Life can change in an instant.
It can always change for the better.
Just ask any lottery winner.
Sadly, life can also take a turn for the worst and leave people shattered beyond repair.
Watching someone's life fall apart in a short amount of time is difficult.
You have to wonder if there really is such a thing as karma, bad luck, or Voodoo.
RedditorOkImagination5852wanted to hear about the times we've been witness to personal disaster. They asked:
"People who witness a person's life crumble in a single day, what happened?"
I have lived through a lot of bad days. But thankfully they've been one disaster at a time days. So I guess I'm lucky.
Horror
"A friend of a friend had his entire family killed overnight. He was from my college and was home visiting his family. His parents, siblings, and extended family were all there together. One night, while they were all asleep, his father got up, took out a gun, and went on a shooting spree. He then killed himself."
"Everyone except this guy died on the spot. When my friend visited him at the hospital, the guy was still in shock. He had no idea why his father did that. This was more than a decade ago, and I have no idea how he's doing now."
DeadOnDeparture98
The IRS Called
"Knew a guy who had a nice house, wife, 3 kids. Machine shop in his garage, Snap On tool truck, sign out front, great mechanic. Never incorporated, didn't pay taxes on his business, cash only. Took nice vacations, bought a boat, then a camper. Five years later, the IRS came. I don't know what they estimated he owed but they seized everything. He lives alone in a trailer now."
Nobody_Wins_13
2 at Once
"My mom’s dad and dad’s mom both died on the same day. Completely unrelated. We were pretty messed up for awhile. It was 2010. Mom's dad had emphysema (lifetime smoker) and was pretty sick for a few weeks. I was in college at the time and came home to be with him, because we knew he was about to pass. Dad's mom was in the nursing home, as she had had a stroke and also had dementia (she often thought I was my dad, she thought we were in the 70s, etc.)."
"She took a turn for the worst, and so my dad left the hospice my grandpa was at and went to be with her. The towns they were in were about an hour apart, so I stayed behind with my mom to comfort her when her dad passed. A few hours go by, and he passes peacefully (huge thanks to the hospice workers for their respect and grace during this time)."
"Within an hour or so of his passing, we get a call from my dad saying that his mother had passed as well. It was a terribly dark day in our family, and the next couple years for me in college were pretty much a blur. Thankfully, things got better in time and we are all doing well now."
She lost everything...
"Her husband left her after previously persuading her to remortgage their house to save his business and he's already made her take multiple credit cards out in her name. She lost everything. He did it the week after their youngest turned 18 so he wouldn't have to pay child support. He'd obviously been planning for years."
Ieatclowns
a black sheep...
"My cousin was in a motorcycle accident with her boyfriend. Her boyfriend died. She broke her back. When she was in the hospital she learned she was pregnant. It's been 16 years and we're still trying our best, she took an all too familiar path of drugs, burning bridges and more pregnancies."
"At this point she's fairly stable and clean as far as I know but a bit of a black sheep. Her mother has custody of all one of her kids. She has her youngest and seems to be doing good by her, but who knows. It's been hard on everyone, especially her mother and her brother."
Paradigm6790
Well this is the stuff of nightmares. I'm grateful for every moment I have alive.
Several lawsuits are filed...
"Here is multiple lives ruined in an instant. A friend was over at some other people house, drugs were involved. They had been playing with a gun. My friend points the gun at a girl, pulls the trigger and shoots her in the head. Girl dies, friend gets locked up until he turns 18. Parents at the house get arrested because they knew what the kids were doing. Friends mom goes into a depression and ends up getting evicted from her house. Several lawsuits are filed."
sentondan
Gone Forever
"It was me... got in a car accident and suffered a traumatic spinal and brain injury that I had no chance of surviving... a 7 vertebrae spinal fusion, yrs of physical and mental therapy... 18 yrs later and the pieces, though many forever gone, are finally coming back together."
2boneskuLL
A Bad Night
"He trashed his fathers vacation house with an axe before setting it on fire, stabbed the neighbor nearly to death, stole their car and then crashed it into a cop car so bad the cops were injured. He also got his girl pregnant, so once he is out of prison they're gonna start a family."
Dumbing_It_Down
"dangerous"
"Pregnant friend found out husband (43) was having an affair with young woman (19) who was a volunteer at their ecolodge. Friend had 'dangerous' pregnancy and had to spend a lot of time in bed. This betrayal destroyed their marriage, split the little town where they lived and caused two employees to quit because witnessing the affair going on was just too painful."
"She had a beautiful baby girl (to go with her other two girls, lol) and after the breakup was clinically depressed. Worked hard and got a divorce (she had a great lawyer); got the business back on track; beat her depression and now is planning a great vacation trip with her girls."
"Meantime, Dad has generous visitation but just 'hasn't gotten around to' buying a car seat so he can pick up the baby and for a long time asked my friend, 'Can you drop the girls off at my Mom's?'"
NoBSforGma
Lost it All...
"Recently, I know of a guy that had borrowed all his family’s life savings for the most part to participate in the whole game stop stock thing happening… he lost every penny of his money (credit card advances), and his parents retirement, and every other dime he could get… it makes me sick to even think of it."
Bangbangsmashsmash
Hey Mr. DJ
"Knew a kid that was making music and had a fairly big following since he was popular. Then a local radio DJ posted screenshots of this kid demanding that they play his music on their station. The DJ was cordial but had to let the kid down, and he started trash talking the DJ, saying he was the next big thing and more famous than anyone that worked at the station. He fell off the face of the earth after that one. Wouldn't be surprised if he moved out of state."
Primitive_Teabagger
The Blow Up
"He was already on meth so that's a bad start but then when he couldn't afford any decided to make his own following a pretty sketchy recipe he found online. His makeshift meth lab blew up and he lost both eyes and half his face as well as a whole arm, chemical burns, and permanent lung damage from inhaling the fumes because he wasn't wearing a gas mask."'
-AntiVegan-
The Lady
"I saw an old lady get hit by a car in a hit and run. I had gone up to check up on her and I phoned the police. When I saw her, she opened her eyes like something out of a horror movie jump scare. The other witnesses and I gave whatever statements we could and left. A week later I had moved to a new town, I get a call from a police officer. Turns out the lady had died."
-HimuraKenshin
"down in the trenches"
"Guy in my squadron in the USAF (80's), trust fund kid, don't know why he didn't go to college and become an officer instead of being 'down in the trenches' with us grunts, or even in the military in the first place. Had a huge allowance from daddy, drove an expensive sports car, all the usual stuff. Had the attitude to go with it, too."
"He decided the very-expensive-per-minute secured phone line was a great way to get around long distance charges to chat with his girlfriend in France every night. Months later, when the base investigated why the 'only for official use in the event of WW3' phone line suddenly received a bill, and a huge one at that, he was toast."
"After his court martial, he was presented with the bill, dishonorabl discharged, and barely escaped a term in Leavenworth. His family disowned him and cut him completely from the money. He lost everything from asset forfeiture for the bill, and was tossed off the base with nothing but the shirt on his back."
"Last I heard of him from someone who had a mutual friend back in NYC, he was a ticket booth guy at a porno theater, no one would hire him as a convicted felon with a DD."
Faelwolf
Call Dad
"My neighbor lost his job. When he was trying to get a new job, his wife left him and his sons got arrested for attempt for murder. one of his sons killed himself in jail. if you looked into his face, you can see the immense devastation. i call him over nearly everyday. i got him a job in my office and now he turning for the better."
Tharion_Auger
Hometown Couple
"There is a homeless couple in my town. They were both addicted to heroin. She got pregnant and they had a baby boy. The father of the kid stoped doing drugs and really got his shit together. It was awesome seeing the kid and him around. Kind of inspirational really. The mother of the kid was still doing drugs and stuff."
"One day grandpa and grandma took the kid on a vacation with them. They had a car accident and the kid died. I have never seen a more broken man in my life. He got back to doing drugs and I'm not sure if he is still alive or not. I haven't seen him in years. Sad stuff."
UrsusBruskin
Eviil
"My own. when I was 13. The day my parents told me they were divorcing. Turns out my mom cheated on my dad with a coworker, and within a year of that conversation, her and the guy were engaged. I basically went into a 15 year depression because my mom is a horrible, horrible narcissistic sociopath that spent 5 years fighting my dad in court over quite literally everything."
"She mentally abused my sister and I, and I had multiple therapists testify in court on my behalf. Thankfully, the court revoked all custody rights from her, but I've never been the same."
Killarogue
50
"My friend who was about to turn 50 a few days after and has been dealing with metastatic breast cancer came home to find her son dead in his bedroom of a self inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He killed himself with her own gun. I’m not sure how she’s gonna get through this and she’s become numb when she was cheery and joking all the time. He was her will to live. Good thoughts, vibes, prayers etc. are appreciated for her."
acurah56oh
without oxygen...
"I know someone who was recently enjoying a meal at a restaurant. She choked on a piece of her food. It was was stuck in her throat and they battled to get it out. By the time they managed to get it it out she had been without oxygen for too long. She is currently in a coma with extensive brain damage and she is not expected to pull through."
inferentialStats
Well those are A LOT of bad days. Good luck to all of you.
If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/
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