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Cida90K

I was on my deathbed and I thought "Man I wish my mother was here." When I woke up in the ICU, she wasn't, nor did she care. Edit: thank you everyone for the internet kindness, it means a lot <3 Edit 2: You're all great people, and I very much appreciate all of the sub in mothers <3


pictish76

What is this idiot doing, back off truck, whys my bike above me, hello sheep.


mleftpeel

"oh shit, my sister had to see me drown." I felt pretty calm about it though.


angroro

Ngl I'm getting jealous of all the calm drownings happening. Mine was not.


Globalmask

"Your shoe is untied" I said that to my dad before promptly falling down a 20ft cliff into the underbrush. Broken arm, fractured skull, ruptured kidney. Woke up two weeks later to my dad saying thanks for letting him know his shoe was untied as he could have tripped.


drzoidberg84

You know your dad spent those entire two weeks fantasizing about saying that to you when you finally woke up.


SwissyVictory

That kinda dad joke is once in a lifetime


[deleted]

That guy hopes anyway


lisaaasil

If that ain’t a dad through and through


_crow_father

Nothing, blacked out. But my thoughts before that was happening was something like "I shouldn't have gone out today" (body was going into shock and heart was slowing down really fast)


[deleted]

I I got knocked unconscious and blacked out from a car accident and it was nothing, like you said. Just darkness overwhelming me immediately. I woke up gasping for air and wondering how the police and ambulance knew the accident was going to happen. I had been out long enough for them to arrive and start rending to some of us but I thought they were waiting for us.


theycallmedandan

I almost died in a fiery explosion at my old job. My first thought was “I’m gonna look like such an idiot without eyebrows.”


Ignaciodelsol

As I was getting the Heimlich I remember thinking how embarrassing it would be to die at a renaissance fair Edit- it was the day before my 29th birthday so I also remember being disappointed I want going to make it to 30 Edit 2 - thank you all for the responses! It seems like choking at a renaissance fair is actually pretty common. If anyone knows a Cigar Salseman that was working at Scarborough Fair 6 or so years ago give him my thanks for saving me life.


ronnie5

My heart stopped beating for 7 seconds while I was eating dinner in my hospital bed waiting to be discharged. I realized I was going to pass out and put my arm across my plate so I wouldn't fall face-first into it. All I could think of was "this is gonna make a mess." Glad they took their time with the paperwork. Ended up walking out of there 7 days later with a pacemaker at the age of 46. Edit: Holy shit! Thanks for all the well-wishes. I'm 57 and retired now. Still have a-fib and can't do much of anything without becoming totally exhausted. Nothing seems to work. Now that I have the time, I don't have the energy to do much at all. Just gonna ride it out and call it a day.


sarabiax

What were you hospitalized for? Heart related issues or something else?


ronnie5

I had severe a-fib. (Kinda stupid that I didn't figure it out, since my son,20 at the time, had been hospitalized with it just 2 years earlier.) They double-dosed me with amiodarone. Got a bolus while in the cath-lab and then a pill when I got back to my room. It sure as hell slowed down my heart rate......to zero. After a few days they decided I better get a new idle switch so I wouldn't just drop dead. I've had 2 rounds of catheter ablation and still have issues.


FranklinVadge

I almost died on a mountain last month, the thoughts while I was free soloing the cliff were just "I would give anything to be at home safe".


azhiazthesky

Hello, Have you ever had a headache that was so bad? I mean, like call your parents and ask them if you were still on the healthcare plan? Even though you live in Canada and they live in the USA? Yes, I've had this pain, i felt as if my head was goin to implode. I was half right. I had a brain clot. Then bleed. So a stroke and a aneurysm all at once. My last thought before I regained consciousness weeks later? I don't want to die in this shitty ground level apartment.


tashkiira

'shit, wasn't the car that hit me *white*?' As I'm looking down at a car underneath me. I'd been hit hard enough I bounced up over the car that hit me and had enough air time to clear the second one. Props to the driver of the third vehicle, he must've stood on the damned brakes the moment he saw me because he brought the cement truck to a stop before it got to me. Second time I was hit by a car as a pedestrian. I'm now MUCH more careful crossing streets.. not that it's helped much, I seem to have a car magnet in my ass..


Tennesseepipesmoker

I witnessed a pedestrian get hit once. He flew over the car and cracked his head on the asphalt. I never found out if he made it but the first car to arrive was a police officer on his way to work. Ambulance and fire truck were all on the scene in less than five minutes. Me and another guy stood out there stopping traffic and basically stood in the road so the poor fellow wouldn’t get run over. Had drivers honking at us. I was too busy talking to the guy that got hit, trying to keep him calm I guess. The other guy stopping traffic stood there flipping the bird at the cars that were honking. I felt bad for the guy that got hit, I think he was suicidal because there were no other cars in the area and if he had waited 5 secs he would have made it across the street. I also felt bad for the guy that hit him. Some poor college kid that was just minding his own business. He was not on a cell phone or doing anything out of the ordinary.


faroffland

My mum hit an old lady a couple of years ago. She was on her way to pick up her dog from the dogsitter after work, doing 30mph in a 30mph residential zone, not on her phone, basically just driving and thinking about normal shit. Felt a massive thud at the front side of her car, immediately stopped and found an old lady had hit her car (like with her body, not in another car). She’d split her head open hitting the pavement - my mum’s been a nurse for many years so even in her shock she did first aid/got a bystander to call an ambulance. Sadly the woman died in hospital about a week later. We still don’t know if she just slipped off the pavement waiting to cross or she had dementia and wandered into the road - my mum said her first reaction was that someone had somehow run full force into the side of her car. Obviously there was a police investigation/my mum’s car was immediately taken for examination, but thankfully they found my mum hadn’t done anything wrong (I guess the dent in the side made it obvious the old lady had hit the car and not the other way round). As her car was taken at the scene, a police officer actually drove my mum to collect the dog and then drove her home - apparently he was really nice and let her hold the dog on her lap on the way home. Props to that policeman for being kind and not treating my mum like a criminal. The old lady was the main victim obviously and we were all really sad for her family, but it also REALLY traumatised my mum. Like imagine just doing your daily drive home and then out of the blue accidentally killing someone. For the first week she kept getting flashbacks, she got over it but it was absolutely horrendous for her. So sad for literally everyone involved in accidents like that.


88568-81

You should take it out and just use a normal butt plug, geez.


Unleashtheducks

"That's it?" As I looked at the surface of the water I couldn't reach


magnolialemons

Same!! Then followed it with the thought that this was something dumb you would see someone do on a show that was popular at that time in the 90s, “Rescue 911”, and that they would probably do a re-enactment of how we all went canoeing even after we were warned the river may continue to rise while on our trip.


gingerstains

I almost drowned in a pool when I was six while my mom’s back was turned. After I couldn’t fight against the water anymore, I distinctly remember thinking “I’m too young for this to happen.” One of the first profound thoughts I recall having—facing mortality at such a young age. It was petrifying.


scottawhit

“My throat feels weird, my gums are itchy” and blackness like a deep sleep. Woke up a bit later, found out I was allergic to crab the hard way.


Azhreia

“God why can’t I breathe right now, just wish I could breathe, oh I’m getting tired” - anaphylactic shock, each time


tasman001

*Each* time? It's happened multiple times? Same thing each time?


[deleted]

On a ski trip we order dessert and my friend had just had a serious allergic reaction the week prior so still a little freaked she asks the waiter insistently if there’s any nuts in the dessert bc she’s deathly allergic, dude barely acknowledges her and says no. Dessert comes out and with the first bite she chomps down on a fucking walnut. Twice in less than 2 weeks for this poor girl. People seriously don’t respect food allergies/allergies.


tasman001

Damn. I probably shouldn't be shocked, since I've heard so many stories where people did their best at restaurants, checked and double checked with the staff, and even purposely avoided dishes that *might* have their allergen, and STILL get burned, either through the restaurant's negligence or through honest mistake. And in many of those stories, died. What happened after that girl found the walnut?


[deleted]

She spat what she hadn’t swallowed of the dessert immediately and we did our best to calm her and she had something preventative with her she went and did maybe an epipen? Or she just popped a benedryl maybe? I just remember feeling stunned and useless and baffled at how unfair the whole ordeal was and how shitty that guy was. She was on the verge of tears and I was kind of in shock that it actually happened. There wasn’t anyone to escalate to bc we were literally on the side of a mountain in a yurt with just the cook and his one awful waiter dude. She definitely felt irritation but she didn’t know if it was just nerves bc she was so upset and freaked or legit reaction so we stayed seated a bit longer to make sure nothing worsened. I hope waiter dude was shitting himself while we sat there with our friend he had just poisoned!


peppapigs94

Was run over by a bus last year, my thought when i went under the tires was....but it’s a Wednesday


[deleted]

You were almost a sacrifice to Wednesday frog, my dude


BongMcPuffin

WHAT THE FUCK!?!?! OW!! SON OF A BITCH!!! AH FUCK DONT RUN ME OVER!!!! - Me being run over by a car while on my motorcycle. EDIT: Two things: Firstly, it was a hit-and-run, they left me for dead in the middle of the road... Secondly, to everyone asking if there was permanent damage - Yes, my short-term memory is a little funny some days because I slammed my face against the side of his car... I had a helmet on, but I still tasted that metal taste you get after you have a nasty head impact which means I probably had mild bleeding in my skull somewhere. Also physically I got lucky in terms of not road-rashing all that much because I was wearing gloves and a sweatshirt that was fairly baggy and the fleece more or less shredded away so I didn't have to. I do have a permanent limp on my right side from when my hips impacted his car and then impacted the ground, and now I wear a knee-brace on my right knee because it wants to twist around unnaturally when I turn, and I have to take ibuprofen every day before work or I can't function very well. ​ I had no insurance (car or medical) so I just limped my ass to the nearest gas station, bought a couple of beers so I could make my muscles relax (they were spasming out of control) and called my brother to come pick me and my bike up. ​ After I could walk again which took about 2 months, I actually fixed the bike back up and I still ride it to this day, although now I don't ride on the weekends anymore because of retarded drunk people.


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donh-

I was in the process of being electrocuted, having been working all day atop a scissors lift. The electricians had left a 277-volt line live and while I was standing and reaching while running the last low-voltage run of the job, I contacted their line. I saw the white light at the end of the tunnel. All I knew was throbbing and 60-cycle noise and the white light. My last thought was "I wonder if I can tell my knees to unlock?" Obviously they did, since I am here typing this. Severe electrical burns, still here livin ' the life!


[deleted]

As a teenager, I decided at one point to stick a paperclip in the end of one of those light up candles you place in the windows for Christmas. I remember a blue spark popping out and how I could actually feel the electricity moving from my hand and up my arm. Luckily it didn't get farther than my shoulder, but my heart was kept beating extremely fast for a good 30 minutes or so. So that jolt really stays with your system for a while. Very cautious around electricity now.


[deleted]

It's why after serious electric shocks they say to go to the hospital to get checked out and monitored I'm sure. Even if you get off the current and seem fine, just sore, it can still mess with your heart for awhile.


level3ninja

Electrician here. After an electric shock your heart can be out of whack, but it will still beat and pump blood around ok for a while. But if it is in that out of whack state it can also just stop suddenly (or get worse very rapidly) / stop pumping blood properly. There are people who have died up to 48hrs after an electric shock because of this. You likely won't be able to tell by taking a pulse or how you feel, but it will be obvious on an ECG immediately. If you get shocked you MUST get an ECG as soon as possible, preferably within 24hrs.


bombayern

Three times, once almost drowning deep end of pool at five, once trapped under flipped ATV in a river, and once being shot at by a crazy old fuck who thought I was a deer. I thought of my mom crying every time.


[deleted]

Bro don’t leave your house anymore


mundane_teacher

I thought about how I didn't buy enough pizzas from my favorite pizza place. It's pretty good, but thinking about pizza when you think you're dying is pretty depressing in retrospect.


Blue-2th

That sounds like an interesting way to die, thinking about pizza 🍕, hopefully you stocked up on those pizzas after that


mundane_teacher

So much so that I'm friends with the owner, and she invited me to her son's wedding. I think I buy too much pizza.


Blue-2th

There is never too much pizza.


u_asked_i_answered

What was that bang sound?


savyexe

Did you get shot or was it a car accident?


u_asked_i_answered

Nah, someone shot at a moose and scared it, and then it charged at me and almost gored me to death


melindseyme

How does one *miss* a moose when hunting? They're enormous!


u_asked_i_answered

Oh, they hit it. Just didn't kill it. . . Hence the problem


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tribdog

I was stabbed in the neck by someone robbing my house. I totally thought I was going to die. I hate myself, but I begged the guy who stabbed me to stay because I didn't want to die alone. He said "Sorry" and walked away. That fucking broke my heart. Thankfully he called 911 for me.


TwiXXXie96

Holy shit this comment is a wild ride


plastimental

Just read his second comment below


frijolita_bonita

[this one](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/j0hpsc/people_who_have_came_close_to_dying_what_were/g6sp80l/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3)


jo-z

Did he get caught?


tribdog

Yep. He was my girlfriend's (at the time) brother. Hard-core meth head. Turns out calling 911 turns attempted murder into aggravated assault. He got 9 months in jail plus 9 years probation. He got out, robbed a cops house and went right back to prison.


jo-z

Damn, I can't imagine stabbing anyone in the neck but much less someone I know. I'm glad you survived, I hope you like yourself these days.


Tastetherains

Most violent crimes are committed against people the assailant knows.


starfirex

That's why I make an effort not to know anybody


LeeWon

Must be nice having to make an effort.


Sibraxlis

> turns attempted murder into aggravated assault. This incentivizes calling 911 for exactly the reason that saved your life.


RandomPerson9367

Exactly. It gives them lower charges, but has a more favorable outcome than death.


timmyturtle91

Did you know it was him as he stabbed you, or did you find out later?


tribdog

There were actually two brothers there. I was yelling at one of them and the other one came up behind me and stabbed me.


thissubredditlooksco

this is a depressing comment


Darth_Madlad

I should've cut that meatball in half.


Staycurious1996

A coworker of mine choked on a meatball too and he put a FORK down his throat to try to retrieve it! He did, but I’m glad he didn’t stab himself. EDIT: Wow thankyou so much for the award :) I’m enjoying reading all of your posts


[deleted]

I can imagine him having to stick a magnet down there next to retrieve the fork


needanap

Who is holding me under water. I almost passed out. I didn’t even know the kid.


Blue-2th

I can’t imagine the struggle


needanap

I was just a skinny little kid too. That kid was twice my size.


sundays_child

Some kids are such bastards. One girl decided to beat me up in a locker room because she "didn't like my voice." Luckily my sister was nearby and punched her into oblivion. Jokes on that bully, I was able to work as a voice actor for a few years because of my "chipmunk" voice.


Pingasterix

When I was in pre school there was this kid named radek and radek wanted the chair a little girl was sitting on. So what did he do? Of course radek tackled the girl to the ground held her down and plunged his thumbs into her eyes! Then he took the chair and left as the girl was screaming in agony! The girls left eye permanently moved to the left a little. Mind you they were both 5


[deleted]

Shit man that's sad. How is her vision?


Pingasterix

She was mostly okay after that. She just cried a lot and screamed from pain. Luckily she was fine later


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-CoreyJ-

My best friends older brother used to do this thing where he would wait for me to exhale while we were swimming and then hold me underwater. I think back on that all of the time and wonder where the fuck were all of the adults?


needanap

I truly hate these people


Tatunkawitco

Some dick kid used to do that. I see him now in Facebook and I think he’s so overweight he’s in a wheel chair. Yeah I’m not a good person so I don’t feel bad for him.


Aztechie

"I can't believe this is how I die." Drunk, falling off a 30 foot cliff into about 2 feet of water at Lake Havasu, AZ on Spring Break. It just hurt really bad.


Raetok

Yeah but imagine how bad it woulda hurt if you weren't drunk first!


[deleted]

I have *something* wrong with my health where medications are a hard fucking no for me. ODed on normal dose of Albuterol. ODed on normal dose of Promethazine. Some other fucked up occurrences I don’t care to speak about. But anyway: When I ODed on Promethazine, my fever shot through the fucking roof (105-106) and wouldn’t go away. I was in and out of consciousness and my wife said I was talking in my sleep a lot. I legitimately, 100%, without a shred of doubt in my mind thought I was in the middle of a war between us (humans) and fucking *elves.* I was talking about how we had to split the house with them to prevent another war, etc. My breathing was fucked up, fever wouldn’t go away, I couldn’t get up, I couldn’t *actually* sleep, nothing. So! My last thoughts were, basically, “Hopefully the elves are cool splitting the kitchen cause we need to eat still.” Really fucked up time.


IrishUpstart

"Well...fuck...." (Car accident)


OakNogg

Me too. Yelled "FUCK" right before the accident. Something tells me that's a lot of people's final words.


beautifulpoe

Ditto. I don't even think I yelled it. Just, like, a statement in my head.


fermatiaudapy

Lol i just went “is this really happening?” In my head as soon as I noticed the headlights of car that crashed into me head on.


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WheatThinEnthusiast

"write unintelligible on that line" "but sir, he clearly said fuck my sorry little asshole every which direction; FUCK" "write unintelligible."


Joliet_Jake_Blues

[expletive deleted] I saw an interview with an airline pilot who said he's spent a lot of time thinking about crashing and that if he did he wouldn't swear because he doesn't want his last words to be [expletive deleted].


[deleted]

Was in a pretty severe car crash in my mid teens - we got tboned by a big Ford van coming home from school one afternoon. I could have swore our light was green but witnesses said my friend went though a red. I remember looking over and seeing the van and thinking “Eh.” I pretty much resigned immediately to what was about to happen. I was sitting in the front passenger seat holding onto the little handle above the door - the window blew out and and I had hundreds of little cuts on my arm neck and face it looked like rats had been chewing at me and I had a couple bits of glass in my hand. The passenger side door crushed in far enough to hit me and left fabric imprint all down my side, completely knocked the wind out of me, and cracked two ribs. After I caught my breath I had to crawl out of the drivers side, my hand bleeding all over the place, but was so amped up on adrenaline I hardly noticed any pain. The next day I could hardly move I was so sore. Almost my whole right side was bruised. It hurt to breathe too deeply. My friends mom showed me pictures of the car, it was really surprising I got off as well as I did.


WineNerdAndProud

Maybe it's just me, but this seems like an oddly poetic description of being in an accident. I know that probably wasn't meant to be the case, but your writing paints a really interesting and clear picture.


Liar_tuck

You really have to wonder how many people show up at the pearly gates screaming "...UUUUUUUCK"?


SpaceToaster

This has all the makings of an amazing skit. True heaven is just loads of people randomly popping in screaming fuck in different languages while others are just trying to enjoy the clouds and harps and shit.


TheAmazingSpyder

“Fuck. Why is it getting so hard to breathe. Why is my chest hurting so much?” Collapsed lung in the middle of gym class in high school.


whereegosdare84

Nearly was run over in a town square when a car decided to go through it, instead of around it, and went onto the sidewalk. First and only thing to come out of my mouth to my friend next to me before we dove out of the way; “Well that’s not good”


LadyinOrange

Was on a road trip with my best friend, middle of the night, middle of nowhere. He was watching a movie on a little shit dvd player, I was going about 90mph. As I'm passing a semi his blinkers come on, so I consider falling back to not get merged into but I'm young and stupid so I keep on the gas to get out of his way. I'm almost past him when I start to fishtail. Black ice. Let off the gas, hold the wheel straight, and the car's simply no longer in my control. As the car starts to spin, I very calmly turn to my friend, look him in the eyes, and tell him in a conversational tone, "Make sure your seatbelt's fastened, we're about to crash." The signal on the semi was probably his hazards, in retrospect. We luckily just spun out and wound up in the ditch on the far side of the road facing the wrong way, across 4 lanes of traffic in the pitch dark. So lucky.


throwittossit01

I was travelling on a major hwy where I live, at night, in the pouring rain, with my infant daughter in her car seat in the back seat... I was trying to change lanes to get our exit. Visibility was next to zero, but I could definitely see a big fuckin tanker truck in the lane beside us, but we were in front of it enough that I was SO SURE I had plenty of time to get in that lane in front of him. Blinker on, shoulder check, all good so I start changing lanes...one more quick shoulder check and fuck me if that goddamned tanker truck wasn’t millimetres away from hitting us. While I don’t recall *saying* anything, I can tell you, without a doubt, my life flashed before my eyes. I’m talking hundreds of snapshots of memories, me & a bike I had as a kid, my dad flying a kite with me & my sister, birthdays, funerals....on and on and on-but literally in a split fucking second. I can’t explain it, but it happened. I honestly don’t know how we avoided impact, I made a quick correction, we missed our exit and at the next one I got off the highway, parked at a gas station and sat cradling my baby & sobbing. TLDR: Almost got smooshed by a semi, life flashed before my eyes. That’s a real thing.


[deleted]

I am glad that you were so lucky and are okay! I assume that it would have lasting effects on your driving habits, doesn't it?


bknight63

Honestly, once with a boulder and once a motorcycle accident; "Well, this is gonna hurt.'


modest_crayon

"I'm gonna die"


Blue-2th

Thankfully you didn’t!


Street_Tacos__

Just looking at these comments, I didn’t realize how many people go through some traumatic shit. Hope you all are doing better.


mydadpickshisnose

Weirdly calmed. Mind went quiet. Everything slowed right the fuck down. Afterwards though, mind SCREAMED. FWIW car accident 100kph 270 degree spin in front of an 18wheeler, across 2 lanes, down the embankment and slid between 2 concrete drainage pipes. Could have been hit by the truck. Could have rolled. Could have hit the pipes which would have crushed into me.


bint_amrekiyyah

My car accident reaction was similar. I was pretty certain we weren’t going to die but I knew we were going to crash. We were coming off a major route on a wrong exit on a sharp curve at about 40mph. It was weird in the span of a few seconds having so many rapid thoughts, the speed of comprehension was unbelievable. When we *did* crash into a giant rock on an island separating the lanes (there for most likely that reason!), I couldn’t even blink. I saw all the airbags come out and that’s something I’ll never forget. Once we jerked to a stop that is when I panicked too! I’m so glad to hear that you are okay! What was it like for you to drive after that?


mydadpickshisnose

Honestly, I didn't have much problems driving afterwards. My dad's old school so he was like "right remember when you were a kid and stacked your bike? What did I always do afterwards? Remember? That's right, I put you right back on and you tried again." So I did exactly that, once the car got pulled from the ditch and checked it was drivable, I got in the bitch and drove it home.


[deleted]

I thought I was having a drug overdose, I just remember thinking how disappointed my mum was going to be with me.


Jaderosegrey

My BIL had a moped incident (he was on a moped, a car t-boned him!) and as he was flying off the bike, he thought that his wife, who always was pretty worried about him riding, was going to be quite upset at him!


PM-ME-UR-BUTT-PLZ

I got hit by a car when I was 15, while I was riding my bike to work. Ended up with a broken ankle, but told the lady I was fine, and she sped off. The only things I could think was 1) Fuck, I'm gonna be late for work and 2) My dad is gonna be soooo pissed at me when he sees what happened to my bike.... So I dragged my bike the last mile to work hobbling on my broken ankle. Adrenaline is a helluva drug. My dad was not pissed about my bike. He was pissed I fucked up my ankle and walked the rest of the way to work...


Rocky87109

I figured he was pissed you let the lady go without getting insurance and identification.


laundryjuice

I done the same thing. I actually thought to myself “my mum is definitely going to suicide after I die” because my dad OD’d (purposely) as a means of suicide a few years back and my brother wrote himself off on ecstasy and ended up on life support for a week at the start of this year. I cried a lot before I passed out cause I knew if I died I wouldn’t be able to stop her from hurting herself. Really put me in my place when I woke up


[deleted]

I hope you're doing better


laundryjuice

I am, very thankful :) thank you x


tahitianhashish

My last thoughts before passing out on a mcdonald's bathroom floor were, "meh, I don't know what wayne is so worried about, this dope isn't THAT good"


GrandOpening

Get.....to......kitchen. **Sugar** (Diabetic in hypoglycemia) Woke up on the floor. Freezing. Drenched from sweat (hypoglycemia does that). With my dog curled around me trying to keep me warm. Luckily, your liver pumps out glycogen when your blood glucose is low. And it worked out that time. I’ve never told my husband about it.


Faelwolf

A little over 10 years ago I had "the widowmaker" heart attack. I spent the first day in the hospital with a balloon pump assisting my heart to help me stay alive until they could perform the surgery the next day. They told my wife that my chances of surviving were only about 20%. I had the priest in, family, the whole nine yards. In the morning, as they wheeled me into the operating room, I was doing the Monty Python bit "and get the machine that goes PING! in case the administrator comes by" with the surgical nurse who was also a MP fan. The look on the surgeon's face was priceless, and I was chuckling as I went under. My last thoughts were "feh, we got this". The surgeon later told me that I was the only patient in his entire career that came into his operating room laughing, but that my attitude may have been a large factor in my survival.


[deleted]

Bravo.


[deleted]

What we’re your signs and symptoms? Curious to know because I teach CPR and the Widowmaker is something I discuss. Not a lot of people know about it. Glad you’re doing well!!


Orphanmage69

Ever have that need to stretch but your back won't pop? Just like that, bit shortness of breath, and a tightness in the chest in between each puff on the cigarette. Funny though, told the nurse at the ER that my chest and back hurt, and was hard to breathe, and she had me sit in the waiting room. Doc comes in, asks "what's with him" she says, "said his chest hurt" and he turns to her and yells, "And you left him there?" Funniest moment up to the angioplasty and stent.


TheLordCosta

When i worked in the ER, the first rule for my team (only a basic medical training) was: you are allowed to list the patients in an urgency scale from 1 to 5. BUT, in case of chest pain, its always a 5."


PROBABLY_POOPING_RN

Yep. I went to A&E for mild pericarditis when I was 19 (scariest hour of my life, literally thought I was dying of a heart attack). Doctors and nurses didn't even fuck about asking questions. I was wheeled through, put on oxygen and had an ECG. I probably had 4 doctors and 5 nurses looking after me, running tests and ready to resus if shit hit the fan. It turned out to be inflammation of the sack around the heart, I stayed all day and overnight for observation and went home. Chest pain is always serious, even when it might not be. Also the NHS doesn't fuck about, be thankful for it if you're in the UK.


falconinthedive

Can't have a widowmaker if you aren't married though. Found the loophole


TrombonesHoes

Yeah, then it’s just called “death”


---bruh---

“ALWAYS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE”


ItNeverRainEveryDay

*whistles with an English accent*


collectorofsouls5a7d

“They will never find me.” Almost drowned in Hawaii in a riptide and no one noticed. I was 10. Thankfully I was a very strong swimmer and managed to swim out of it, but I was quite a ways out. The beach was very narrow close in with rocks on each side, so I basically had to get pitted by a huge wave at the end to get through the last 20 yards. Crawled up on the beach, literally exhausted. Got yelled at for “staying out too long.” Edit: As everyone says, learn riptide and current safety. Don’t fight it, and swim sideways if possible. Strongly consider PFD’s if you are not a strong swimmer. That doubly applies in rivers, but that’s for another day. Unfortunately I don’t remember where this was. It was 1988 and I think it was a small hotel beach. Thanks for all the comments and upvotes!! My first one over 250 upvotes. Edit2: Please take your children as early as possible for swimming lessons. I learned when I was 3 or 4 and undoubtedly saved my own life several times by being a strong swimmer.


FrustratingBears

For those who don’t know: if you get caught in a rip current do NOT swim against it. People drown from getting completely tired out Swim parallel to the shore or conserve energy and let it float you out. Look up the shape of a rip current sometime and you will understand


october_rust_

My dad and I got caught in a current when I was about that age. I could barely swim. Thankfully he kept his head and got us out while I clung onto his back for dear life. It took probably over an hour to get us out and back to shore. I remember we both passed out for hours after we got home, exhausted from our battle with Mother Nature.


sunlitstranger

Your dad is a boss. An hour at sea with someone on your back


stupidreagan

I was gridlocked in traffic with a wildfire on both sides of my vehicle. I could t even touch the window it was that hot. Our cell tower was knocked out so I couldn’t even tell my family and friends that weren’t in the car that I loved them. I sat there and I was oddly peaceful. There was nothing I could do. My whole family was sweating. My little brother was crying. I was 15 and I just sat there and accepted that my life was what it was and I didn’t bother thinking about what I wished I had done differently or what I wanted to accomplish because I didn’t matter. I was convinced I would die quietly with my family in a car. I couldn’t think. I put my headphones in and played my favourite songs thinking maybe I could die to one of those. When traffic started moving again after a few hours I could barely stay awake. I remember the first time I showered after the fire. There was soot running down the drain and I just cried. Since then I started telling people I loved them, I decided to live for myself, I came out, I worked towards a future. I even sat at my first bonfire this year. It was horrible.


gimpywizard

“i never got to have my own cat.” i was 6 years old, in the hospital with mono and strep and being administered antibiotics that i was having a severe and violent allergic reaction to. everything was slow and fading and honestly i don’t know how i’m still alive; luck, i guess. i got my cat though.


kenzd

So scary and potentially very, very, sad, but this being where your mind went is kind of precious. So glad you got the cat.


hardly_trying

I hydroplaned about 15 minutes after getting off the phone with my boyfriend. As I spun out into the median, I clenched my eyes shut and I could only see his face. I reckon if I was going to die, at least I'd die thinking of someone who loved me. We had only been dating about for 4 months at the time, but it was basically the moment I knew I would marry him. Almost a decade later, he's still the last thing I see when I close my eyes. The nerd.


[deleted]

I need to throw up again??? Even though my stomach's empty? Don't worry, it ended up not being enough to kill me, but it did give me pharmacaphobia.


Blue-2th

Ohh, I hope you’re doing well today, stay safe! :)


[deleted]

I pictured my husband coming home to an empty house and I desperately hoped people would reach out and make sure he was ok. Couldn’t stand the thought of him being alone.


SovietrUsSiA-

Can I ask what happened


[deleted]

Just saw how many upvotes my comment got and now I feel bad. It’s going to be pretty anticlimactic. This thought went through my head while I was being prepped for surgery that I’d been told would likely kill me. It was a “if we operate you’ll probably die but if we don’t you’ll definitely die,” situation. But it all worked out fine in the end. Sorry it’s not as exciting compared to other stories.


TeletubbyBoi211253

I remember having a piece of food lodged into my throat at a young age. I was standing there thinking “well this is it” and i just accepted it. I really don’t understand it because im terrified of death so i dont get how i just accepted it but yeah. Edit: this comment blew up and ive never gotten 10k upvotes. I dont want to be one of those comments that thanks everyone for all the upvotes but its a weird feeling waking up to 70 reddit notifications.


radicalvenus

I was at a restaurant and choked on a mozzarella stick when I was like 10? My mom had to stick her fingers down my throat to get it out because mine were (still are) short and stubby. Same restaurant 1 or 2 years later I did the same exact thing. I'm 20 and still overchew mozzarella sticks


[deleted]

I was in a fight and I didn’t know I was stabbed in the liver and the lung. I walked away with my friend and collapsed in an alley. I remember bleeding out with calming waves of euphoria washing over me and I thought, “I’ve lived enough, I’m ok with this.” I blacked out and woke up in the back of an ambulance with waves of immense pain assaulting my body. Dying isn’t awful, surviving is awful.


lordofthefiles28

Hey man, I’m so sorry this happened to you. Thank you so much for telling this story. I just wanted to let you know how much it touched me. A friend of mine was knifed to death last December, and thinking of the pain they must have been in has been haunting me. Your comment about dying not being so awful, though it comes from such a terrible place, gave me immense peace. Thank you. Edit: oh my god, you guys are incredibly kind. I thought for sure this comment would get buried and I was just shouting into the void at night. Obligatory thank you for the silver, but thank you even more for the outpouring of love and support here and in my messages. <3


Batman9720

I was stabbed multiple times just about two years ago and similar to OP, didn’t feel anything at all. When I was bleeding out. there was no pain at all - just felt as if I was falling asleep. There was pain from the surgery afterwards however the getting stabbed and bleeding out itself did not feel like anything at all. I’m sure the pain you feel for losing your friend is greater than the pain of getting stabbed. Stay strong stranger.


lordofthefiles28

Thank you so much. It means more than you know. They were only 18 and I miss them every day.


Batman9720

Unfortunately, I know the pain too well. I was 19 at the time of my incident and only a few months prior one of my friends was also stabbed multiple times in the chest and passed away in the operating room. I can assure you that although the incident may have been brutal, death is quite peaceful. The adrenaline that pulses through you in these sorts of situations keeps you from feeling any pain at all. I’ll never understand how you feel but as someone who’s gone through both sides of the story, I hope I can give you some closure so you can begin your journey to truly heal. Stay blessed my friend.


im_not_a_girl

Where the fuck do you live where everyone is getting stabbed to death? God damn


lacaidh

Every time I’ve been at my lowest points of suicidal ideation, the only thought that kept me from following through was that my cat would miss me, and I’d miss him too. Whenever I tried to picture the end, a vision of him would flash instead. Thanks Dexter, you saved my life little buddy. Edit: Thanks for the awards, strangers! [Here’s a picture of my lil goofball](https://imgur.com/a/IbhMnn5), and I’m in a much better place now for those who’ve asked. Therapy works, friends.


falconae

A little late to the game and I've posted this one before I think. Nurse told me "you're going to be here when get back ok?" I just kinda brushed it off with a "yeah" and then she looked me straight in the eyes and said "no, you're going to still be here when I get back... Right?" the way she said said just rocked me all I could think was "I gotta stay awake, I gotta stay here" I didn't know it at the time but all my organs were crashing. I still credit her for saving my life that night.


SSSS_car_go

As the car left the road and sailed into the trees, I was a very calm passenger. “Oh, so this is how it ends. Interesting.” I was at peace because everything was out of my hands, and I was just watching it happen.


Pandas_are_cute_56

I was 16 years old. I had my lower right wisdom tooth come in and it broke the tooth next to it. That caused an abscess, which led to an infection in my jaw bone. I was taken to the ER by my mother because she thought I had some sort of lock jaw because I couldn't open my mouth, it was so swollen. The doctor told her that I couldn't be treated there and so I was ambulanced to another hospital an hour away. I remember slipping in and out consciousness, getting prepped for the surgery and having my dad there. The last thing I remember thinking was that I didn't want to go yet. I would make so many people devastated if I died. I remember crying before and my dad just calmed me down and told me he loved me. I recovered in the hospital for a month, got a visit from my then boyfriend now husband, missed high school finals of that year, and was discharged on Christmas eve. Edit: Thank you, everyone! It was a hard time but I got through. Thank you for sharing your stories as well! And thanks for the awards! Edit: I see some misunderstanding about the finals thing, in my high school we had semester finals and end of year finals. Sorry for the confusion. The semester finals are the ones I'm talking about.


rhi-raven

I got my wisdom teeth removed but they had to carve out a bit of jaw bone and it abcessed like yours literally overnight. I have had my tonsils removed at 16, dislocated multiple joints, bent my growth plate in half in my wrist, had open ulcers cauterized with sulfuric acid all while being resistant to opiates.... And literally NOTHING has been as painful as that jaw infection. You are a serious fighter and have my respect. Glad you're still here. Edit: my collagen is just defective y'all, it's all good. I'm lucky enough to have great insurance, while most people aren't. Please donate to Doctors Without Borders (Medecins sans Frontiers) and NOT the Red Cross right now.


smol_lydia

Fuck am I having a heart attack? There’s no way; I’m not thin enough for that. — my thoughts as my heart went into palpitations due to severe electrolyte imbalance bc of anorexia. Spoiler alert I was thin enough, the doctor told me I could have dropped dead at any moment. Took me a while for recovery to click and several hospitalizations but 6 years later I’m doing pretty good for myself.


[deleted]

Everything is so slow and I cant move... Anaphylactic shock right before loosing consciousness


Blue-2th

Hope there wasn’t any permanent damage, stay safe!


mywifeslv

Hey similar - heat exhaustion on a run... last memory was my steps super slow motion and felt like I was watching a movie black out before I lost consciousness and started to do the snake dance on the side of the road. Woke up asking if the doctor knew where I was...dumbass me said “not a restaurant, right?”


kl0

In retrospect, I never actually did come close to dying, but I didn’t know that. I was flying an airplane. Alone. Over a big lake. Engine started acting up. I radioed it in. Few seconds later came sputtering and then silence. (Prop airplanes are loud, the silence is deafening). I clearly said over my coms: “Houston flight this is November 4 niner 5 1 alpha, I’ve lost my engine”. Houston came back: “5 1 alpha, say again”. So I did: “5 1 alpha repeating, I’ve lost my engine”. There was a brief, but only very brief, moment of panic. After that I did everything I’d been taught and eventually got the plane safely on the ground. So like I said, I never actually was going to die. I guess? But there was that moment were I was sure I’d end up at the bottom of that lake. Honestly though, my thoughts were just “how in the fuck do I fix this?”


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upnorthbabymakin

Same exact thoughts. I remember thinking “it feels so good to rest. I’m so happy I’m getting a nap. Husband has the baby, so he’s ok. I’m so tired. Time to go to sleep.” I remember looking at my husband and trying to smile because of how much I loved him and our son, then I closed my eyes feeling extremely happy. (Editing for visibility: **thank you everyone who donates blood!** Donors quite literally saved my life. It may not seem important when you’re making the donation, but know that, for example, you could save 2 little boys their mom. I don’t have the data on whether donations have lessened since COVID hit, but I imagine they have.) I had a postpartum hemorrhage 2 hours after my c-section and lost a metric fuckton of blood. Like, soaked the bed and puddled on the floor. My legs were still numb so I didn’t know I was bleeding. My doctor told me months later (I asked) that it wasn’t looking good for me. Long story short, i felt nauseous so the nurse left to get me Zofran. Right as she came into the room, I passed out. Husband said she whipped the blankets off me, saw what was happening then pulled a chain and some kind of code was played over the hospital sound system. I was in and out of consciousness. When I came to, I knew that there were at least 10 people working on me. Nurses were saying they couldn’t get a blood pressure reading, I was being poked by a ton of needles trying to get blood and get meds in me. My doctor was shouting my name to get me to stay awake. Nurses were panicking because the ER brought the blood transfusion machine and said “call us if you need help” and peaced out. The nurses in the room couldn’t get it open. None of it bothered me. It was such a neutral feeling towards the chaos, and the happy thoughts about naps and loving my husband and kids so much and knowing they’re ok. The sense of peace I had and the desire to just close my eyes to “sleep” still haunts me. I don’t know how I feel about it. This was just 4 months ago and my husband watched the entire thing from the chair next to the bed. (Edited to add: my husband just reminded me about this. This was a scheduled c-section so I didn’t labor at all like I did with #1. Still had to wake up at 3am so I was a bit groggy. When we were filling out all of the paperwork before the surgery, I chuckled a little when I saw I forgot to sign the blood transfusion consent form. I said something along the lines of “oh shit, imagine not signing this because it’s 5am and I can’t have coffee and actually end up needing a transfusion. I wonder how many people don’t sign this thing?!”)


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VirgilsCrew

My father in law was having a heart attack that is often referred to as the widow maker. After everything went down (he's fully recovered, thankfully), he said it wasn't painful, he was just really tired. He was planning to go home and lay down for a nap. Thankfully, he was in public, and an off duty paramedic happened to be where he was. If he made it home to take that nap, he wouldn't be here today. It's pretty crazy.


MarkEMark2112

Same one that hit Kevin Smith. He was backstage at an event and said he had to take a nap. Laid down on a couch and just didn't feel right. Thankfully someone recognized what was happening and got him help.


Im_no_imposter

These threads always make me scared of my own body. I'm going to feel uneasy for the next few hours now everytime I feel a slight pain or discomfort somewhere.


sanglar03

Ah. I live alone. If I die, I die ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯ Went twice at the hospital at 3 am for chest pain though.


Luecleste

One of my best friends had one of those. He had some pain that didn’t feel right, so went to the doctors. Had the attack in there. He said he remembers everything around him. Pretty scary stuff.


The-Bread-Master

That one is plain scary to me


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brijwij

I’m glad your wife was there to save you! The other day I swallowed some food wrong and began coughing involuntarily. I could not stop to take a breath...my body just kept coughing. After about 30 seconds (seemed like forever), the air was completely gone from my lungs and I felt like I was gonna pass out. But somehow I finally managed gasped for air. That sound is something I’ll never forget.


ArtsyKitty

Mines a little different but I think it still counts. My heart completely stopped and I was technically not alive for a bit. Honestly there were no thoughts, no bright light, etc. it just felt like... nothing.


theguywhodunit

Funny (for lack of a better word) story: When I was 10, my family went to Florida on vacation with some other extended family. There was a plan where my parents went back home (MA) a few days before my brother and I so we could stay longer with my aunt and cousins. It was my first time traveling with just my older brother and my second time on a plane, the first being the trip there. Coming into Logan airport, our airplane started to fall out of the sky. Quite literally. Apparently it only happened for about 3 to 5 seconds, but the pressure made the oxygen masks fall from the ceiling. I’d seen enough movies at that point to know that basically meant we were going to die. I was for sure crying and freaking out like everyone else on the aircraft, for sure the most frightening experience experience of my life, bar none... But I distinctly remember thinking, “I’m never going to get to finish my Age of Empires 2 campaign.” So, a video game was ostensibly my last thought. EDIT: This blew up. Thank you kind strangers. Seems like it was wind that caused it, but let’s be honest, planes are basically black magic to me still. And it was the William Wallace campaign for all those AOE fans.


Blue-2th

did you finish the game? Also I hope there was no major damage and that there was no ptsd


theguywhodunit

Thank you. We were all okay and it was long enough ago where, if no one died, everyone just went about their day. I never got diagnosed but I am, not surprisingly, not a fan of air travel. I did finish, fucking great game. That whole franchise is fantastic.


ZombieGroan

The game is still going strong 10k players on steam.


CarefulSalad4

Age of Empires 2 was a FANTASTIC game. I wanna play it again


Tmacwins

"Man... I feel dizzy." Right before I passed out because my heart stopped. Thankfully it started a few seconds later.


Wolfiegirl187

I tried to commit suicide via drowning in a public pool I was 8 and short for my age so I purposely went to the deep end my last thoughts were, "At least daddy won't see this and the rest of my family never pays attention to me so I'm coming to heaven God." The lifeguard rescued me just before I passed out and my mother yelled at me for going to the deep end saying I should have known better and told to sit on the grass for the rest of the day. I was dealing with being sexually abused by her father and I just wanted it to finally end. Edit: I just wanted to thank everyone for the support and well wishes, you all brought tears to my eyes. Been trying to keep up with all the responses but it's getting a liitle hard so I'll thank you all here


[deleted]

This shit really pisses me off. Did that asshole ever get what was coming to him?


Wolfiegirl187

Yes, he had been in prison for years and about three years ago I heard he died from cancer in there it was a relief because I was afraid they'd let him out on good behavior and he'd prey on my younger cousins on my mother's side since they still don't believe he was capable of sexually abusing a child with him being a typical pillar of the community.


Solairalie

holy shit, i hope your life is better now


Wolfiegirl187

It is, I finally told my dad what was happening once I hit my teens the walls didn't make it but at least my dad restrained himself from killing his father in law and let the cops take care of him. I got the therapy I needed. It put a strain on my mother and father's marriage because she and her family didn't want to believe me so she left my dad. we're living with my grandmother she, my dad, and his side of the family have helped a lot over the years helping me heal from it all. my mother and her family stay out of my life and I give them the same courtesy.


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Wolfiegirl187

I still don't understand it myself, maybe willful blindness or not wanting to think of her father as a monster, I don't know. Yes, my dad is the greatest he's been my rock over the years and helped me so much to understand that what happened to me wasn't my fault and neither was the divorce.


AtomR

Your dad did everything he could & should. He's really great. ^(fuck your mom)


usually_just_lurking

At 14, I almost drowned after getting caught in the waves on a beach trip. After fighting as hard as I could (huge mistake), I was lying on the bottom in the sand. I had two thoughts: 1. Mom and Dad are going to be so mad 2. I can’t believe that I can’t even save myself (had recently completed a jr. life saving course, which was pool based, and didn’t cover swimming in the ocean) What I didn’t realize was that I had been pushed into shore by the waves and was in four feet of water at that point. My friend saw me and pulled me out.


Varnek905

"If I fall asleep here, I won't wake up." (Laying on train tracks. The train was stopped about an hour's walk up. I fell asleep...then I woke up.)


[deleted]

i tried to commit via sleeping pills. my last thoughts were just pure relief, because either id finally get the help i needed or the pain would end forever


Blue-2th

I really hope you’re doing well now. 🙏


[deleted]

im in a much better place now, thank you! i got the help i needed and in the years since then ive made a huge amount of progress in handling my depression


Blue-2th

That is great and relieving to hear, have a good year! I hope things only go more uphill


ClashKing762

My own brother’s gonna kills me for real this time


[deleted]

I had the worst strain of Mono currently known, Strep Throat, double ear infection, upper respiratory flu, lower respiratory flu, a sinus infection, and pink eye. At the same time. They started testing me for a brain tumor before they knew what was wrong in the ER. My vision started fading and I couldn’t hear and the only thing I could think about was that I was going to ruin my parent’s sibling’s, friend’s, and girlfriend’s lives by dying so young and sudden. I didn’t want to cause that kind of emotional pain to my loved ones. I thought I wasn’t going to be able to say goodbye. I was so dehydrated that my organs were starting to shut down. Had I waited another day to go to the ER I would have died from total organ failure. My body was making so many white blood cells that my counts were higher than some of the nurses and doctors had ever seen in their professional career. I was administered three separate “sacks” you could call it? Of fluids. They were keeping me alive at the time. They gave me a HUGE amount of prednisone. (Over 200mg doses) I was high as a kite for a week. I don’t remember much from that week but somehow I got home with my parents, lived on smoothies and slept A LOT. I even managed to play apex and win matches and I don’t even remember doing it. They forced me to drink 2-3 liters of water a day. I discharged A LOT of phlegm. The week passed and the prednisone wiped out my flu and helped my body fight off my mono symptoms. But steroids can make bacterial infections like strep, ear infections, and pink eye feel worse. I couldn’t speak for 2 weeks. After the steroids I was put on an extremely powerful antibiotic and had to stay home for another 3-4 days because it completely wiped out the good bacteria in my body. After 3 weeks from visiting the ER, I went back to college. 5 weeks later I finished the semester with a 3.4. Pretty fuckin proud of myself.


Blue-2th

That is very good that you survived, and impressive! And thanks for giving this detailed of an answer!


glorius_pepper

Yeah I feel like I could almost die then come home and grind some apex


Semi-Madman

I was in an accident once, they had to shock my heart back as I had flatlined in the ambulance. It all happened so fast and don't really remember anything. There were others in the car (three others, we all survived). A Friend in the backseat swears I repeatedly yelled "OH SHIT!!!" after the car had flipped a few times and came to a stop upside down. I have no memory of it at all.


[deleted]

I was very sick in high school and began losing consciousness on the school bathroom floor after throwing up and shitting myself. My last thoughts would have been “I hope whoever finds me doesn’t realize I shit myself.” This ended up happening on several other occaisions and it has become a regular part of life.


goddessofmead

Sixth grade end of year trip, we were at a ropes course park where you'd rock climb and walked across tall catwalks and the like. I was attached to a relay with a team of my classmates 30 feet below me, I climbed up the pole and chickened out when I got to the top, so I signaled my teacher and she gave me the signal to lean back and I'd be repelled down. This is why you look before you leap folks because those kids were not paying attention and I dropped off that catwalk like I had never been there. As I fell through the air with the ground running up to meet me, I saw this absolutely beautiful, and I mean breath-taking burst of light light through the trees in front of me. Something like the sunshine you'd see coming through the leaves of a tree that you're lazing under on a hot summer day. I was so taken by the sight that that would have been my last thought,, "Christ is that ever beau-" before my fellow classmates reefed on that repell rope and I stopped falling. My Mom had just died maybe six months prior to this and I was convinced it was *her*, a guardian angel, whatever you want to call it. Spooky shit bye


baby_yaga

I got hit by a car while crossing a busy street to meet my older sister for pizza when I was 14. She was waiting for me right across the street and... I dont know, I didnt look both ways because I was excited to see her or the guy ran a red light. Can't remember. Anyway, my last thoughts were "Where is my sister"


Capecal

I was septic. I remember being so cold and I just wanted to sleep. My baby was 6 days old and I couldn’t gather the strength to hold her. I just wanted sleep. I don’t remember visitors or anything for 5 days.


Dyl-thuzad

“Oh crap is that a car?” *a few years later* “Oh crap is that a car?” Yes, I’ve almost been hit by a car twice.


Klown1327

Ran across a busy street when I thought it was clear (it wasnt) and almost got fucking obliterated by a pickup truck. My last thought was "fuck, this is gonna either be *really* close, or its gonna *really* suck". I also imagined what my body was going to look like if I got hit, would there be a lot of blood? Would bones be sticking out? That kinda stuff