (I was a student midwife) was dealing with a concealed pregnancy where no one in the family knew the girl was pregnant. The girl had gone to A&E with her mum after telling her that she had twisted/broken her ankle but she was actually in labour. The whole time in the delivery room, the girl was in denial and her mother was crying. It was by far the strangest and most awkward experience of my life.
It's understandable why so many people are afraid of the dark.
There is no clear sight ahead, no telling who might be around, not to mention being even more attuned to every sound you hear in your periphery.
There's simply no telling what may happen to you when you're out alone in the dark.
Unfortunately, nothing can stop the same things from happening to you in broad daylight.
Indeed, the most terrifying things many people ever experienced happened when the sun was shining high.
"What's the scariest thing that has ever happened to you during broad daylight?"
Never Trust Strangers
"When I was around 8, a man approached me in a busy park and asked if I wanted to come see his pet dog."
"He was pointing to a wooded area to the side of the park."
"I now know that in that woods is an abandoned rail line."
"Luckily I had enough common sense to say no and run to an adult."
"I shudder to think what could have happened now."- foxfaced95
You Meet All Kinds Of People At A Bus Stop
"I once was at a bus station in the morning, waiting for the bus that would take me to University."
"I was looking straight ahead when I felt a huge pain in my ear."
"I turned around and realized a guy had just punched me on the ear."
"I looked at him and the look in his eyes was terrifying."
"He was like on drugs or something."
"Never met the guy."
"I screamed 'what the f*ck?'"
"And then something unrealistic happened: a bus pulled over (not mine) and the driver who must have witnessed the scene hopped off, told the guy 'you don’t hit girls!' and jumped on him to fight."
"I was shocked."
"The bus I was supposed to take arrived and I ran inside."- elratoncitohermoso
The World We Live In
"For context, I live in Lebanon."
"The scariest day of my life was August 4, 2020."
"Let me explain."
"So it was about 6:00 PM, and I was walking to the living room to watch TV."
"(I was about 13 at the time) Then, the ground started shaking."
"I thought it was in my head. because I always get randomly dizzy. "
"So I held onto the wall, and the wall was asking to."
"I then screamed to alert mother and sister (my father was at work) and then all hell broke loose."
"I hear a loud explosion sound that rang in my ears, and a carpet hit me in the face."
"I look outside and see a huge purple cloud of smoke."
"Turns out I had just witnessed one of the biggest non-nuclear explosions to have been recorded."
"Killed over 200 people, 7,000 injured, and 300,000 left homeless."- jshayya184
It Happens More Often Than We Realize
'I once witnessed a police shootout directly across the street from me."
"I remember my girlfriend at the time not having the good sense to duck out of the way so I had to grab her and drag her to the ground then into a doorway to stay out of the line of fire."- Factsaretheonlytruth
What A Tragedy
Was out for a walk with my family when a drive-by happened a few doors down."
"No one in the house was hurt, but an old man was jogging on the sidewalk and was killed by the shooting."
"Wrong place, wrong time."- EdithWhartonsFarts
Nightmares Come To Life
"When I was probably around 7 or 8 I had an overwhelming fear of being kidnapped to the point where I’d duck down in the backseat of the car so that anyone passing us wouldn’t see me."
"Yeah I know."
"So one day my brother and I rode with my mom to the bank to deposit some checks or whatever else she had to do."
"I was scared sh*tless of somebody opening up the car door and grabbing me."
"This older dude pulls up next to us, gets out of his car, and proceeds to walk over to cup his hands on the window to look into the car."
'I about sh*t my pants."- rkcorinth
So Many Questions
"I was out back at work smoking a cigarette and this spray-painted van rolled up right next to me asking if we were gonna use some paint cans left over from the remodel."
"When he rolled down his window I saw that he too was completely covered in spray paint."
"I told him I didn’t know if he could take them and I started walking away and the dude in the van followed right next to me with his door open talking to me and I freaked and f*cking ran."- devilshibata
Why You NEVER Play on Train Tracks
"So when I was 12, me and my friends thought it would be epic to climb up the side of a stopped train and go to the top."
"Once we got up there we gazed amongst the clouds, starred onto the city scapes, it felt so high up."
"Our hearts raced as we jumped over the 4 foot gaps in between train carts, we were high on life."
"My friends were in front of me jumping between carts, and suddenly as I was mid-air, the train jolted forward causing me to miss my jump and come crashing down tumbling in-between the train carts."
"I don't remember much about the fall, all I remember was that I smashed my head against something and then woke up moments later confused and in so much pain."
"So there I was, massive headache, confused as hell, under a slow but moving train, the under belly of the train just scraping against my back."
"I start to crawl my way out of the first space of the two carts but I realize I don't have time so I lay there contemplating whether I can crawl in-between the wheels of the length of the cart."
"I cant, it's too narrow, so I wait for the 2nd space in-between the next two carts for what felt like a life time."
"My heart was racing so fast, I was feeling light headed, I was in shock."
"As it approaches I start crawling, at this point the train is picking up speed so either I go now or I stay and pray to god nothing catches onto me and rips me to shreds."
"The opening approaches and I crawl over the rails. As I stumble over the rails I see the massive train wheel inches away from my legs."
"I made it out just barely."
"So close that the wheel caught my shoe and tore it up."
"But it wasn't over."
"After getting out from under the train, I take a deep breath of relief and stare up to the sky thinking 'holy f*ck I almost died'."
"Then I hear a loud horn, flip over and looked to my right."
"There was another oncoming train."
"There was another set of tracks."
"I realized I couldn't get up in time because of how fast that train was approaching, so I had no choice but to lay in the middle of the two trains and hope to god nothing bad happened."
"Scariest 5 minutes of my life."- mvfsullivan
Evaded Kidnapping
"Someone tried to pull me into his car in Broad daylight in Southampton."- TheToyGirl
ALWAYS Tell Your Parents. ALWAYS.
"Got harassed by a grown man when I was 13."
"My local Wal-Mart used to have a McDonald's and my mom let me borrow her debit card to go and get a snack."
"I ordered and paid, this man, probably 40s, came up to the counter, smiled at me."
"I sort of ignored him."
"I had my mom's debit card in my hand and my hand resting on the counter."
"Her debit card had her photo on the back of it."
"He reached over and rotated my wrist and said, 'you look a lot younger in real life than in your photo'."
"I didn't know what to do so I stared at him and he chuckled at me, all the time holding me by the wrist."
"He grinned at me and said, 'what, do don't want to talk? You just want to eat? You like burgers?"
"Again, I was so scared I couldn't move, couldn't react."
"He was holding me by the wrist."
"So I just stared at him. He kept smirking and chuckling at me. "
"Then his friend came over and joined him, asked what he was doing. "
"Guy 1 says, 'trying to have a conversation with my young friend here but she doesn't seem very interested'."
"Guy 2 looked at me, looked at his friend holding me by the wrist...and he laughed. Said I obviously had good taste to ignore his friend."
"The whole time this is happening we're standing at the counter of this McDonalds and no one even noticed."
"Not one person saw a scared pre-teen girl being literally clutched by a grown man, kept in place by two."
"Finally my order was placed on the counter and I took the bag."
"The first man still hadn't let me go. "
"I told him, 'my mom is waiting, I have to go now'."
"And he tightened his grip."
"I was looking around, trying to find a way to be helped."
"I had lost my voice."
"I couldn't speak."
"I was so scared."
"And then I saw my mom through the crowd and called out for her."
"Guy 1 let go of me at once and he and his friend walked off."
"I ran to my mom."
"I didn't tell her what happened."
"I never have."
"I don't know why."- carmelacorleone
Always stay alert, no matter where you are, or the time of day.
Do you have any similar experiences? Let us know in the comments below.
While people try their best to be pleasant, sometimes we are so wrapped up in our own worlds that we don't realize some of our behaviors or actions aren't appreciated by everyone.
Things like talking on the phone in a public place or listening to music without headphones have become so normal that people don't always realize others may be irritated by this behavior.
There any many things that some people consider normal that others think are rude.
Curious to know what some of those things are, Redditor dentistani asked:
"What is something people find normal, but you find horribly rude?"
What Happened To Private Conversations?
"Face timing in public. Not everyone wants to be a part of your personal life or conversation."
– Fuzzy_Principle8075
"Talking on speaker phone in public. The number of people I see holding their phone out in front of their face while they yell into it is annoying."
– mattwb72
Don't Answer The Question
"When someone talks to you or asks you a question, then when I respond with a meaningful answer, the other person just talks about something else to someone else or just doesn't respond."
– aboxatar15
"My MIL does this. Whenever we visit, she'll ask me a question about work/my side of the family/a hobby I have/whatever as a platitude, and a lot of times before I'm even done answering, she'll be like, "Oh, hey, [my nephew], tell them about your baseball game last weekend.""
– Infinite-Weakness584
May We Meet Again
"Depending on culture, people will propose to meet up again but they do not really mean it. Where I am from, if you tell someone you want to meet up again you actually mean it. I learned it the hard way when I took people for their word and tried to arrange a meet up but they'd ignore me."
"They say they do this to be polite but I consider it more rude. Just say ''goodbye''"
– maya_clara
I'm Not Here
"People just showing up for a ‘surprise visit’, like I love my family and friends but sometimes I just don’t want to hang out and a bit of forewarning would be nice"
– red-and-misdreavus
"I've had to set boundaries with my mother as she was doing the "We're coming down and going to stay with you thing." Like could you ask?! Besides she's exhausting and never stops talking and needing attention."
– Fuzzyphilosopher
"If someone shows up unannounced at my door I just don’t answer. F*ck em"
– 360SubSeven
Text Me Back!
"Expecting me to be within reach at all times. Just because I have a phone does't mean I hate you because I leave it in the other room sometimes, or go on a walk without it. I'm not dead if I take a couple of hours to get back to you."
– billbaparker
"There’s a special place in hell for people who keep messaging you trying to get your attention simply because they want it and not because they have anything important to say."
– murderymcmurderface
Can't Hear Myself Think
"Kids watching videos or playing games with volume on. Sorry I was trying to enjoy my own thoughts."
– TheConstant815
"Listening to anything on your phone without headphones/earbuds while around other people. Don't care if it's radio, music, social media. Worse if other people are trying to have a conversation."
– Daedalus332
Personal Space, Please
"When clients stand directly behind me, looking over my shoulder at my computer screen while I'm at work. 1) Back up, I don't want you standing close to me. 2) I did not invite you to look at my screen, and it is intrusive and it is uncomfortable to have you watch me work."
– madindenial
Far Too Personal
"Asking married or older people why they don’t have kids."
– DragonFlyMeToTheMoon
Focus!
"Having your phone out while socializing. I’ve stopped hanging out with people who can’t put their phone away while having a conversation, it’s so rude."
– bamblb
"There was a guy I was seeing for a couple months and when I would message him he would take HOURS to respond most of the time. But then when we would be out together at dinner he would be messaging on his phone right in front of me, replying to his mates group chat. Really showed his priorities."
– MissMidknight
Someone's Not Listening
"Talking over somebody whilst they’re already talking."
"Everybody does it and it’s so ignorant! It’s as if they’re saying “yeah I’m not interested in what you’ve got to say, Me, me, me and me…etc…”"
– Jlaw118
"My husband does this! Sometimes I just stop talking. If I’m irritated, I’ll say, “Sorry, did my talking get in the way of your interrupting?”"
– godrainlovemusic
Going, Going, Gone
"Ghosting has become pretty normal and I hate it"
– toxicrith01
"I'll never understand why this has been normalized"
"What confuses me even more is why people get so defensive when you say that it's a cruel thing to do to someone."
– RadiantHC
Ask Me First
"Filming people without their permission, especially if they are dancing or singing. Just because people are looking silly doesn’t mean you get to make them your joke."
– Soobobaloula
"pushing someones face into a cake on their special day, that is terribly rude. Not funny or cool."
– winkledorf
"Dangerous too - fancy cakes with multiple layers can be held together by wooden skewers. People have literally lost eyeballs that way."
– merecat6
"Just this past summer, I attended a wedding where the bride gently put a bite of cake on a fork after they had cut it together then fed it to her husband... Even cupping her hand underneath so no crumbs or icing could fall on his suit. And instead of doing the same to her, the groom full on chased his bride down to smash cake in her face super hard and throw it all over her while she was being dead serious trying to run away saying "no. please don't!" . And while everyone laughed like hyenas and cheered him on like it was just fine. One big joke."
"She looked so heartbroken after with cake all over her hair (which looked beautiful), her face (with perfect make up) and her dress (which was a unique style of dress that she had sewn a piece of one her father's shirts on since he had passed. So her dress was obviously something that she put a lot of thought and care into). He then proceeded to chastise her after she was upset in front of us, threw back his champagne in one gulp and then went back to the bar then dance floor."
"She spent the next 45 mins trying to fix herself. F*ck that guy forever. She's a distant cousin and although we aren't super close, I have ALWAYS known her to be a perfectly sweet, kind and loveable person so I couldn't believe she was with this jerk! I hope it's gotten better but.. My hopes aren't high for her. I wish I had felt comfortable enough to approach her and tell her she deserved better. I should have anyway."
– iwant_torebuild
Mind Your Own Business!
"When someone you don't know very well asks you personal questions."
– Back2Bach
"Add to that, someone asks you personal questions you don't know too well and feigns that are suddenly really concerned/ supportive of your struggles. Like I didn't want to be vulnerable in the first place with you and now I feel like I have to be appreciative for your fake a*s empathy."
– GreenIce2022
I 100% agree with that last one!
Do you have anything you'd like to add? Let us know in the comments below.
Perhaps one reason horror films are so popular is that people know they are watching a work of fiction.
As soon as they leave the theatre or turn off the TV, they are out of the terrifying world they've been a part of for two hours but got the rush of adrenaline they need, similar to riding a roller coaster or thrill ride.
For this reason, no movie, TV show, or book, no matter how scary they are, can never equal being scared in real life.
As finding yourself, or worse your family, in a dangerous and/or life-threatening situation is an experience so terrifying, it genuinely defies description.
"What was the scariest moment in your life, and why?"
Witnessing A Near-Death Experience
"I walked in on my dad, looking like he was dead (eyes open, but lifeless)."
"He was suffering a full cardiac arrest."
"I called 911 and gave him chest compressions for 10 minutes until EMTs arrived."
"When they got there they told me his heart and lungs had stopped (full cardiac arrest) and they were struggling getting a pulse."
"I thought no way this is it and he did end up getting a pulse, being transported to the hospital and having his heart operated on."
"He survived!"- Caseylightning
A Life Nearly Over Before It Even Began
"When I went into preterm labor at 25 weeks."
"Same night she was born but wasn't making any sound."
"She was floppy and not breathing."
"So grateful to our team who breathed for her."
"She's delayed some but she's now 20 months and thriving."- prettysouthernchick
Taken By Surprise In Your Sleep
"When a poster hanging above my bed fell on me in the middle of the night."
"Thought I was being attacked."- Midnite_St0rm
Black Ice
"Hit black ice on an exit."
"My Sis in the car with me, I was driving."
"IDK how many 360's we did."
"Ended up not hitting anything and stopped inches from a light pole."
"How we both didn't piss our pants is beyond me."
"We were in our teens."
"It was the worst carnival ride ever."- pgabrielfreak
Heroic Behavior
"I used to live near a large open stormwater drain with no fencing around it."
"Three drunk guys drove their car straight into it."
"I went out and found the driver trying to get his friends foot out of the windshield."
"On the field on other side of the drain I saw the third passenger who was covered in blood."
"I asked if they were ok and my neighbor called the ambulance/police."
"The blood covered friend passed out and was twitching so I ran to the car, grabbed a towel from the back seat and ran to help him."
"I found a large, deep cut on the back of his neck/head."
"I rolled him to his back and used the weight of his head to put pressure on the wound."
"I was talking to him, trying to keep him awake and he went into shock, twitching and unresponsive."
"This was the moment I thought a man died in my hands."
"I was able to wake him and the ambulance took over from there."
"That was the most harrowing moment of my life."- TinaDunk559
Escaping For A Better Life
"It was the night that I (17 F[emale]) was escaping to Europe from Turkey (at the time I was 15)."
"I wouldn't call it a moment because it was a whole night."
"A few things happened so I'm gonna write them down here."
"The first one was actually in daylight."
"The driver was taking the group that I am escaping with to the border."
"And out of 5 people, at least 3 of them were wanted by the police ."
"We weren't criminals, don't worry."
"Government is led by a dictator so anything you do that they don't like is a crime."
" So as you can guess, we weren't supposed to get pulled aside by the police to check IDs."
"But there was a control thing on the highway and they were almost gonna stop us."
"We got lucky and the police pulled the truck in front of us and we were let through."
"I was so scared that I hold my mom's hand and didn't let go until we passed them."
"After I let go, her hand was white as paper."
"The second one is when we were out of the car and running to the border with two smugglers leading us."
"They were stopping us to lie on the ground every 30 seconds just in case there are soldiers."
"But one time they stopped us and we lay on the ground for almost 30 minutes."
"The smugglers were gone and all we can see was the starry sky."
"We didn't move, breathe when necessary, and didn't say a thing for 30 minutes."
"It was quite scary."
"And this one happened in Greece."
"We were in Greece for about 10 minutes before the soldiers found us."
"The smugglers told us to leave our bags on the ground and put our hands up if we ever see a Greek soldier."
"I am not an idiot but after some emotional breakdown on the way there and seeing the soldiers with guns, I started crying and made up all those weird scenarios where they execute us by a firing squad lmao."
"I know where it doesn't sound like a really scary thing but it is quite hard to explain the atmosphere. "
'You have to live it to understand it."- semrAwashere
Fear Of Flying
"I'm absolutely terrified of flying, so being stuck on a long haul flight with what I considered to be terrible turbulence wasn't exactly fun."
"I was in an absolute state of panic and was certain we'd crash and die."
"I've avoided flying ever since and when I have to in the future, I'll make sure to get whatever prescription that knocks me out completely."
"If I still know who, where and why I am when I'm boarding, I'm not getting on that plane."- sadsledgemain
Nearly Dying... TWICE
"Had a couple of them that I couldn't decide between."
"First one: Driving fast on a rural road, two lanes & hilly."
"I pop over a hill and there's a car stopped in the lane just ahead, and another car coming from the other direction."
"No way to stop in time and no open lane.'
"Everything went slow motion in my head, and I whipped my car onto the tiny gravel shoulder with inches to spare and got around without losing control."
"My friends in the car were all screaming."
"Second one: Just got out of surgery for my neck and was pretty much immobilized."
"They told me if I felt any pain to click the button for the morphine drip taped to my hand, and that it self limits to every 15 minutes."
"I'm in pain and click it."
"No relief."
"This goes on for a while and the pain gets worse and worse."
"The young attendant finally starts paying attention and says 'Oh, We left the clip on the drip line' and pulls it off.'
"I knew I'd clicked that button a few times so there was probably a lot in the line."
"My last memory was the older nurse in the room yelling 'Nooooo!' and lunging towards me."- lapsangsouchogn
Even Stephen King couldn't come up with material this terrifying.
One of the hardest things in the world is being able to afford life's necessities. We all work and make money (or have parents that do), but having money and being able to afford what you need are two different things.
I'm not just talking about the latest gadgets, either.
Not having a fancy knife set or the newest Apple Watch won't destroy your life.
I'm talking about the things so vital to our survival that they should be cheap, but are actually near impossible to afford.
Redditors know this to be true and are ready to share what some of those vital things are.
It all started when Redditor vashisthaa asked:
"What should be cheap and affordable but is not?"
Money Doesn't Account For Taste
"Caviar. It tastes awful, and comes in mass quantities, and costs $50 for a small tin. Idk why."
– TheGuy_1985
Life-Saving Medicine
"Insulin"
– Negative_Ad8513
"I don't understand how something whose patent was given away for dirt can become so expensive."
– SoftWinterPeach
"45 years ago, my sister went into diabetic coma, nearly died. My parents, of meager means, were able to get her insulin for free. What's going on now is unacceptable."
– frederick_ungman
Hourly Rate
"Therapy."
"Anything mental health related, really."
– IWantOneSpatula
"My psychiatrist reluctantly prescribed me meds with the intention I seek therapy. I keep telling him I’m too poor and “maybe this summer”. But I’ll never be able to afford 200$ a session to talk to someone."
– Snowfreak2507
A Monthly Expense
"Tampons, pads, birth control. Any product that is needed for women that is considered a ‘Luxury’ in todays standards"
– Tobias-Maggot9
"As someone with a uterus I agree."
– Wii_wii_baget
"They should be free. Bleeding is involuntary. Plenty of Dr's offices and clinics give out free condoms. They should do the same with period products."
– inuratus
What Came First?
"Eggs apparently"
– criticalvector
"Seriously, what exactly happened in the last two years? Did the hens unionize?"
– ElSagradoOrden
We Need More Apples A Day
"I would assume, for Americans, health care."
– Less-Print-8829
"Health care...f*cking 'Murica"
– figuringthingsout__
Secondary Health Care
"Including eyes and teeth, for those out there who (like me) aren't American."
"Yeah, a visit to the ER doesn't cost me a cent and my meds are very affordable, but the optometrist and the dentist still cost me a lot, even if they're partially covered by insurance and the parts that aren't covered can be deducted from my income tax. I shouldn't have to reconfigure my whole budget every time I have a cavity or need a new pair of glasses."
– BananasPineapple05
Homes
"Rent"
"As a fellow new yorker"
– SlimePrice
"Montrealer chiming in. Hear-hear! Yeah, our rents are far more affordable, but then our salaries are proportionally lower, so if you're unwilling to have roommates or are unlucky in love, good luck to ya!"
– BananasPineapple05
"My older sister is currently renting an apartment in a somewhat cheap neighborhood and she works as a waitress. She says that the rent is very expensive even though they are 3 roommates."
"(I don't pay the rent since I am a school student and I live with my family)"
– MettatonNeo1
Baby Gear
"Diapers"
– baby4ktreyy
"Baby formula. It’s required in order to feed an infant if breastfeeding isn’t an option (and yes, there are absolutely many valid reasons why it might not be possible to breastfeed. Lack of milk supply, baby has an intolerance to it, mother is taking certain medications, mother’s mental health prevents it, adoption, and that’s just what comes to mind off the top of my head). You literally cannot feed an infant anything other than milk until at least 6 months, and it’s not always an option to rely entirely on donated breastmilk. I’m sure in many locations, donated milk isn’t even a thing!"
"For children old enough for solid food, it’s possible to choose budget-friendly options just like for adults’ food, but there’s no alternative for little infants. Milk (breast or formula) is the only option, and the companies know that so they know they can charge a premium and still sell their product. This leads to families trying to stretch their supply of formula in unhealthy ways like watering it down (babies can’t regulate their electrolytes well, it can be very harmful) or adding fillers like rice (doesn’t have the required nutrition, again babies that young can’t adapt to macro/micronutrient imbalances the same way older children can)"
– BabaTheBlackSheep
Insult To Injury
"Divorce"
– iamadirtywizard
"I agree! It should be very expensive to get a marriage license and very cheap to get a divorce decree."
– Old-Bug-2197
Sounds About Right
"Electricity. When you provide something in such quantities as to turn it into an everyday commodity, you don't get to charge double fees to sustain everyday life."
"Like increasing rent because you live on a higher floor."
– Bhelduz
Free For All
"Fruits. God allows these to grow without human interference mostly. They should be everywhere like hand sanitizer. Take some if you are hungry .. just not the entire Container"
– Lisa4today
A Girl's Best Friend
"Diamonds. They are one of the most common stones in precious gemstones, and yet -- thanks to De Beers Corporation marketing them for the last century and gaining a monopoly world wide on their mining, they are super high priced. Fake diamonds can be made for 50-100 dollars per carrot that other than a specific frequency of light passing through them slightly differently are unrecognizably different in every way (they literally are diamonds just made faster). Given that and a lot of non-diamond look a-likes you would think it would be less valuable, but nope... they're still crazy expensive for no reason other than monopoly. Ruby's and Emeralds (even more so) are actual rare stones unlike diamonds (common)."
– heathm55
Living. Just Livin
"living (your life)"
– DarkFluids777
"No kidding. Brought here against my will and then have to work my a** off to just keep my head a little above the water."
"I only stick around out of pure f*cking spite."
– thecatwhatcandrive
"If living was cheap, everybody would do it."
– lavahot
The sad thing is, this is all true.
Do you have anything you'd like to add to the list? Let us know in the comments below.