“All I remember is looking at the ground and waiting to die…” Those were the harrowing words of one person who firmly believed they were in their final moments of life. But miraculously, they survived.
For many who have had a brush with death, the experience isn’t easily forgotten. Some are haunted by the “what ifs,” while others are reborn with a new sense of purpose and a fresh lease on life.
When a netizen asked, “What moment made you say, Yep, I’m definitely dead’ but survived with no major injuries?” a surprising number of people had stories to share. No less than 24,000 comments came pouring in. From near-drownings, to fires, choking, horrific accidents and other terrifying experiences, these survivors recalled the seconds they were convinced they’d soon be taking their last breath. And the relief of realizing they’d been spared a second chance.
Whether they survived with the help of others, their own quick thinking, or pure miraculous intervention, these tales are reminders of how fragile life can be. And how things can change in the blink of an eye.
Bored Panda has put together the best responses for you to scroll through as you reflect on your own years gone by. May they motivate you to live life to the fullest because you really never know when your last day will be… We also share some expert survival tips and you’ll find those between the images.
#1
Once as a kid I was in the backyard swimming while my family was nearby eating dinner at a round table. Most had their backs to me, but I was like 11 and an experienced swimmer. I got into a toddler’s float with leg holes. It ended up flipping over and I was stuck in it. My legs wouldn’t come out of the leg holes. I kicked and thrashed as much as I could, but I was so stuck. And you can’t hear someone screaming underwater. So many thoughts ran through my head…mostly how sad I was that my parents were about to find me dead in a matter of minutes and how they’d never forgive themselves for allowing me to silently drown as they talked with friends.
I tried one more time to kick with all of my might. One leg slipped out and I was able to get the other out after. I was fine. Totally f*****g spooked, but physically ok.
Image credits: anon
If you’ve never heard of the “Rule of Three,” it’s knowledge that’s crucial for survival. Basically, a person can survive three minutes without oxygen, three hours in unprotected environments, three days without water, and three weeks without food.
Knowing this helps should you ever find yourself in a situation where you have to prioritize your needs in order to survive. Many people might think to look for food first but that’s not the case, say the experts. “Foremost, it is essential to find a suitable shelter, then you require sufficient water. Food is last on this list,” notes the Survival Kompass site.
The team adds though, that this rule can change depending on where you find yourself. If you’re stranded on a hot, deserted island, water might be your priority.
#2
In one of my first solo flights, when Cessna’s pilot door opened during a turn and my belt was the only thing between my a*s and the ground, 2000ft away.
Image credits: lniko2
#3
I went out for a surf on a stormy day and thought to myself, “no one else is out, those idiots.” Before being held down by 2 waves after eating it on the first wave of the set. First wave of the session. Was thrown down and held under and while being tossed around my leg rope wrapped around both my legs and one of my arms so I was probably being held at around 5ft under with only one arm free while my board tombstoned (board tip is barely visible at the surface but floats vertical like…a tombstone.) finally managed to catch a breath between sets before taking another 3 or 4 on the head and for sure just thought…well this is it. No ones out, fishermen will find my body or my board. Managed to get my other arm free and got to shore very quickly and then avoided the ocean for a few days even though the waves were absolutely perfect. There’s a reason no one was out, everyone else was 10 minutes down the road at another beach where the waves were smaller and cleaner.
Image credits: Gigiskapoo
Your mental attitude can also play a crucial role in whether you live or die in tough situations. Believe you’ll survive and you might be halfway there. “Any critical situation not only stresses the human body, but also presents a challenge for the mentality,” warns the Survival Kompass team.
That’s why it’s super important not to panic. Instead of helping, panicking could cause you to act recklessly and make wrong (potentially fatal) decisions. The experts advise taking a few seconds to pause before acting.
The next step is to create a plan and think about what needs to be done. And then to put that plan into action. This structured approach is key to preventing impulsive actions, and can help avoid panic.
#4
On an airplane with my Dad on our way home to Britain from Florida when I was 14. We flew through hurricane Katrina, like literally flew through the thing! It was nothing like any turbulence I’ve ever experienced in my life. I felt like the ballbearing in a can of spray paint. During the experience, me and my Dad looked at eachother for a second in a way that meant, we’re f****d but it’s been good. Absolutely terrifying and pretty d**n relieving after it was over.
Edit: Thanks for the silver kind strangers. I don’t know what it means but cheers all the same.
Image credits: dorrato
#5
I had an idiot friend and we were hiking. We got to this waterfall and he goes “dude let’s climb it!” I said no f*****g way. He says “well I’m gonna do it and if I fall and die it’s on you for not coming.”
So I climbed it with him. Got stuck halfway up on a slick a*s rock. Pinched a nerve in my shoulder, so my right arm was useless. I thought I was certain to slip off the rock to my doom, but we managed to get me unstuck. That was the beginning of the end for that friendship.
Image credits: blindfire40
#6
I once ran into two grizzly cubs while working a forestry job in Northern Canada. I got out of there quickly and unharmed but for a moment I was sure mama bear was going to come sort me out. I remember saying aloud ” well this is it “.
Image credits: anon
When it comes to water, experts say the usual travel rules about being overly cautious don’t apply. Meaning, when you see water in a survival situation, you drink it. Dehydration is deadly.
“This does depend on how far you are from civilisation,” notes Getaway magazine. “If there are communities nearby, your water is more likely to be polluted with nasties; what’s more, there’s more of a chance that you’ll find your way to rescue before dehydration kicks in. So you can gamble.”
#7
I was driving home from college on one of those highways with only one lane in either direction and no shoulder. A guy in the oncoming lane didn’t see me as I was in a small car. He thought he could pass 4 18 wheelers in one go and pulled into my lane going at least 90. There was nowhere for me to go.
He flew off into the ditch to avoid hitting me head on, likely did severe damage to his car, but I lived!
Image credits: pilatesse
#8
Boyfriend finally woke me up shortly after we had fallen asleep in a small upstairs bedroom that had a smouldering fire. After we collapsed on the floor and couldn’t find the door that was not even five feet away, we kept hitting walls and corners and started to not comprehend anything.
After feeling like I was baking in an oven I laid my head down on the floor thinking I’d never see my son again and how sad it was to die. It felt like eternity and felt very lonely. My boyfriend somehow found his phone on the floor, called 911. Fire department showed up in what felt like two seconds but couldn’t break down the front door. They shined the flashlight up to window so he could kick out the AC unit, which he did. They finally came upstairs and we crawled to them and they took us straight to the burn unit since they didn’t know what shape we were in. I’m pretty sure the entire hospital toured through our room since they’ve never seen anyone make it out and look the way we did.
Image credits: Favnonpornomag
#9
I ate one of those Brach’s oval shaped hard candies (think they were called Sparklettes) at home alone when I was 6. Got stuck in my throat. I stood there in shock for a few seconds as I started to realize I couldn’t breathe. I ran crazily around the room and ended up colliding hard into the back of the couch which caused the candy to go flying out. Best accidental Heimlich ever.
Image credits: tomasybella
The Red Cross warns that wild water sources can also have harmful viruses and pathogens that could cause waterborne illnesses. So it pays to know how to purify the water you come across. If you’re lucky, you might have tablets, iodine drops, or a UV light purifier on you. But if not, boiling water may be your best option.
And if there’s zero water to be found, one of the most famous wilderness survival experts Bear Grylls says it’s fine to drink your pee.
#10
Had a paintball fight on Christmas morning with 2 cousins and their neighbor kid at around 13 years old with our brand new guns we got as gifts. The neighbor got mad, ran home, came back with a shotgun, and pointed it my face. All I remember is looking at the ground and waiting to die.
The kid was 11-12. He did have his own paintball gun, and had already shot me a couple times before I got him. He was my cousins neighbor. I think it was the first time I ever met him. It was 20ish years ago, as I’m 33 now, so I can’t even remember if I told my parents. I don’t know if anything happened to him or not. I’ll ask my cousin.
Cousin said we never told parents. Maybe we were scared of retaliation. I know I never touched that paintball gun again though.
Image credits: MaynardJ222
#11
I’m a skier. On a few occasions I have caught an edge at a pretty high speed (50+mph or more). That moment when you feel both skis leave the ground when they’re not supposed to is horrifying. Somehow I’ve never had anything more than some moderate whiplash and a sprained wrist (knock on wood).
Image credits: HoopOnPoop
#12
Tire popped going over a two lane road with steep drops on both sides. My car jerked to the side hard, and my car went sideways. Half my car hung over the side and luckily it’s low so it bottomed out. I climbed into the back seat and jumped out the back door.
Some dude in a truck pulled me out and I drove on a flat to the other side and swapped my tire out.
Image credits: pineappledaddy
Whether you need heat to stay warm, or a way to boil water, being able to light a fire is going to come in handy. But what if you don’t have a lighter or matches? According to Grylls, one way is to pierce a lithium cellphone battery with a knife. It should explode and create sparks. Not something you want to try unless absolutely crucial…
“Alternatively, if you quite like your cellphone, a bit of wire wool and a 9V battery will work almost as well: just touch the wool to both terminals of the battery, and you’re away,” advises a travel writer who attended one of Grylls’ survival courses.
#13
The hood on my car came open at 60 on the highway and completely blocked my sight in heavy traffic. I panicked and jerked the wheel a little bit which caused me to fishtail a little bit. I s**t you not, my drivers education teacher’s words from five years prior rang in my head to lean down and look through the the space at the bottom of the hood. I pulled over and used some wire I found in the trunk to keep the hood closed.
Any time you close your hood make sure it latches securely by pulling on the hood like you’re trying to lift the front of the car off the ground!
Image credits: stanley_leverlock
#14
Went white water rafting on the Gauley river and my raft flipped on pillow rock (one of the most famous class v rapids). Scariest moment of my life but, other than unexpectedly swallowing some water and almost vomiting, I came out completely unharmed.
Image credits: ScalezNFinz
#15
Oh I actually have a story that fits!
I was coming home from a party at 2am in 2016, and made a conscious choice to drive through town rather than take the big highway that skirts the city limits. It would add like 10 min to the trip but hey, it was the first time I’d been back in ages.
That decision literally almost k**led me. Not even 5 minutes after that, the 3 lane “highway” (really just a wide road) passed in front of a mall, and there was a signal light there. Well some drunk idiot decided to turn right into the mall from the far left lane, and I was in the middle lane. I had absolutely no time to stop so I slammed into the side of his car at 65 mph. I remembered yelling “SH**TT” and trying to keep control of the wheels to get the car off the road onto the grass before I blacked out for a few min.
The airbag and the seatbelt combined had fractured my sternum which took the air out of my lungs and made me faint I guess? But it didn’t feel like I “woke up” more so like my vision came back into focus and I was aware. But those few moments I was still kind of conscious and in IMMENSE pain. Worst I’ve ever EVER felt in my life. I hurt from the skin on the soles of my feet to my scalp. Every single inch was in pain and I was like, “So I’m dead, this is my body telling me I’m dead.”
So when I came to, heat hit me cause my car was f****d and the engine was as hot as standing IN a fire. So I was convinced my car was about to go up (it didn’t), so I tried to get out but the door was wedged shut from the crash and I started to panic. I put my back against the passenger seat and kicked the door over and over until it opened and climbed out.
Every single police officer, EMT, and even the tow truck guy, took one look at my car and told me “You shouldn’t have walked away from that crash AT ALL. The fact that all you have is a fracture and some lacerations is a literal miracle”.
So yeah, that’s how I almost died and thought for sure I was dead but got lucky.
Image credits: FamilyPhantom
As we mentioned earlier, finding or building a shelter is critical. They create a barrier from predators, harsh environmental elements and offer a sense of security. The Red Cross advises that you first find a suitable location.
“Look for a nearby water source and access to trees for firewood as well as potential food sources you can hunt or trap,” notes the site, adding that you should use natural materials when building your base.
“Look for grass and other soft materials that you can use to sleep inside your shelter. Rocks help build the structure of a shelter and surround a fire.”
The next step is to create a small framework that can be piled high with available debris like moss, ferns, grasses, leaves, and pine needles. “Pack the inside of the shelter with debris, and the entrance is sealed to prevent convective heat loss,” advises the organization.
#16
Parachute deployed but failed to open. That was one of those moments, then training kicked in. Cut away failed chute, deploy secondary. But for a brief moment life was about to be over in my mind.
Image credits: GREYDRAGON1
#17
I was driving down a highway, doing 65 MPH, and suddenly my car started to shake. I tapped the brakes in reflex and my entire car flipped 180 degrees. I’m now facing oncoming traffic, including a semi truck. I was so close I couldn’t see the driver compartment. I screamed and jerked the wheel, bringing me in front of a sedan with two people screaming as they watched me appear out of nowhere. I kept screaming and floored the gas pedal. Made it to the side of the road and cried for a long time.
I had blown a rear tire. Hitting the brakes was a terrible terrible choice.
Image credits: AhFFSImTooOldForThis
#18
When I was about 16, I was mowing some lawns over the summer to make a little extra cash.
One guy hired me to mow his lawn. He seemed nice enough—like a kindly old hippie, who lived alone.
I get to his house, and he invites me in to give me some yard equipment. Once I step inside, he closes and *locks* the door behind me. He says “Just locking the door to keep the bugs out.”
Wait…*what*?
He leads me through his house, and starts saying all this weird stuff—“I don’t know what you’ve heard about me around the neighborhood, but none of it is true. I’m straight—straight as an arrow.”
We get to his basement door. “I keep the mower in the basement.” Probably should have high-tailed it out of there then, but as a polite teenager, I followed him down the stairs into the dark basement.
Once I get down in the basement, and my eyes adjust to the darkness, I start to get *really* scared—the *entire* basement has been plastered in 1970s Playboy n**e centerfolds, but they’ve all been chopped up—missing heads, missing limbs.
That’s when I turn around, and see the guy emerging from the darkness wielding a machete.
That’s when I was *sure* I was going to die. I just didn’t know if he would hack me up right then and there, or lock me in the basement and t*****e me for a few days. My fight or flight response was about to kick in—
But then he hands me the machete, and tells me to use it to cut back the kudzu.
Huge relief. I mowed his lawn and cut back his kudzu, and the whole time I could see him watching me out the window. Finished as fast I could, and got the hell out of there
He called me a few times in the next weeks to mow his lawn again, but I never picked. Eventually, he moved away. To this day, not sure if he was an actual serial killer, or just a kooky old man who didn’t understand how creepy he was.
Image credits: obert-wan-kenobert
#19
I was pregnant and got meningitis. At work I fell ill and they sent me home because apparently I looked grey. That night my head felt like it was going to explode to the point. I started slamming my head against the wall to relieve it. My husband was absolutely terrified and wanted to call an ambulance but I refused thinking it was a bad headache.
Fast forward to things getting worse and to being taken to the hospital and them saying it’s probably a migraine. I have migraines and this was no migraine. A quick witted nurse saw how confused I was (couldn’t remember my birthday or our sons bday or even how to sign my name) and she took my temp and did a urine test. As she’s taking my temp she goes whoa whoa have you taken your temp before? Your temp is 104! Suddenly all these alarms go off and I can’t move. My body felt like I was locked up in a giant cramp-I was having a fever induced seizure but was conscious for the 1st bit. I saw just a storm of drs and nurses and equipment rushing in the assessment room, I thought omg my husband is going to get a call that im gone or a vegetable and my son won’t have his mother and this kid in me won’t know life.
Then nothingness. Lucky for me they just covered me in ice to bring down my temp that stopped the seizure. They took me to ICU and sent me for an MRI and all I remember is them telling me they may have to put me in a coma and do I want my life to take priority over the life of the baby. Sitting in that icu room in total isolation (they didn’t know if it was bacterial or viral for a day or two so no one could visit) I had alot to think about and really had to come to terms that I may not make it out of this and my baby may not either. You have to make your peace and stop fearing death and kinda get to work. I wrote letters to loved ones thanks to a very brave and kind nurses help. Happy to report it ended up being viral meningitis. I fought hard and both myself and now my perfectly healthy 3 yo son are doing great. Still have the letters in my safe and hope I never need them handed out. It was a long road to recovery but I’ve never taken my health or life for granted again.
Image credits: dairyfreediva
#20
When i accidentally got d**gged at a party because i drank the drink of a female friend, i left for home on my own and fell from my bike 5 times and landed in the bushes next to the road, i threw up everything i had inside me and was so disoriented that I couldn’t get up anymore, i slept trough the night in the bushes while it was 13C out, and had multiple occasions where I thought i would die, called emergency numbers multiple times but they wouldn’t come and eventually got picked up by a taxi chauffeur that brought me home after laying in a wet bush for 8 hours, i couldnt leave my bed for 3 days after that.
Only thing im happy about in that experience is that the female friend didn’t drink it and got home safely.
Image credits: anon
#21
First 16 years of my life. A*****e father who would start swinging as soon as he got home from wherever he was. Anytime my father was home, all siblings would run to their room and mother would start praying silently.
Image credits: anon
#22
Wife was pregnant and we went away for the weekend to house we rented in the mountains. Second day she went to bed early and I stayed up drawing. At 3am she comes downstairs and says she’s in a world of pain and is worried about baby (2 months before due date).
We head out and there is no cell reception. By the time we can call her doctor we realize the time needed to get to a hospital that has the right level NICU we might as well head back to our hospital. Two hours later we are there and due to Covid restrictions I can’t come in.
It was freezing outside and they wouldn’t let me be anywhere in the hospital where I could lay down so I talked my way into some room in the lobby and tried to sleep while sitting. Got kicked out of there and just bummed around waiting for an update. Around noon they say they’ll be keeping her for observation but I still need to clear out from the rental.
Driving back two hours and it starts snowing pretty hard. It’s a semi rural area and if they do plow the snow they haven’t gotten there yet. I’m being careful and fighting off sleep. The roads are super winding and high in the mountains. At some point car starts drifting across the double lines.
I did my best to even out but it completely got away from me. Slide through the opposite lane and continue to the shoulder. I see the ledge and realize if the car doesn’t stop I’ll plummet to my death. Have a brief moment where I think about my daughter and the kid in my wife’s belly I haven’t met yet. Felt like a stab in my heart and that second go off the road completely.
Fortunately there was enough snow in the space between the ledge to trap my car. I passed out in the crash but luckily a couple was a minute or two behind me and their honking snapped me out of it. They pulled me out of the car and went to get help (no service on the mountain). A couple of other people stopped including a guy who had a big pickup. We dug the car out some and rigged the rope so he was able to pull me out.
Despite Covid I had to be physically removed from both these guys because I was hugging them so tight. I was able to make it back to the hospital without anyone knowing. Told them after the kid was born. Sent my guardian angels pictures and $100 gift cards as if that’s adequate.
Image credits: MrFunktasticc
#23
When I was about 10, I went on a hiking trip with my family. I was walking ahead of everyone else, and on the path I saw a small snake. Snakes being my favourite animal when I was a kid, I exclaimed “oh look, it’s a dead baby snake!”. I grabbed a short stick and gave it a poke, at which point it lifted it’s head up and hissed me before slithering into the bushes. I responded to this by exclaiming “oh look, it’s an alive baby snake!”. As it happens, snakes in Australia I generally quite venomous, and I’d say I was quite lucky in my encounter.
Image credits: really_not_unreal
#24
Went camping. Ranger at the gates to the grounds warned us to be especially careful. Put away all food when not eating, keep a fire burning at night, do go anywhere alone including bathroom. We joked about Jason Voorhees not being a local, and he said nah. The coyotes overbred last year now there’s tons of em and they’re getting desperate. We can camp, but sign these waivers as it at your own risk.
We’re there a couple of days, and 5 of us go for a hike, two couples and my giant awkward a*s. As we walk I’m peering around like a dork looking for birds or something I can nerd out to, and one of the girls (late teens) goes “Oh LOOK! A puppy!”
Yep. Smack in the middle of the trail is the largest coyote I’ve seen in my life. Oh look…now there’s three… I ask if anyone can climb a tree, and turns out I’m the only one who’s too fat and out of shape to do so, and is thus stuck on the ground. With all 5 in the pack.
Girl 2 starts to hyperventilate and ask why there’s so many of them? I tell her to chill, and for everyone to look around, slowly. She asks why. Like a d*****s I was honest, and told her to think back to Jurassic Park, these things hunt in the same style as velociraptors. So now the pack is ending in closer, and the ones to the side might be too, I don’t know.
As there’s talk of every man for himself, I straight up panic. I grab a large rock (to hear the story it was the size of my torso, but I don’t remember) and with the sheer brute force of panic adrenaline and that good ol “I DONT WANNA DIE!” attitude, I heave it at the closest coyote as hard as I can.
Blood splatters, it yelps and bolts. This spooks the rest and they bolt. We packed up, left, and I’ve never camped again.
Image credits: Megalon84
#25
Got stuck in the backcountry in Colorado. It was -20F outside.
All our water slowly froze. At around 10pm, my friend and I collapsed. We were dehydrated and hypothermic. I couldn’t stand up.
Most the day we hadn’t had cell reception but I was able to get a few bars. I called 911 then my parents to let them know we were probably dying. Then we had a lot of time to sit there under the stars and be with my thoughts while experiencing the later stage effects of hypothermia.
Rescuers found us at 7am. I had lost 15lbs in a day (dehydration). My ski boots were so frozen to my feet they had to cut them off.
I did have to spend a few days hospitalized and had pretty bad frostbite, but I made a full recovery. Another in the group lost a full 25lbs just in water weight. A few others did get toes or fingers amputated, but everyone is alive and happy today.
Image credits: 4tomicZ
#26
I had leg cramp and a momentary blackout when swimming in a diving pool when I was 16. I was really active that I overexert my limit.
Surprisingly I didn’t really panicked. Just the dreadful thought: “Oh s**t, I’m f****d”.
Funny thing is that I didn’t really wingle my hands out of the pool panickingly like I usually see in the tv, just silently sinking.
Good thing the pool guard on-duty noticed me and went for my rescue by pulling me out.
Really wish I thanked the guard more that he saved me instead of me cluelessly sitting outside the lobby after the accident.
Image credits: Vocal_Breaker
#27
My friend and I just spent a few days at a beach shack. My friend just got her P plates, she was super excited so she wanted to drive us home, this was one of her first times driving alone. Being 17 we didn’t really see an issue. I rang my dad beforehand and told him I was getting a lift. He said “I don’t think you should do that. I can come pick you up. I can drive some of the girls home too. I think you guys should wait until she’s had more experience”. Of course being 17, thinking I knew everything, I said it was fine and I was hopping in her car.
We were on our way home, playing music and chatting, there were 5 17-year-olds in this car. I was sitting behind the driver’s seat. My friend pulls out onto a two one expressway, from a country road (like an intersection)
We notice she’s turned the wrong way and tell her to make a u turn. She pulls to the side and decides to go for it (through 2 lanes) She didn’t check her mirrors properly and a large truck was coming up behind us. My friend got frightened and put her foot on the break in the middle of both lanes. We were all screaming at her to keep driving. But she was frozen.
I remember, it was like slow motion. I looked at every single one of my friends, we all kind of shared a moment of fear, like ‘this is it I guess..’ the exchanged looks haunt me tbh. We could hear the truck horn blaring at us. I looked out my window to the truck driving toward us, I locked eyes with the truck driver. Luckily the truck stopped about 5 metres away from us.
She pulled away and was really upset. The car was silent the entire way back.
It was honestly the scariest moment. I am from a really small town and I think losing 5 people at once would really rock it. Seeing my friends faces in that moment… it was actually horrific.
I did have a moment of ‘okay, here comes the truck..’ it was oddly peaceful.
After that day I have a real understanding that I’m mortal and can go at any minute, oh and to trust my dad…
Edit: I never told my dad! I was too scared… also my friends and I never spoke of the incident again..
Edit 2: we were coming off a country road and turning onto a two-lane expressway, she turned left when we were meant to turn right. She pulled over and tried to make a u-turn so we could go in the right direction, but she didn’t look behind her before turning, she then braked and stopped in the middle of the road, so we were sideways on the expressway!
Image credits: Thefakeblonde
#28
I was a senior in high school, and the student club I was in organized an unofficial beach trip towards the end of the year; no teachers or official permission, leaving me and a few other seniors in charge of supervising everything. After a couple hour’s worth of fun, one of the other students came running up to me and said that three of the younger members of the club had been swept out by a riptide and couldn’t get back towards the shore. Me and two other of the older students, all experienced swimmers, immediately went to go help them; my friends got two of the three kids in trouble and started guiding them parallel to the shore to get them out of the current, but the guy I went for was panicking, barely staying above the water, and started dragging me down with him almost immediately. I yelled for people to get a lifeguard and tried to keep both of us afloat, but after a few minutes (maybe five, maybe ten, it felt like forever) I was getting exhausted, having trouble keeping both of us above the water, and I couldn’t see anyone coming to the rescue. I started getting big mouthfuls of water and my leg muscles were starting to cramp up, and I remember thinking “Holy s**t I might actually die right here, right now” as the current started pulling us further and further away from where everyone was.
Thankfully for everyone involved, one of the students on the beach had flagged down a couple of surfers, who made their way out to where we were as quickly as they could and hauled first the younger student and then me onto the front of their boards and took us back to shore. I’ll always be thankful and appreciative for those strangers who put themselves in the dangerous position of rescuing two drowning swimmers
Edit: As several people have pointed out, it’s not uncommon for people to die doing what I did, i.e swimming into the water to rescue a drowning swimmer without training or equipment; there are a few techniques for rescuing someone drowning in the comments that everyone should learn if they’re ever in the unfortunate situation of having to use them. I should’ve used them, but I was 17 and not thinking straight at the time and almost paid the price because of it.
Image credits: JustACharacterr
#29
A really bad flash fire at work where I jumped into a pit to get away from the heat. I saw the flames roll right over top of the pit. I thought for sure I was going to die. I got some wicked 3rd degree burns, but I lived.
Image credits: anon
#30
I was driving on the turnpike in my Mazda 3 in the hard rain. It was 3 lanes and I was in the left lane doing 55, and then I hit standing water and hydroplaned. I did a FULL 360 spin across all 3 lanes of traffic and ended up in the shoulder stopped. I didn’t hit anyone or anything, no one hit me, and one car was so scared with me they also pulled over, but didn’t check on me. To this day I’m still a bit scared in the rain.
Image credits: AskAboutMyCoffee
#31
I survived a car crash that wrecked my car. Rolled twice, landed upside down, learned the hard way that I didn’t have airbags (or at least they didn’t deploy). Did have my seatbelt on though, that probably saved me.
Paramedic said he hadn’t seen a wreckage like that and have it end well.
Not even a hairline fracture.
Image credits: Chempenguin
#32
When both the stewardess and pilot at different times came on the loud speaker of the plane saying they are doing their best to land safely. Then seeing the fire engines and other emergency vehicles on the runway waiting for us. The plane landed fine but as it was going for the landing a weird calm came over me because I knew I wasn’t going to make it and that was fine.
Image credits: bacondr
#33
Fell asleep driving through the night with my brothers. They were supposed to stay awake and help me stay awake, but were out cold. I woke up as the right front tire kissed the gravel on the side of the highway, ripped the wheel to the left, and managed only to spin out. Weird thing was, while it was happening, I was crystal clear, fully focused, and totally in control — as if time had slowed down — but thinking that we were all dead.
Image credits: OrganicReplacement23
#34
Daisy chain IED attack when on a convoy in Iraq in 2003. I saw two go off in front of me, and felt one just behind. They didn’t just miss injuring me and the people in my vehicle, no one else in my convoy was hurt. The only “injury” I had was a wicked ringing in my right ear for a week, followed by some hearing loss. Not bad considering.
Image credits: destro23
#35
I was at the end of a 2 hour journey about 10 mins from home, pretty rural and I was probably complacent because I took that road everyday. I took a bend at 40MPH (legal limit was 60MPH so wasn’t breaking any speeding rules) which I’ve done many times before, probably faster which looking back was really reckless.
Didn’t see until it was too late that a car had spun out on the other side of the corner and another car had pulled up to help. I slammed on but I wasn’t going to stop in time before hitting the cars pulled up/crashed. I was hurtling straight towards the other cars and people who where stood in the road from the other crash. It was like time slowed down and I was at a cross roads; in my mind I had three choices. Continue on my path and hit the other cars and people, veer to the right and go into a field but there was oncoming traffic and there was a chance I’d hit them or veer to the left and fly into a wooded area. I chose the last option, and in that moment I knew the chances of me surviving or not being seriously injured after a 40MPH head on collision to a tree in a 10 year old Ford KA was pretty slim. I just felt a complete peace come over me, turned the wheel and woke up slumped over the steering wheel to some poor man shouting ‘OMG I THINK SHES DEAD’
Turned out I passed out from shock or something before the impact so when I hit the tree I was completely floppy and this contributed to me having no serious injuries. The front of my car was completely disintegrated, after coming to I tried to put my clutch down to take the car out of gear out of habit and my foot hit the tree trunk. The tree was absolutely fine. I drove past that tree everyday for years after and you could see the chunk my car took out of it.
#36
Trapped in a sinking party yacht when I was 16 and was like down a hallway passed out drunk. Awoke to water pouring into my room. Took a minute or two to awaken and realize what was happening. Swam through the dark water down a hall and up a flight of stairs. Luckily the moon was bright, swam to the surface.
Image credits: NutInYurThroatEatAss
#37
I fly paramotors as a hobby. A friend of mine wanted to shoot a mini documentary for his school project on the sport, so we attached his 360 camera to my helmet and I took off to get some good footage for him. I started showing off for the camera doing barrel rolls at a lower altitude than I ever would have done normally.
My paraglider took a major collapse during one of the barrel rolls and I sunk out of the sky like a rock. I fully recovered from the collapse less than 50 feet from the ground, from about 600 feet.
** for those of you who want to see it**.
Image credits: darkshark9
#38
I almost died 2 years ago. It was the middle of February in the UK and had a late night date next to the canals with my SO. We had a favourite place that didn’t have any street lights next to the path that led to a small foresty patch. We went out there so often we didn’t really need any lights anyway. As we were on a lock (canal locks are spots where they raise the sides of the canal, make the water very deep to help barges through) I was lighting a cigarette and accidentally fell in the 7+m deep lock full of icy water. I immediately sank as my muscles and lungs reacted to the icy water by tensing up. I couldn’t move any muscles, Ive just heard the air bubbles passing by my ears. My eyes were open, it was pitch black and it took me a few seconds to even realise what happened. As I was sinking I though well this is a f*cking stupid way to die. It felt like someone has put dosens of belts around my body and kept tightening them.
I thought of my mom, I really didn’t want to make her sad. I thought of my dog.
I had zero air in my lungs. It’s not like when you’re watching a movie and try to keep your breath for as long as a character does whilst drowning. You have no air at all to hold on to. I was just trying to keep myself calm and not inhale water. It felt very long, I had so many images in my head but no narrative really.
At the very last second, I’m guessing due to adrenaline I felt very warm and strong, got the control of my limbs back. Started kicking with my feet and pushing upwards with my arms. I didn’t get to the top when I inhaled water. But I was close enough to the top that my SO could reach down for me and pull me. He couldn’t see anything either. He pulled me out and Ionce I was back, I had a massive fit of laughter with uncontrollable shaking. He was super worried and wanted to rush us back home but I said I just want to sit for a little and laugh. There was nothing funny. I was just happy to not die I guess.
#39
In a vehicle that rolled 3 times across the highway, then got hit by an 18 wheeler that was going WAY too fast.
Two staples in a small head wound and that was it.
All other passengers were seriously wounded or k**led.
Image credits: Pheonixmoonfire
#40
Shortly after my dad died, I was convinced I was having a heart attack and was so depressed I just went to sleep. I was certain I wasn’t going to wake up.
In retrospect, I was possibly having an anxiety attack.
Image credits: anon
#41
I was playing hide and seek in my house as a kid and I hid inside a god d**n laundry machine and I couldn’t open it from the inside out. As my voice wasn’t loud enough, nobody would be able to help me even when I yelled at the top of my lungs. It has been around 20ish minutes and It became kind of hard to breathe. Luckily, the others that were found before me searched along with the first “it” and they found me before I suffocated. I hate laundry machines. I also hate doing laundries.
Image credits: anon
#42
So way back in the year 2004, I went into labor with my first (and only) child. I was a month shy of 19 & basically went in blind due to a sketchy support system.
So I do the pushing bit, hear the girl cry, but feel a LOT of pain still along with a… gushing sensation. Me, not having any point of reference assumed this was normal, but started to get woozy & sort of disconnected feeling. Then I hear my aunt, who was with me, say, “Should she be bleeding that much?” The doctor said, “No, but I’m trying to stop it.” I remember a feeling of confused panic, then I passed out from blood loss. Apparently as soon as the pushing started, my uterus ruptured & I nearly bled to death.
Image credits: OpossumJesusHasRisen
#43
I was running around in a playground at night. It was dark and I was playing hide and seek, but if you get found you have to get tagged. I was found and was running away so I turned around to look if the kid who was it was behind me he stopped and just stood there. I turn around to get ready to run and standing in my face is a FRICKING PACK OF COYOTES
IN. MY. FACE
so they get in a circle around me and I think I might’ve like ran onto breeding ground or smt, they like showing their teeth. I remeber The bear thing where you make noises so I do, but I try to roar, but instead it’s a **squeak** so they don’t back off. The chasing friend runs over with a stick and starts to hit the ground and the coyotes run off. I seriously thought I was done for.
#44
When I was an Lt. I threw a grenade meaning to bounce it off the wall into the simulated machine gun bunker (grenade was real) and I got the angle wrong and it bounced right back at my feet, I jumped over the sandbags behind me on to my friend who could not see what I had done and whispered, “I am so sorry,” to which he replied, “what?” And then the instructor watching from above the trench jumped on both of us and then the grenade went off. I thought for sure I had k**led myself, the instructor and my friend. . .but then the instructor grabbed me and said, “keep training,” and we did. For years I wondered why I was not kicked out of the course, until someone told me I executed all the appropriate steps to save myself and my friend if a grenade throw goes wrong.
#45
When I was younger my dad set up a zip line in my backyard, and I volunteered to test it first. I started out fine, but right at the highest point, the line snapped and I fell straight down probably like 7m (~20ft). Luckily the ground was soft and I was fine, but the moment I felt the cable break I thought I was done for lol.
#46
My first anxiety attack. I was certain I was dying, to the point that I had 911 (emergency services in the US) dialed and ready to call. However, I had a moment of clarity and looked up anxiety attack symptoms, checking almost every symptom including *sense of impending doom and imminent death*. What a cruel f*****g joke lol.
#47
Sliding off a 14 foot high gazebo roof on to a black rod iron fence with with the pointy metal triangles on top.
Slid off, fell about 6 feet down to the fence, both legs hit between the rods which caused me to back flip and land on the ground between 2 big green garden spikes. I could have been impaled several different ways. Ended up with minor scratches.
My brother was also on the roof painting and can verify everything. He said it was the most amazing thing he’s seen.
#48
I was drunk and running in the woods when bam, barb wire fence straight to the throat. The last thing I remember I couldn’t breathe and was passing out and there was blood squirting from my neck. Woke up an hour later and walked home looking like a m**der victim.
#49
I own a 65 classic mustang which I enjoy driving anywhere it can go. I once took it up a large mountain with a group of friends, the roads weren’t steep or especially dangerous but there was danger present because of how high it was. We made it up the mountain with no issues and stopped at bar at the top where my friends got plastered, I didn’t drink because I was the designated driver. Before I continue I need to clarify that the brakes on a STOCK classic mustang from the 60’s era need to be primed before use. Basically you have to hit the brakes twice before they work. On the trip down the brakes cut out and stopped working, I primed the brakes over and over but they didn’t engage. The parking brake hadn’t been working the past month and was going to be replaced that Monday. I soon lost control of the car and we started to barrel down the road, we turned a shallow right corner and saw a long road that ended with a sharp turn. At that moment I thought I was going to die and take my friends with me (they had no clue they were plastered in the back). Luckily the brakes reengaged halfway down the road and we managed to turn the corner. It has been four months and I haven’t touched that car, to this day my friends have no clue what almost happened.
#50
I was running down a hill after rain when I was a kid, about 8, and slipped and fell. I jarred my spine pretty bad and couldn’t move my arms or legs. I couldn’t speak. All I could do was suck in air, whilst making some pretty horrific noises in the process. The teacher sat with me and shooed away all the gawking kids while she rubbed my back and said nice things. No idea why nobody called an ambulance. Honestly one of the most terrifying hours of my life, though I cannot explain how happy I was when my limbs started working again.
Also, when I was about 23. There’s an ocean pool near where I live. Man made, and during big seas it basically turns into a vortex of hell. Some friends and I went down there and arrived when it looked fairly placid. We jumped straight in and paddled around, as you do. Then the next set of waves started coming in. On the ocean side of the pool, the waves were trying to suck us back out to sea. On the cliff side, it was trying to turn us into mincemeat. I got halfway across the pool when I realised a friend of mine with no experience with ocean swimming was struggling, so went over to help. I made him swim to the middle of the pool with me to wait for the set to pass, and we managed to get out once it calmed down again. There were some bruises and cuts, but way better than the alternative.
Edit: To those asking, an ocean pool is a pool next to the ocean and filled with sea water. Think rock pool, but bigger and less natural. In theory, it’s a great way to swim in the ocean without actually swimming in the ocean, to avoid sharks and other fun things trying to k**l you. In practice, after big seas, sharks get washed in fairly often. You don’t know. That’s the fun part.
#51
My friend put me in a fold out couch when we were 12, unaware of how to get me back out because of the weight and pressure on me i started to panic and scream making it worse.
He cut me out of the center of it like a burrito c section.
My friends step father was an extremely a*****e drill instructor, the beating he took was terrible.
But that’s my story, emergency c section from a fold up couch.
Edit: wow, I normally get a ton of hate, and this actually made me feel good, thank you guys and gals, that was extremely sweet.
Logan my friend at 16 finally started to fight back, and the first fight he won he was immediately kicked out. He lived with me and my family for years until he got himself stable on his own. That was 21 years ago, he’s still my good friend, just life itself has seperated us.
#52
I was in the turret on an MRAP in Afghanistan, we hit a bump in the road and the vehicle tilted hard. If we had gone much more, or if the driver had eaten a lighter breakfast we would have tumbled down a steep slope into a river. I would have either been crushed in the rollover or drowned in the river.
Fortunately, we righted and kept going, but for a second I was looking at an awful lot of open space where normally I’d only see armor.
There’s also the time I almost died from dysentery. Same place, about two weeks after the truck incident as it happens. Good times.
#53
When I was a kid I was playing hide and seek with my siblings and I got the brilliant idea to hide in the trunk of the car. I meant to leave the trunk barely open so that it didn’t latch but accidentally closed it too far and it latched. Mind you this was before they put handles in cars to open trunks from the inside so I was legitimately stuck.
It was almost completely dark so I started seriously freaking out and I thought I was going to die, so I started yelling for help as loud as I could and was kicking at the back seat thinking maybe I could break the latch that keeps the seat from folding. I was probably only in there for about 5 minutes before someone heard me and let me out but it felt like an eternity.
To this day I firmly believe it was because of this incident that I developed some minor claustrophobia. I still have serious fears about being in small, cramped and dark areas.
#54
When my mom read my search history 5 years ago.
#55
Yesterday morning when I slipped on some wet tin on a roof my safety cable didn’t activate, luckily my coworker caught me, that’s about as close as I’ve gotten so far.
#56
One of my most surreal experiences of my life (I had a lot of weird ones around this time) was riding my bike on the sidewalk next to an extremely busy road at night. I hit something on the sidewalk – I don’t know what – and tumbled sideways into the street.
As I fell, I saw the road light up from headlights from a car behind me, and when I hit the asphalt, I just laid there because I knew I couldn’t get out of the way in time. After a second or so I wasn’t dead, so I looked around and the street was empty. It wasn’t empty when I fell. There were cars going in both directions.
That was 20+ years ago and I’m still not entirely convinced that I didn’t die. It’s possible that I imagined the headlights, but that road is NEVER empty like it was. It’s a major street in a major city. It always has cars on it, even at 3 AM.
It was the first of many experiences that lead me down a path of questioning the nature of reality.
#57
When I was hurtling down a mountain in the peak District on a bike and my brakes stopped working and was heading headfirst towards an open road.
#58
I was a kid and made the dumb decision to climb the fence into my local park after hours. Well the fence is topped with large spikes, I slipped and felt the spike hit my stomach then poke out through my shirt. For a moment I thought “that’s it, I’m impaled”, but luckily it glanced off my stomach and ripped my shirt open instead. Ended up with a nice cut along my stomach and my Mum was mad at me for ruining a brand new shirt, but other than that I was fine. Never tried to climb that fence again.
#59
“Duct tape man” costume in middle school
As a last minute costume, I decided to cover myself in duct tape. As I wrapped my waist/chest, the shirt kept sliding so I sucked in and wrapped it real tight. Soon I realized I couldn’t breathe. Frantically tried to rip it off, but the shirt just moved with the tape. Nearly passed out before I found some scissors and cut my shirt open.
#60
I’d left work at around 7pm, in December in the UK so it was pitch black, and although I was on a town high street there were surprisingly few functional street lights… It was also a Sunday so there was nobody around at all. I was ~17/18 at the time, female, and waiting for my dad to pick me up. It was cold and dark and I was already a little unsettled because I’m not keen on being out in the dark alone…. When these two guys come walking up the street in suits with long dark coats on.
I’m stood under one of the only Street lights right where dad usually meets me, just hoping they just walk right past but no… They stride right up to me and start asking me questions, What are you doing out in the dark? What’s your name?
It’s just the one guy talking, and he’s American, and though good looking in any other context, there’s something in his demeanor that just scares the absolute f**k out of me. The other guy just stays silent though the whole thing and I can’t really picture his face anymore.
I tell them I’m waiting for my dad who should arrive any minute to pick me up. (Seriously dad why did you have to be late on this one day?) And the guy keeps asking more questions as I’m trying to evaporate into the night air…. I seriously get the vibe that if I say the wrong thing I’m getting killed or r***d or… Something.
He starts asking if I’m religious, do I believe in the lord? Will I be attending church for Christmas? I inwardly panic because I’m very atheist but then think right just pretend I’m at least curious so they’ll back off? So I tell them I’m unsure what I believe but I’m open to trying and a friend had invited me to her church for Christmas. He asked if I was going to go, but the way he asked I really couldn’t tell if he wanted me to say yes or no… Hard to describe but this guy was really hard to read! I say yes and he smiles (his eyes were still really cold so this did not relax me in the slightest). He goes on to say some more stuff about the lord and I think blessed me? My memory is a little hazy to be honest because I was just in panic the whole time. Gave me a leaflet too I think which I tore up in the car later.
They walked away before my dad arrived and I stared at them walking away as far as I could still see them because I really didn’t trust them not to sink into a side alley circle back and grab me from behind. The whole vibe still makes me feel sick now thinking back and it was like 5 years ago…. Maybe not the answer you had in mind but it was the first that I thought of.
#61
Overd**ed on antidepressants. Not a fun time, but no permanent damage.
#62
My first kidney stone. My dad had them before and said the pain was indescribable. I was my mother picking up the new car because I didn’t have anything else to do. I was sitting in the car when I had a sharp stabbing pain in my lower right back. I got out to try and walk it off, then I felt dizzy, so I went outside to get some air and sort of faded out. My mum came out to find me curled up on the concrete dry heaving. I got home, felt a bit better, then started shivering. I insisted I’d be fine by the next morning, but she said “No, I’m taking you to the hospital” because I couldn’t eat anything. On the drive to the hospital, I was wavering in and out of consciousness and eventually blacked out as we made it to downtown; I got woken up in the car park by my mum having to shove me in my seat. We got through emergency quickly to be seen and I was convinced I was going to die, and told my mum what to do with my belongings and messages to pass onto people. The doctors gave me some painkillers and asked for a urine sample, and it was completely brown, so a blood test was done and it came back as a kidney stone.
I don’t remember much of the days after that because I ended up with a bad cold, and I was in a bad mental state because the day of the kidney stone was the same day a close relative died abruptly and the girl I had feelings for told me she didn’t reciprocate (it was first time I told anyone how I felt about them, so I felt bad for a week or so). I think I passed the stone, I don’t remember much.
A lot of people think kidney stones can’t be that bad because it’s impossible to describe how it feels. I’d say imagine the worst nausea, vertigo, chills, and the feeling of a giant blade in your lower back all the way in and twisting. And then imagine having to drink heaps of water until it passes, yet only getting a few drops of p**s out because of a tiny jagged stone blocking your urethra, so you have a full bladder and have to force it all out. A week of having to p**s into a jug before you can sit down to take a c**p is oddly humiliating and will make you question your life choices.
#63
When I was 11 years old my mother was driving home from school in her near new Toyota. She was almost across the entire road when a speeding car smashed her passenger side near the door. The other car must have hit my mother’s car at about 80kmh. I should have been dead. Instead the car was almost totalled but I escaped with only shock.
#64
One time I was driving back to my apartment after work. I took a turn too hard and ended up flipping my car. I really thought I was a goner. I had hit the curb and I knew there was a hill on the other side going down to an apartment building. I was mid flip and all I could get out was a “f**k” before I landed upside down. The next thing I remember was that I climbed out of the car through a window, and had glass sticking out of my arm but I was otherwise perfectly fine. The car didn’t end up rolling down the hill but I could see it teetering on the edge. Any faster and the damage would have been much, MUCH worse. When the police and EMTs arrived they asked me how I climbed out of the vehicle, I said I’d climbed through the window but the officer looked confused. He walked me to the driver’s side door and the entire driver’s side had caved in, the window was completely smashed so I must’ve climbed out a different window but couldn’t remember. The cop asked me how I managed to survive that, since the entire driver’s side had collapsed after landing on the edge of a hill. I didn’t have an answer for him, it was like I blacked out and woke up crawling out of the car. To tell you the truth sometimes I wonder if I actually died that day, and I’m living the life of some split timeline Donny Darko style. It makes me sad to think my family and friends might have suffered my death in some alternate reality. That’s mostly just the anxiety/PTSD/whatever talking though, what really got me is I would have recurring nightmares where I crash a vehicle for YEARS and I still get them. Its one thing to have to experience it once but imagining and living out different crash scenarios is so exhausting I started using weed mostly as a dream suppressant. Narrowly avoiding death has its drawbacks but its so much better than the alternative 🤷♂️.
#65
I was driving in the left lane of a highway going 80. A car didn’t check their bond spot and merged into me. I was run off the road and lost control of the car. It flipped and dragged along the highway for 200 feet. I remember the sparks flying up at me in slow motion. The only damage to be was cuts on my arm from done glass. my girlfriend just had a few cuts on her leg. When I look at the photos of the car it doesn’t look like anything could have survived that.
#66
Going down the highway in winter. Friend is stupid, loses control, we 180, hit the ditch on the other side and start to roll. Very loud, spiked adrenaline, hood crunches, passenger side window shatters, feel glass and snow hit my face. I think this is it, lose consciousness.
Come to, friend is still out at the wheel, bleeding from his head. One of the girls who was in back comes walking up to the car crying and screaming asking what just happened. She was either thrown or fell out during the roll.
Of the four girls in back, the one ejected broke her collarbone. Driver had a few stitches and a concussion. I had some deep tissue bruising in my thigh from being thrown up against the door’s arm rest. The three in back had no injuries.
We were extremely lucky.
#67
Bus was late, and I had an exam that day. I told myself if the bus was more than 6′ late, I’d go back home to go to school by cycle. Despite the rain.
Well, so I took my cycle, I take this calm street, this calm street, this very busy street, and now there is this straight line where cars go at 90km/h. Fine enough for me, considering it’s covered by the trees, and it’s also going downhill.
Cars pass by me, some are a bit close. I can’t really go much more to the right than that. Eventually, guess who passes me? Eh, it’s the bus, like 15′ late. Except that there is the *other* bus coming the other direction, and I think the bus overestimated at what speed he could pass me. I realize the situation and brake, although too late, and get turned sideways by the bus hitting my handlebar, roll over a stump, and eventually faceplant a tree like 15m away from the road.
During that rolling, I was dead. The tree actually knocked me out.
…
The bus driver actually stopped, as he noticed he hit me. Apparently my friend was in the bus and understood it was me, there, too. There were many other students. I said something along the line of ‘I need to pass my exam, if anything the school infirmary exists’. OK, then, got a free ride in the bus until school. Everyone arrived late at the exams, too, but given we all had the same excuse, the school understood it probably was legit.
I passed the exam fine, despite being covered in mud and wet like a sponge. Teachers weren’t very happy but, well, good students are good students. Doesn’t seem like I had any major injury.
#68
Warning- this is a very scary story, esp for parents, but has a happy ending. Many details fuzzy, inconsistencies, misused terms o plenty I’m sure.
When my wife was 14 she was riding in a car with four other kids. Nobody was wearing seatbelts, because, early 1980’s. They T-boned someone going very fast. My wife went through the windshield (head, neck) and then went back into the car (whiplash I guess). The damage to her face and neck happened on the way back in. She got the worst of the damage.
After the EMT’s saw her, they told the LifeFlight (helicopter) not to bother flying her to the ER based on her condition. She was driven to the ER as she barely clinging onto life. Her mom (my MIL) told me that when she was in the waiting room of the ER a nice lady sat and talked with her for quite a while. She was very nice/pleasant and was trying to calm my MIL down. My MIL later figured out this was the person who would be giving her the news that her daughter (my wife) didn’t make it. That part of the story hit me the hardest. My wife was in an induced coma for a long time, required a ton of blood, and had a long recovery process.
Because I’m speaking of her in present tense, you know how the story ended. Mild neck/face scarring was the most notable remnant of the accident. The only signs of brain damage is suspected based on her choice of husband.
#69
I was hit by a car my junior year of college. I was riding in the bike lane. The girl didn’t look before she exited the parking lot and rammed right into me. I flew off my bike onto incoming traffic. I didn’t have on a helmet either.
I thought I dead because the way things had went down, was bad. I was on crutches for a month after the accident because I couldn’t walk. I didn’t sprain or break my ankle. I just had deep cut ( deep enough that you could see my raw bone). I didn’t even need to get stitches either.
I’m lucky to be alive today.
#70
Went white water rafting about a year ago. The River we took was serious. Mostly all Cat 5s. I mean these were some serious rapids. The guides prepped us and talked about how dangerous this was. Lots of undercut rocks and undertow so if the raft flips swim straight to the shore. We went down an easily 15 foot drop and hit too hard. Couldn’t keep the raft up. All of us dumped. I had my PFD and it was very high quality but I could have just as well tied rocks to my self. I got sucked straight under and caught. Scariest moment of my life. I knew I was going to die. There was no question. I couldn’t move. It was literally hundreds of tons of water crushing me and holding me under and no person could help or probably even knew where I was.
Next thing I know I’m OUR of the rapid and floating down the calm part of the river with the rest of my raft. Everyone was laughing and having a good time. No one probably noticed. I was only under for maybe 30 seconds but when you’re being cry hard and tossed around like nothin that’s a scary amount of time. Definitely thought I was going to die that day. Scariest moment of my life
Walked away perfectly fine and enjoyed the rest of the trip
S/o to Jason for being literally the best guide.
#71
Had the hood of a car flip open going 60mph+ on the highway.
I had rear ended someone earlier in the day, when my husband initially checked the front end everything looked okay, just some minor crumple. We had plans to visit a friend that night and decided we would get the car looked at in the morning. What we didn’t realize is even though the hood “latched” it didn’t stay that way. We went on our way, on one of the worst maintained highways in our area, and going over a bump at 60mph the hood flew open and covered the entire windshield. Thankfully my husband was driving and is much calmer than I. I was screaming thinking I was about to die, and he just calmly slowed down and pulled over.
We were fine, he flipped the mangled hood back down and drove on the shoulder to the nearest exit.
Funny thing to add: my insurance wouldn’t cover a new hood/latch, but did cover the broken moon roof because a “projectile” (ie my hood lol) hit it. Also we just hammered the dents out of the hood and put in racing pins, so for the rest of that car’s life it looked like I was doing much cooler stuff than rear ending old ladies lol.
#72
Was out paddling, down a really committed gorge section where the only safety we could set was at the other end, came out of my boat, buoyancy aid was not working. Honestly thought I was going to drown before I would reach the bottom of the gorge and the safety set with a throw bag. Manged to stay calm and didn’t take in that much water and got fished out at the bottom with the only thing injured being my pride.
That was the day I learnt why it was important to properly float test your kit before Kayaking trips. Went out and bought a brand new top of the line BA and float test it regularly just to be sure. Check ya gear kids, especially if its job it to keep you alive.
#73
I’m a skateboarder so I have lots of “am I dead?” moments. I was skating a giant ramp at a skatepark. But when I went down, I did a wheelie by accident and fell 10 feet flat on my back. I couldn’t breathe or see anything. In my head I was like “I’m so f****d. I’m dead” so my mom and dad drive me to a Hospital and I did an X ray. I had no terrible injuries other than my tailbone being slightly bent.
#74
Growing up, I️ was always overweight. As a result, my parents would always try to find opportunities to get my sister and me to be more active. My mom even went through a phase where she was convinced that my city dwelling family could become outdoorsy and adventurous.
During said phase, she decided we would go tubing in a river in West Virginia. Basically, you sit in a tube like in a water park but you’re in a river and have to paddle with your hands. We were given detailed instructions about what to do and what not to do, including the direction we were supposed to go in. We were supposed to follow a white sign that was very large and impossible to miss.
Another thing about my mother that I️ should include is that she loves “shortcuts”. Even if she’s unfamiliar with an area, she’s always convinced that she knows a better, faster way to go somewhere. So, she doesn’t follow the sign. The rest of my family follows her because we’re not just gonna leave her by herself.
Right after we deviated from the path, we get caught in a fast rip current. My mom screams at all of us to abandon the tubes and get on rocks, so we all did. As I️ stood on my rock, watching the tubes and one of my shoes float down the river, I️ wondered how long it would take for us to die and then how long it would take for someone to find our bodies.
Turns out that despite how dramatic I️ was as a child, when you register for an activity like that with a reputable company and don’t come back they do come looking for you. So, we were found and rescued, but nobody has let my mom live it down to this day.
#75
I jumped off of a trampoline into our pool. First time was so much fun I thought I’d do it again. This was back in the days of vinyl trampoline mats, and now my feet are wet so of course I slip. My chest smashes into the side of the trampoline as my legs are flying up in the air, and I end up going head first into the pool. There’s a little “love seat” which my head smashes into and I black out. The next thing I know I wake up down the bottom of the deep end and managed to swim out without anything more than a sore head. Very stupid, very lucky.
#76
In flight training for my PPL, we were practicing an engine out emergency landing at a small local airfield (basically you just pull the power to what amounts to idle and effectively glide the airplane in). The field had a very wide, very deep, and very cold river immediately before the runway threshold. As I was lining up to land I neglected to account for the massive downdraft caused by the cold water. So at about 50 or 60 feet in the air, suddenly the plane felt like it was just falling out of the sky. This shouldn’t have been a problem but I was so focused on not touching the throttle (since we were practicing an engine out landing), that I didn’t slam the throttle open to gain power and altitude for a go-around, which is what I should have done.
Instead like an idiot I pulled back on the yoke, almost stalled the plane, and then to avoid that I had to push the nose back down. We f*****g SLAMMED into the pavement, nosewheel first, like a RyanAir pilot trying to land in anything other than a flat calm. We then porpoised probably 2 or 3 times (I was slightly busy so I don’t know for sure) and I somehow avoided both a prop strike and flipping the plane nose over elevators, and also avoided going off the pavement into a ditch when a gust hit me at the same time.
I got the plane under control and taxied off the runway, radioed that the runway was clear, and then just shut down the plane, right there on the taxiway. After our adrenaline calmed down a bit my instructor and I got out to look the plane over to see if we were in any shape to try and fly it back to our home airport.
I don’t know what the f**k the engineers at Cessna do, but they make a d**n RESILIENT aircraft. There was no damage we could see at all, and the runup checklist also revealed nothing concerning, so my instructor flew it back for a more through look over with the mechanic. No problems at all. Next day we tried it again lol.
General aviation is fun! Everyone should try it!
#77
Everytime my heart does the pinch thing and starts beating irregularly.
Edit: thanks everyone for the concern, I do have an anxiety disorder and a weirdly developed heart so those are double trouble.
#78
Bungee jumping. For the a second I legitimately thought I was dead. It was terrifying. I don’t do heights well.
#79
I was alone with my 10 months old son and this stupid baby walker that a neighbor gave to us started playing the creepiest melody ever BY ITSELF at 2am. I suppose it was because I had to wash it and probably ended up screwing some circuits, but… man, did it really have to be at night and when I was alone?
#80
Everytime i get yeeted off a horse first though is “f**k here we go again i think this is the one that’s gonna k**l me”.
#81
As a 14 year old I was climbing the cliffs in the woods near my house and realized I’d come to a dead end, couldn’t reach another handhold and I couldn’t go back because of the odd angle and height I stretched to get to that point. I cried a little and ended up using my fingertips to climb up to the top of the rock I was on. The cliffs below me were uneven, jagged with trees and ended several hundred feet below. It would’ve been a terrible fall.
Edit: Sorry for the terrible ending! I live on Saba, a very steep volcanic island, the cliffs were less than a mile from my cottage home. I literally just walked there.
#82
I was trying to reach a wall outlet under the sofa. Ended up nearly electrocuting myself but managed to pull out the plug with only a very healthy respect for electricity from that point on.
#83
Was leaving work downtown around midnight on a Friday. I was in my 2006 Honda Civic, headed South down a one-way street, a majority of the streets downtown were one ways back then, and was sitting a red light in the left lane out of three lanes, and had glanced down at something when I heard loud screeching and looked up. A block away a pickup truck turned the corner and started heading North (the wrong direction) on my street at high-speed and was in my lane. I frantically started flashing my high beams only to see the truck flashing theirs at me. “F**K”. I really didn’t have many options. I didn’t want to get out of the car because I would lose my protection. I couldn’t turn left because that street was blocked off by a fence because it was federal building. I didn’t want to try and go right because what if they swerved that way. So I just decided to stay put and hope for the best. The truck, never slowed down but swerved into the middle lane when they were just across the intersection from me and then proceeded to turn the wrong way again onto the street behind me. It took about 10 minutes for my hands to stop shaking.
#84
Friend driving his bmw with 3 passengers on a highway going about 80mph. He lost control of the car and went off the road and down the embankment. The car completely spun around in a circle 5 or 6 times and narrowly missed a tree before coming to a stop. It seemed like we were spinning around for an eternity and I saw the tree we were heading towards and remember thinking, “Well, this is it.” The only reason we’re alive is because it had just rained and the grass was all wet so the car was able to slide and not flip over. Had it been dry, the car would have certainly flipped over and rolled k**ling us all.
#85
Was at a swimming party a few years back and I’ve been under water for a good 15 seconds. I was about to go up for air when my friend grabs my foot and starts pulling me down. At this point I’m runnin on fumes to try and stay awake and I decide the only way for me to get out of this is kick. So I just start wildly kicking and I end up hitting his balls. I see him reel back in pain and then we both go up for air. A few days later he calls to tell me that he can’t sit on his bike seat anymore because I kicked him so hard I bruised his nuts.
#86
A few years ago Nashville was hit with a huge ice storm that froze all the roads. The way Nashville it laid out lots of people live 30-40 mins from downtown and drive to and from work on a big 4+ lane interstate. I worked downtown and was one of the only staff working thanks to the horrible weather, so they had me work later than usual.
I was driving home after midnight and there were about 5 or 6 other cars near me when my car suddenly hit a large patch of black ice. I completely lost control of my car and started spinning in complete 360s across the interstate. My car was spinning and also sliding across the ice into other lanes of traffic. I started in the far right lane and spun towards the median crossing all 4 lanes of traffic. I tried to redirect my car with the steering wheel and as able to change direction just before hitting the median but I was still out of control and still spinning in 360s. I spun back across the four lanes of traffic and narrowly avoided hitting another car until I was finally able to regain control of my car back in the far right lane. My hands were both gripping my steering wheel for life. A car from behind me who saw the whole thing passed by me and gave me a thumbs up for not dying. I immediately exited the interstate and took street roads the rest of the way home.
#87
Going 80 through a mountain range, havent seen another car for almost an hour. Hit a turn too hard, almost fly off the road into a tree-filled gorge where no one would EVER find me. Ended up spinning all the way around. Got out of the car onto my hands and knees like a ten year old getting off a spinning carnival ride. Sat there a minute, rethinking my life choices. Drive WAY slower the rest of the way.
#88
One time when I was little for some d*****s reason I snorted a blueberry. It got halfway up my nose and I couldn’t pick it out so I panicked and tried snorting it all the way into what I thought was my brain, coughed it up when it fell into my throat covered in snot.
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