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Having a brush with death causes a profound change in a person. It gives them an entirely new outlook on life, for better or worse. For those who lived to tell the tale, you can guarantee that their stories are nothing short of gripping, which may also make you ponder on your own mortality.
These responses to a Reddit question are excellent examples. Someone posted a short yet loaded query: “How have you cheated death?” Replies came flooding in with personal accounts about early cancer detections, car accidents, and narrowly escaping septic shock.
We’ve collected some of the best stories for you. Make sure you have enough time to kill because you’ll likely be here for a while.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Don’t know if I can say I cheated death as much as had an amazing medical team that knew what they were doing. But when I was 19, I was diagnosed with stage 3 lymphoma. It was on my stomach in ulcers that equaled up to 5 pounds worth of tumors. Was told on Tuesday when they were trying to figure out what specific type I had so they could know how to treat it, that if I didn’t start a treatment plan by Friday it would be too far gone to save me. Cut to Friday morning and they basically flipped a coin and went with Burkett’s Lymphoma. Luckily they were right because it has been nearly 20 years since my last round of chemo and I’m still cancer free. Had they been wrong, I wouldn’t be here typing this.
#2
We were holidaying in the Lake District, I was only very young. I was on the top of a grassy hill and thought it’d be great to run down it really fast! My dumb a*s didn’t understand momentum and I could not stop I was running and running and running. I saw a little wire fence with old wooden posts and BOOM some guy leaped on me and bear hugged me and we stopped. My parents utterly panicked caught up and came rushing to me. My parents lost their s**t and I was just in like shock, came very very close to tumbling over a high cliff and turning into strawberry jam.
Thank you stranger whoever and wherever the hell you are ❤️.
UKGrandad 3 months ago
That brought back an old memory. 30+ years ago I was walking by a lake at the foot of a grassy hill when I heard a woman shouting from behind me. I looked around and saw a boy aged about ten, with both legs in plaster casts coming down the hill like an out of control robot with his mum racing after him. I ran across and grabbed him just before he would have splashed down. His mum told me that he he'd had an op on his legs a couple of weeks before (something about the tendons), they'd been walking to exercise his legs and he'd lost control of his speed on the way down, dropping his crutches as he went.
#3
My mums cat saved my life. Was sleeping on my mums couch after a break up. The cat got sick and the vet determined it was carbon monoxide poisoning from the frontroom gas fireplace.
#4
When I was still a fetus, my mother suffered a heavy injury to her stomach, causing the death of my twin, but I survived somehow.
The doctors basically told her she must stay bedridden for the rest of the pregnancy or else she would lose me too. So my grandma got her a SNES, and she just played video games all day. I still have that SNES.
Traveling Lady Railfan 3 months ago
Just out of curiosity, what games did she play? I loved sim city
#5
My bio father punched my mom in the stomach 9 weeks before I was due. A few days later she was feeling just “a little” off and called her doctor who told her to go to the hospital. It turns out the placenta had ruptured and the surgeon said we both would’ve died that day had she just decided to sleep it off instead. One very emergency C section later and we both made it, if not a little undercooked.
#6
I was hit by a drunk driver while I was riding my bike at 13. If I hadn't been wearing my helmet, I would've died. The helmet was cracked all the way through on the back. Safety equipment has never been a joke to me since, and all any of my nieces or nephews need to do is call me saying they need a new helmet and they'll have one.
Matthew Currie 3 months ago
I was 64 and the driver was sober, but yes. Broken bones healed. Can still walk and talk. Thanks, helmet!
#7
Remembered to put on my seat belt.
Got into a bad car wreck. Survived with bumps and bruises.
Seat belts save lives.
Bettye McKee 3 months ago
As do airbags. We had a bad wreck, air bags inflated and we walked away. I had a broken sternum and bruises, my husband had bruises from the seat belt.
#8
My high school school resource officers (SRO) stopped a school shooting with literally less than seconds to spare. I was walking past the kid as he was at his locker pulling the gun. I saw the student get tackled. If the SRO had not stopped the student I would likely have been first since we were the only students in that hallway.
#9
I got in an accident with a drunk driver. Everyone that saw the car afterwards said the same thing, "how are you alive?".
The roof where I was sitting was damn near touching the seat. I couldn't have fit back in there if I tried.
I got pretty f****d up, for sure... but thankfully I didn't die.
TheBlueBitterfly 3 months ago
Mt husband survived a similar accident but he was at fault, didn't get enough sleep and he zoned out for a moment, went straight into a tree. The engine was in the driver's seat. He has no memory of it before standing outside the car, screaming at the sky. Only suffered a broken nose. Even the only witness says he didn't really see him get thrown out, just kinda.. appear on the road, on his feet, before the back wheels touched back down. Don't drive tired, folks!
#10
Getting my bloods done regularly and the doctor says come back in 3 months PSA is high. I do as I’m told and it’s gone higher, biopsy shows that I have an aggressive form of cancer and I’m told if it’s not removed I’ll be dead within 5 years. That’s 9 years ago. No symptoms, nothing out of the ordinary. Get your bloods checked on a regular basis.
StrangeOne 3 months ago
You basically need a reason here in Manitoba. I tried calling clinics for a hantavirus test. I was told unless I'm already sick I can't get a hantavirus test.
#11
Congenital heart heart defect (WPW) completely unknown until 35 years old. I was playing board games with a small group- vision narrowed until I came to looking up at EMT's. They had taken turns doing CPR for 14 minutes until medical arrived and shocked me 3x to bring me back. One surgery and defib install later and everything is pretty much normal with a cheap med. Had I been driving or at home alone that would have been it. Those 4 guys dont pay for beers ever when we go out. edit - ~~Grammer~~* Grammar, and now spelling.
#12
I was in a brutal car accident, my son was 5 at the time in the back seat.
Our vehicle was hit 3 times like a ping pong ball during rush hour, pushed over 3 lanes into oncoming traffic. When we finally stopped, we had narrowly evaded being sandwiched between two transport trucks.
My right arm was crushed and is now all titanium, but otherwise we made it out alive; my son without a scratch thanks to a properly installed car seat.
Hours later I went into another portal hopped up on a cocktail of ketamine, morphine, etc. I am convinced I entered the edge of life/death as it was a surreal experience.
#13
I had a screening for something else and my Doctor found very early stage cancer at age 34. It was removed painlessly and completely in an afternoon. It’s a cancer that usually affects people over 60 and doesn’t have symptoms until it’s too late. If I didn’t have this other screening, I likely would have died a painful death from it in 10ish years. When the doctor first called to give me the results he said it was divine intervention, and never gave me the results of the test I came in for.
#14
In 2019, I had an ex boyfriend hire a hitman to kill me. He emptied his entire clip out on me and I was shot once behind my back & it punctured my lung. I was rushed to the ER, I was set on a table while the nurses and doctors tried to revive me. I remember at one point everything stopped hurting and I was just feeling really at peace & slowly drifting off. They kept putting warm blankets on me because my body was getting cold, but I wasn’t cold, my body was simply shutting down! When they realized that one of the doctors stabbed me with a giant needle and that s**t hurt so much. I started feeling all the pain from the shooting again. A couple more minutes and I would have been completely gone.
#15
Congenital heart failure -- I was a competitive swimmer growing up and misdiagnosed by many doctors for many years. I was 2 months away from my mitral valve completely closing and suffering from complete heart failure by age 9. Luckily, a cardiologist found it after a 'last ditch' effort to try to figure out what was going on and passing out in my last pool. Scheduled for a rush surgery, had mitral valve replaced, am alive. Thankful for cardiologists, get your heart checked!
#16
Had a friend who hit a puddle going 80 and lost control. He rolled his car 4 times. He crawled out of the car and called 911. Fire rescue arrived and pulled out the jaws of life. They didn't believe that he had survived and escaped. He only had one visible bruise of his arm from it, so he declined treatment.
A few months later he started exhibiting signs of schizophrenia. Within a year he was completely dissociated from reality. About 7 years later they did an MRI and found very old brain trauma. They suspect that the car accident caused a TBI, which triggered/created his schizophrenia.
#17
Went in for bloody stool in my mid-20s. Turns out, it was just blood in the bowl from popping a hemorrhoid during pooping. Doc suggested a colonoscopy just to play it safe. Found a pre-cancerous polyp that would have 100% turned into cancer within the next few years. No way I would have gotten a colonoscopy in ever the next 10 years had that hemorrhoid not popped. I get a colonoscopy every three years now and will continue to do so for life. Saved my life. Could save yours. Get your colonoscopies, people.
#18
I was riding a motorbike at 60mph (national speed limit road). An oncoming car overtook a car on a blind bend and forced me off the road. The moment my bike hit the grass, I decided to jump off it as I was heading for a stone wall and knew that I would never be able to get control of the bike once it was off a tarmac road. The bike pummeled into the wall, and I hit the floor with force. My leathers and helmet saved me from a much worse fate but I think if I'd have hit the oncoming car or the wall, I'd have been dead instantly. I was on my way to stay with friends and my aerosol deodorant exploded in my rucksack, and my visor completely detached from my helmet.
Yayheterogeneity 3 months ago
That's why I will never ride a motorcycle. I know it's dead fun, yeah. But the dead does it for me.
#19
Was supposed to be the passenger in my mom’s little car when it was t-boned &that side flattened.
Ran directly off a cliff in the night in a snowstorm, flipped in the air while falling and land 25 ft below in deep soft snow, face up, head point downslope, not knowing what happened.
The forgotten timer set on my phone, for a COVID test, went off in my pocket as I was about to make a turn….the sound so startled me that I slammed on the brakes, just as a large truck ran the light and cut thru my lane where it would have hit me head on.
#20
In 1977 while I was rushing to catch a bus a man stopped me for change of a dollar to use a pay phone. I gave him change, missed my bus and minutes later it was in a horrible highway accident.
Ok_Giraffe_6396: Similar thing happened to me. I was babysat by my grandma a lot when I was a young kid and she was going to pick up McDonald’s with me, but as we were leaving, my dad pulled up and I wanted to stay with him instead of going to McDs. A few minutes later, she was hit by an 18-wheeler who ran a red light and smashed into her passenger side. My grandma survived, but it broke her back and both legs. I was 4 or 5 at the time; who’s to say I wouldn’t have been strapped in the back passenger side?
rorschach-penguin 3 months ago (edited)
The thing is... Grandma probably wouldn't have actually been in the accident had OP gone with her, because she would have had to take another minute or two to strap the kid in, and thus wouldn't have been at that intersection at that EXACT time. And being even a couple seconds earlier or later would have prevented her from being in the exact path of that truck. The point is, you can't look back at life as "if I'd done this this would have happened, or this wouldn't have happened."
#21
I got pushed into the other side of the highway by a 18 wheeler that suddenly merged into my lane. I still have nightmares seeing the oncoming cars.
#22
Not sure if this counts but..
Many years ago I was riding home from our local dirt jumps on my BMX. Behind my house is a quarry which has a really rocky bridleway running down the hill. This is the route I would usually take to get home from the jumps.
Anyway, I was heading home while the sun was setting and was absolutely blasting it down this rocky path. I jumped off of one of the rocks and while I was in the air, I watched my front wheel drop out from my forks and before I knew it, they had pummelled stright into the ground sending me straight over the handlebars. I flew a good 20-30ft and landed on a big rock, right on my spine. I wasn't wearing a helmet at the time but fortunately I was wearing my backpack which cushioned my landing.
I walked away in shock but completely unscathed apart from a small graze on my knuckles. I have never felt so lucky to be wearing a backpack in my life, without it I'd certainly have been paralysed or worse..
Heather Menard 3 months ago
I was wearing a camel pack when I went flying over my handlebars. Landed on my back the pack burst but my back was fine
#23
I (unkowlingly) had a UTI, never really had one before but I was always told the symptoms were things like dark urine, pissing blood, being itchy, I had NONE of them. I was trying to "tough guy" it out but I had pain in my stomach for at least 5 days and I decided to go to Urgent Care because I couldn't eat or walk anymore. They thought my appendix had f*****g blown so they sent me to the ER but it was a UTI abt ~24 hrs away from going septic and infecting other organs. I felt pretty f****n stupid but at the same time I had no symptoms other than pain. Shits scary.
Bec 3 months ago
I had a UTI and was too busy to get in to the doctor, tried doing home remedies and drinking lots of water. Then I had a sudden pain in my kidney and couldn't get off the couch. Go get antibiotics, you can fight off some infections without them, but in general, the home remedies don't work.
#24
My cousin and I were sitting on the back of a houseboat when we were little. All the adults were inside, as adults were in the 80’s. After a while we stumbled inside instead of falling asleep at the back of the boat. We had carbon monoxide poisoning. Had to be rushed to the hospital. Grandpa bought a new boat motor the next day.
#25
5 years ago I went tendum skydiving. After about 30 seconds the dude pulled the parachute but it wasn't opening. After pulling on the ropes a bit he got his knife and cut the chute, then pulled the second one. By the time the second one was fully inflated we were almost on the ground and landed somewhere in a field instead of the small airport we were supposed to land. They had to pick us up by car. Save to say I'm never going skydiving again.
Norm Gilmore 3 months ago (edited)
Why the heck people want to jump out of a perfectly good aircraft is beyond me. Aubrey Plaza could say "I'll be your girlfriend but only if you go skydiving" And I'm "Welp, I'm dying alone then"....
#26
Messed up when I tried to overdose, by not taking enough pills. I was 15. Genuinely, I’m so happy that that I made that ‘mistake’. I got help, found so much love and support from family and friends, and have managed to help others. My life is so great nowadays, I just can’t express the gratitude I have for being alive.
#27
I was a C-17 Loadmaster and back in 2003 we flew a mission out of Baghdad and our plane got hit by an SA-14 at about 1200 feet. I just happened to be sitting behind the pilot in the Left ACM seat and I got to stare at a giant blow torch erupting out of the top of our number 2 engine and flowing over the wing, where the fuel tanks were full. I fully expected the wing to explode any second until we were on the ground and the fire trucks were spraying us down.
#28
I was born into a life with every reason, incentive, and all the motivation to kill myself.
Yet I didn’t.
And on top of that, I survived all the countless absurd stuff that should have killed me.
setsuriseikou 3 months ago
That's not cheating, that's spitting in the death's face while flipping it off! Well done, you!
#29
No S*** there I was, Afghanistan. 15 minutes till midnight. Me and another guy were standing outside on guard duty. Every 2 hours you're supposed to get in the humvee and run the engine so the battery didn't die due to the onboard computer that was always on. 2 minutes after we get in, are doing the radio checks etc and BOOM, rpg hits exactly where we were standing (Im sure they were aiming for the humvee). Oh what a night....
Sinnsyk Jakte 3 months ago
I imagined this whole scene, but then, at the end, as they're staring, dumbfounded, at the burning crater that would have been their doom, 'What A Night' is playing...
#30
During 2002, on the day my mother went into labor and went to the nearest govt medical College. Now govt medical college means free treatment but it also means the worst patient care there is. Dirty lobbies, dirty beds, inhuman toilets, nurses treat you like animals etc etc.
Anyway, my mom went into labor and she was admitted shortly afterwards. She had her checkup and ultrasound. There was another woman in her ward who also went into labor that day and that woman's child didn't make it. She gave birth to a deceased baby.
Anyway, the stupid f*****g nurses(and I know you all have huge respect for nurses but I can't help it) then told my family that my mom has a dead baby inside her and they need to remove it. My dad was asked to buy an injection required for the process. That injection would've killed me. When my grandma arrives at the hospital, and she got told that I died, she lost it! She started screaming and saying how even the last night when she was applying oil on my mom's belly, I was kicking and was healthy.
Mind you this is a woman who has given birth to 8 kids of whom only 3 are alive. She knows what she is talking about. Even then those nurses were physically fighting her and won't let her into the ward, she fought her way in and went to my mom(who was oblivious to all this and could still feel me kicking) and demanded that the doctor comes and sees her immediately.
After that I was born, at the exact stroke of midnight(not making this up, I was literally born at exactly, 12 am).
This is the gist of how I cheated death. Ofc there's more to this tale of hell, like mom bleeding for hours after I was born and not even being given some water to drink etc.
#31
When I was around 5yo I shoved a nail into an electric socket and the breaker didn't activate. I kept being hit by a steady current until my body eventually vibrated out of the socket.
Sinnsyk Jakte 3 months ago
My da' was late for work one morning 'cause his alarm clock didn't go off. Why didn't it go off? The cord was cut. Why was it cut? My brother wanted to test a pair of scissors that were advertised as being able to cut through anything. We found the scissors under the bed where he had thrust them after. They had a big scorched notch in them. Apparently, after the initial jolt, he was fine enough to have more panic about being caught than the fact that he couldn't feel his hand and he tasted pennies.
#32
Survived a bear attack, survived being lost at sea for 4 days (on a fishing boat, ra out of gas, no land in sight), walked away from falling out of a two story window when I was like 4 or 5, walked away from crashing my motorcycle into a guardrail, walked away from my friends 300zx TT crashing though trees and splitting in half....think that's about it.
Bettye McKee 3 months ago
Does your guardian angel have a drinking problem or seeing a therapist?
#33
Went into a coma from pneumonia that turned my blood septic and woke up 2 days later. The doctors didn't think I would wake up.
I was hung with a rope and ripped my ear off to get out(when they execute you they use a hangmans noose for a reason).
Put in a cd at a stoplight and the stereo kept spitting it back out. In my focus to get it to work I didn't see the light turn green. Just as the guy behind me honked a car ran the red light at full speed and hit the cars that went beside me when the light turned green. The guy behind me didn't move, even when the traffic cleared.
#34
I know a gentleman that had colon cancer found like this.
At his semestral check-up he says to his doctor that his stool hasn't been "the same" for a couple days. His dad and his grandad both had gastrointestinal problems, so his doctor decides to do further testing.
It's colon cancer, but it's found so so early that they got it out with a small surgery and that was it.
Bettye McKee 3 months ago
Tell your doctor everything and never ever lie to your doctor. They can't help you if they don't have all of the facts.
#35
One morning my GF convinced me it was worth being late to work. *Nudge, Nudge, Wink, Wink, Know-whot-I-mean-Guvna?*
An hour later when I got to my bus stop, the bus stop and the light pole behind it had been totalled by a car. The lady who had been there had been taken to hospital with multiple broken bones.
#36
I had a tumor removed *before* it progressed to colon cancer, which it likely would have done if I hadn't gone to the doctor.
#37
I passed out while drunk/high after going to the bathroom and broke a toilet with the back of my head. Woke up in a pool of blood and ended up with ~30 staples in the back of my head. I showed a doctor a picture of the bathroom scene once and he looked visibly shook.
#38
I was on a mountain trail in South Dakota. I’m not sure if we took a wrong turn or the trail just ended, but along a mountainside the rope just ended, and the next bit was very sloped and covered in fine gravel.
12-year-old me clambered across but barely, and my parents asked me to come back.
Only later did I realize that the drop was many tens of feet, and a slip was very likely.
This is not a climactic or crazy story, but the slow, creeping reality of death haunts me whenever I think of it.
Kraneia The Dancing Dryad 3 months ago
Must have been somewhere in the Black Hills, as most of the rest of SD is primarily, not necessarily flat, but certainly not very mountainous. (Source: I live in the black hills! lol)
#39
6 yo and I drowned, was pulled out of the pool and resuscitated. I firmly believe I experienced NDE similar to that of people who have described psychedelic experiences but it was so long ago it's hard to know for sure. In any case with those types of experiences I think it's each to their own.
Julia Mckinney 3 months ago
I drowned too but all I remember was watching the kid coming off the diving board right at me and then waking up on the side of the pool in a circle of people and with my mom actually looking concerned above me. (I know that she probably was concerned, I just wasn't used to seeing it from her- mom was a nurse, dad was a doctor, they rarely got concerned about any medical stuff that happened to us girls).
#40
Managed to get back into my hometown as it was on fire and managed to rescue two dogs. The entirety of the journey throw town was navigated by GPS and feeling the road as it was a total brown out. I did rear end someone but there was no scratch since it was low speed. I also almost was in a head-on collision with a fire truck screaming down the road in said total brownout. You would think I have smoke damage to my lungs because I was walking around outside too trying to recover things. I did lose my house and almost got killed by a falling tree I couldn’t see, missed me by a couple feet because it fell onto where I was standing 3 seconds prior. I managed to get out unscathed with 2 dogs. Sadly I could make it out with my 4 cats as they perished in the fire and their charred bones were found by me and ex fiance the next day. Was sad but I’m thankful I became a hero for the dogs as one is still with me today and loves me a lot. Eastland Complex Fire 2022 if you’re all curious.
#41
Dont know if this is cheating, but I was born dead umblical cord twice around my neck and have tried suicide 3 times. Still here.
#42
A bullet was an inch from my face.
Kikikaboom 3 months ago
I got shot with a BB when I 8, (stupid 15 year old shooting at grammar school kids). It was 1/2in from my ear and about 2in from my temple. Didn't fully realize until now, I could have been brain damaged or worse.
#43
Horrible car accident. Car flipped a ton of times. No seat belt, flew out the window. Walked away.
#44
I was at a stop sign and saw a car swerve to miss another car and head straight for me. Seatbelt laws weren’t a thing yet and I jumped across the center console and grabbed the passenger door handle just as he hit my car’s driver side door. I flew back across the car and into the drivers side door which had been pushed in halfway across the drivers seat.
R.A. Haley 3 months ago
The way cars are made nowadays I doubt you could pull that off, even without a seatbelt.
#45
One time in high school, I was walking home through an area of the city that was largely populated by another group of young adolescents. As I was walking down the street, I noticed a car at the top of the street. I walked past it without really looking into the car, but I did notice a lot of smoke coming out of it; there may have been three or four people in it. I got maybe five or six car lengths away and had an overwhelming feeling in my stomach that something bad was going to happen. I crossed the street and had a row of parked cars on the left of me, with the car that was parked further up the street behind me on the opposite side. For whatever reason, something in me told me to drop to the ground. At that very moment, I heard tires screeching from behind me, and I threw myself down just as bullets were sprayed over the top of me. Glass from a few cars rained down on top of me. I was near the end of the street. The car turned right at the end of the street, looking down the sidewalk. I looked up at the vehicle and could see that their bullets had been missed. I turned and ran towards the first house, which happened to have the tenant open to see what was going on. I pushed past them, ran through their house, through their back door, hopped their fence, and up their neighbor's fence. I ran to the next street. The car had turned and followed me. I continued running between the neighborhood deeper into this opposing group's territory. I realized I was further and further from my destination and in a very bad predicament, running out of houses to run through. I hid for a bit in the dark, listening to cars driving around, scared that every car was them. I noticed I was on a street with a girl that I had only hung out with maybe once or twice. I came to her house and knocked on the door. She happened to be awake, and she offered me to come inside. I didn't tell her about what had just occurred, just that I was happy to see her and asked if I was welcome to stay the night.
What do you think ?
UKGrandad 3 months ago
I once foolishly told my wife to calm down when she was mad at me and lived to tell the tale. Does that count as cheating death? 😂
LaserBrain 3 months ago
Telling someone to calm down pretty much never works
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Littlemiss 3 months ago (edited)
Almost drowned at 4. I can remember getting my foot stuck in drainage pipe in the creek. Everything went still and calm. Family friend pulled me out and did cpr. Had a large roll of lino fall on me at 8, it toppled out of nowhere at the flooring store as I sat in front of it and landed on my back, took two men to lift it off me. Discovered I'm allergic to morphine after a wisdom tooth surgery, I had seizures. Finally, I went to the hospital with 4 weeks to go in my pregnancy as I was in excruciating pain. Thinking I may have gone into premature labor I decided to go to the ER. Turned out I had eclampsia that was missed, my liver and kidneys were failing and I was fractions away from a stroke. I went into labor on an ambulance ride to the nearest large hospital and began losing conciousness shortly after arriving. My son was born blue, thankfully we both survived.
similarly 3 months ago
I've been close to death, but there's one I'll never understand. When I was about 13, I was sitting on the floor with a gun pointed at my head, thinking about things, as I sometimes did. And I was just about ready to do what I always did: clear the weapon, put it away, live another day. But I guess I zigged when I should have zagged and instead of safetying the weapon, I pulled the trigger instead, and I swear, I felt time slow WAY down. I felt my eyes go wide, and I remember thinking "Oh, s**t! I really went and did it!" and I actually felt relieved it was over. And the hammer hit home ... and nothing. I was like Marvin the Martian: "Where's the kaboom? Where is the Earth-shattering kaboom?" I looked at the weapon, cleared it ... out popped the round. It was chambered. No mistake. I looked at it: not a mark on it. No sign it had been fired. I sometimes sincerely wonder if it actually DID fire, and maybe this is hell.
Trisec Tebeakesse 3 months ago
At age 46, I presented at the ER with appendicitis. (I have a medical background, my doctor was impressed that I correctly self-diagnosed.) In any case, I had an emergency appendectomy, and the following day was told it happened because a large tumor had blocked off my appendix and caused it to flare up. Turned out to be Stage III colon cancer. My ER nurse friend later told me that she had never seen such a case like that in her entire career. Twelve years later, still cancer-free.
Littlemiss 3 months ago
So glad you are still here! May you remain cancer free too.
Load More Replies... Bobert Robertson 3 months ago
I have one! I was asked to help a construction project for a tv show for a weekend. Awesome i thought. Show up and they made me ride in the back of a cube van, not ideal but ok... after working all day. We loaded the materials back in, and my buddy strapped some drywall sheets (maybe 20) to the side wall. Next to it were several boxes of hardwood flooring. I had to ride in the back, with tons of tools strewn about. My back was stiff from working so I lay down on the hardwood flooring which felt amazing. Start driving and make a turn, strap gives out and all the drywall falls over on me, pushing me to the side and pinning me under the drywall. Luckily I had my phone in my hand so I was able to dial my buddy up front and he opened the back. When the light hit I realized there was a thin metal rod pointing directly at my jugular inches away. Any further and it would've gone right through. Not my buddies fault.l, nor was it his truck. It was the main guy from the show
Bobert Robertson 3 months ago
Cont'd: who made me sit there. When they realized they paid me $1000 for two days work, probably so I'd stay quiet. So scary
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Sea Squirrel 3 months ago (edited)
In a park, a rottweiler took a giant leap and went for my throat. I defended myself with my right arm, so he tore the muscles in my elbow instead of my neck. I was operated on, but never regained the strength I needed for my job as camera woman. Loved that job. Hate that dog's owner. It could have been one of the children playing there.
Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 3 months ago
When I was a very young kitten, still living with my mom and her soft can-openers, I was fascinated by the water in the porcelain litter box. Well, I jumped on the seat to look at it, and fell in. If one of my mom's soft can-openers hadn't found me, I would have drowned.
Multa Nocte 3 months ago
My two kittens are now an entire three and a half months old and I live in fear that my husband will forget to put the toilet lid down. While here in Europe the water level in the toilet is lower than in the US and while my kittens have proven themselves to be escape artists (to date), I still worry about this. Was this Bouche or Audi who almost drowned? Hope that didn't count as one of the nine lives.
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Dave In MD 3 months ago
Almost died three times. Once while in the Navy I was just aft of a refueling station waiting to take a fuel sample when the span wire parted and the entire fuel probe and hose swung by, this was several hundred pounds of metal and rubber that would have smashed into me and swept me overboard. Second time I was working on a Navy hovercraft in the well deck of a ship as we were onloading Marines and their equipment, I had been up for about 24 hours getting this repair done and started to walk across the deck to my tool box when the loadmaster grabbed the back of my coveralls and yanked me back out of the way of a 5 ton truck, I was so tired and out of it I never saw it. Third time was a failed suicide attempt. It was a very low point in my life and thankfully I couldn't do that right.
ILoveMySon 3 months ago
Holy cow! Iam glad to read that you are still here. Thank you for your service.
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Gerhard “Obi-Wan” van Staden 3 months ago
Was severely overweight and developed a chronic neck problem with no obvious cause. Spent thousands to try to get it fixed. Finally, spoke to a spine specialist who told me the only thing he left that could potentially cause it was my being about 40kg overweight. Started working out and eating much healthier. Lost 20kg and got quite fit. About 18 months later, a week before my thirtieth birthday I started feeling terrible. Got worse from the Wednesday onwards until finally, that Friday I told my boss I have to go see a doctor. Drove myself to the ER and walked inside. Long story short I was having an immense heart attack. The cardiologist couldn't believe it at first but blood showed ridiculous levels of cardiac enzymes present. Turns out I had a genetically enlarged coronary artery that I was unaware of. Afterwards he explained to me how incredibly lucky I was. 9/10 would have dropped dead almost immediately. According to him the weight loss and fitness saved me.
Gavin Johnson 3 months ago
Three for me, first when I was 8 I fell from some monkey bars and cracked the back of my skull on a metal cross bar and then the concrete. Fractured my skull and got rushed to hospital, they relived pressure from behind my skull, had my headteacher waited for the ambulance to get me rather than him driving me to A&E they reckoned I’d have slipped off this mortal coil. Made it through to 14 and got trapped upside down in my kayak on a river whilst competing in a kayak slalom event. I couldn’t hand roll then and had my leg trapped in the boat, just as I was out of air I popped out and made it to the surface. Then at 30 got a battering in my kayak by a river in spate, it was fast and properly challenging, I was at the limit of my skills and strength, I misjudged a drop, got caught in a stopper wave and got properly rinsed by the river, only a well thrown safety rope from one of my fellow paddlers that landed right in my hand and then hauled me out saved my a*s. I’m charmed!
Lee Banks 3 months ago
My friend and I had a standing once a month 'date'. I had to reschedule to the next day, and he got into an argument with the door clerk at the usual place. We walked a couple miles to a different hotel. About thirty minutes in he had a massive coronary. The hotel was two minutes away from one of the best heart facilities in the nation. He had 99% blockage in all four valves. The emergency surgeon told us that if we'd been one minute further away, my best friend would have been dead. I've never been more grateful for a f**k up.
Michael Largey 3 months ago (edited)
As a young teen, I was burning some newspapers in an incinerator can. They weren't burning fast enough for me, so I got a gas can to pour a little on the fire. When I did, a flame leaped up, and the end of the gas can nozzle was now on fire. Seeing an explosion was imminent, I started running. Then I noticed that I was still holding the gas can. I plunged then end of the nozzle into some soft dirt in hopes of cutting off any oxygen to the flame. Did that work? Well, who do you think is typing this?
Nimitz 3 months ago (edited)
Oh! I've got a good one. I was a travelling IT guy for an oil company. One day in February I was in a rural Saskatchewan area going out to an oil battery. The route was 2 km south of the town, then 2 km east down a dirt road, then 1.1 km south, then 100 m west. Except the area was one of the few raised areas in Sask. called "The Bench". A storm rolled in and the high pressure of The Bench caused a complete whiteout suddenly before the 2nd turn. I could not find the 4th turn for the final 100 m visibility was so bad. So I turned around but when I got back to the dirt road, it had been cleared by a grader during the wet blizzard, resulting in compressed snow and ice. I made it 1/2 way back to the main road before losing control and sliding sideways. My tires went over the edge and dug into the ditch and my truck rolled on to its side. I will always remember watching the snow slide past the driver's side window inches from my face. The kicker is I had a truck FULL of HP desktop computers in the back and my boss had been dragging his a*s on providing me with my safety equipment. 24 heavy black computers fell around me but did not hit me or my head. Could have knocked me out to die in the blizzard or killed me outright. I walked away without a scratch!
Montanavanna 3 months ago
Driving through the woods with 2 friends around 2am, February in Montana. The driver lost control on the dirt road and we rolled onto our top. I crumpled into the floor on the passenger side. Had I not my head would have been crushed by the roof. Then we hike for 6 or 7 hours trying to get back to the highway. It was so dark you could not see anything but the outline of the road, thanks to the snow. We went up the mountain for 3 hours before we realized we were going the wrong way. Oh and we were tracked by a cougar on said walk. My husband did not believe me when I first told him. When we were finally found by some hunters and taken back to town my husband went to check out the wreck. He verified we were tracked. When we would stop to pee they would come down and scratch at the spot. He saw one big set and a small set. I knew we were in cougar country so I made sure the 3 of us stuck together and we made a lot of noise to deter an attack. Not a scratch and a hell of a story.
Magenta Blu 3 months ago
I've been struggling with mayor depression for over 30 years. In the worse times i seriously considered su.icide and survived 2 attempts only to feel even more miserable for failing even at this. Then, my mother committed sui.cide herself about 14 years ago, and having to deal with the all after legal c.rap and other stuff left, (forensics, police investigation about the cause of death, insurance not covering su.icide related expenses, financial debts, and family judgment among a lot more)...was a huge eye opener. Knowing first hand about all that, is the ONLY thing that actually stops me from taking my own life, because I don't want anyone to deal with the aftermath. I may have to thank my mother for this lesson.
Justin Tyme 3 months ago (edited)
When I was 14 years old, I got struck by lightning, stuck in quicksand, bitten by a rattlesnake, and run over by a van.
Ikey Solomon 3 months ago
spent 8 years working an ambulance saw enough death. stopped it a few times. had my own heart attack and didnt recognize it. went to the walk in not feeling well and ended up in the ER. that was 8 years ago
Doctor Strange 3 months ago
More times than I can count. Should have died the day I was born. Staph outbreak. Was almost killed by the world's largest American flag. Suicide. Most recently, a case of food poisoning turned into a viral infection. Led to internal organ failure, in particular my pancreas. Caused my blood sugar to spike. Normal blood sugar level is around 80 to 120. Mine was over 700. I didn't know it at the time, but the ER staff was telling my family to start saying goodbye because I wasn't going to make it.
PFD 3 months ago
Went round a corner on a country road and almost ran into the back of a car that had been forced to make an emergency stop to NOT run into a very old, very slow cyclist. No one was speeding or driving recklessly but it was basically a blind corner and the timing lined up like an evil maths problem. We didn't have the stopping time, skidded across the road and EXACTLY AT THAT MOMENT (see: evil maths) a lorry was in the opposite lane, much too close to even slow down. We skidded sideways across the front of it and I swear we could have counted the flies on the numberplate we were so close. Ended up unharmed in a ditch on the other side of the road. We even managed to bump the car out of the ditch after as it was a small, old car (and if it had been struck by that lorry, would have been squashed like a Coke can - it didn't even have airbags afaik). Bizarrely, neither the other car driver, the cyclist or the lorry driver even stopped.
Teagan Gatewood 3 months ago
I didn't cheat death but me and a friend beat him in a game of Battleship!
DaisyBee 3 months ago
Reading this list having just completed the Final Destination franchise (all on Netflix, worth a rewatch) is a trip
Joey Jo Jo Shabadoo 3 months ago
The final one has one of my favourite endings ever!
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𝖊𝖜𝖔𝛋 3 months ago
My dad was walking to his car (parked in the close rather than the drive because there was a skip or something in front of the house). Went to open the door and realised he’d left something in the house. Walks back to the house (not even a minute away) and by the time he’d come out of the house again, there was a big commotion. Bin lorry had come into the close and reversed, over the top of my dad’s car. Crushed the entire front section like a pancake. Had he not forgotten something that morning, he would have been inside. — I also cheated death by slipping whilst climbing a mountain, heavy snow and was sliding. was moments away from going over the edge and someone reached out and pulled me back up. Didn’t really react until a while later, had to keep climbing as the guide was really far ahead and no one else had seen it. We stopped to have a break, I apparently dug myself a little hole in the snow, curled up, and cried for ages. Don’t remember much afterwards as I went into shock.
Marnie 3 months ago
When I was around 10, my cousin took me out on his farm fields on a snowmobile. At one point, while going somewhere between 30 and 60 mps (48 - 97kmh), he yells "duck", barely heard over the noise of the machine. It barely registered in my mind and took a moment, but just as it was registering I saw him duck down, so I did the same, just as we went under a thick wire that was to keep the cows in. It would have "clotheslined" me. I'm guessing fatally.
brittany 3 months ago
not me but my dad. a few weeks ago, his dog saved his life. he was jumping up on him all day and going berserk and keeping him from resting in bed. throughout the day my dad felt worse and worse and finally went to the hospital. drs said he'd been having a heart attack and he had no clue. he had emergency surgery to clear a massive blockage and had to have two stints put in. if it wasn't for his dog keeping him awake and not letting him try to sleep it off, my dad likely wouldn't be here.
Robert Beveridge 3 months ago
Back when I was young and stupid, I only ever got into car accidents when I was following all the rules. I kid you not. The worst example: May 10, 1992. Was driving to a friend's house. Ridiculously late (sometime after 3am). Tired, of course, so I was being rigid with my speed. Went around a blind curve and tgere was a garbage truck, slantwise, across both lanes. Tried to avoid it. Almost did, but caught the front grille at 35mph. If I'd had a passenger, they'd be dead. Right half of the windshield was crushed. Car was a manual transmission, and my hand was on the stick. I had to work out how to extricate my arm from under the windshield, which was no more than a quarter inch from my arm. I was pretty deep in shock, so was moving slow. In other words, if I'd hit an inch closer, my arm would've been ribbons and I'd have bled out before I could even react.
Robert Beveridge 3 months ago
I still miss that car. ('89 Dodge Daytona, a horrific shade of orange).
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Ace 3 months ago
Yeah, not sure why all the downvotes, but there ya go. TBF though, the "getting away with stupidity" ones are better examples of "cheating" death than most of the others.
Load More Replies... Jodi Stewart 2 months ago
Have a few! Was hit by a car when I was a kid, thankfully I was faster then the car(who didn’t see the stop sign) went onto his roof walked away with scrapes and bruisers, 2 major car accidents 1. Woman blew a yield sign doing 70 in a school zone ( after hrs thank god), T-boned me (I saw her last few seconds and was able to shimmy a little, biggest thing about that accident was I was going to take someone with me and she decided last minute not to come. She would have probably been severely injured or dead if she came, car was hit passenger side (dumbs””) that hit me tried to claim it was my fault!, 2. Accident I had a wonderful F150 and was heading back to work after an errand was T-boned with a 1980’s Bronco (built like the Mack truck of course), was a massive hit. I had just put a load of gravel in the truck bed recommended by my dad. How I was hit I nailed a lamppost, ripped it right out of the ground, just missed by probably an inch or two the fire hydrant and then hit the buildi
Jodi Stewart 2 months ago
Cont. cracked a few bricks which amazed everyone because that corner was known for accidents, and some went right into the building, 2 weeks later several of the buildings on that corner burned down, not my fault! lol. If I didn’t have the gravel I would have slipped and quite possibly died. Then was in Tampa visiting my bro. We were to go on the one massive bridge. Skyline / Skyway? think? The last minute we decided to do something else, the time we were to be on it there was a massive massive accident and many died. Had a few of the don’t go yet at a green light and jackasses speeding through that would have killed me. I think my guardian angels are drinking and seeing shrinks
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Danielle 3 months ago (edited)
My ankle gave way for no apparent reason whilst I was waiting to cross the road and I fell forward, into a passing bus. It was so close that I actually got a small graze on my forehead where it slightly touched the side of the bus. Literally millimetres further forward and I would have been hit in the head with a bus. I presume any full on contact to the head with a moving bus would be curtains?
UKGrandad 3 months ago
I once foolishly told my wife to calm down when she was mad at me and lived to tell the tale. Does that count as cheating death? 😂
LaserBrain 3 months ago
Telling someone to calm down pretty much never works
Load More Replies... Littlemiss 3 months ago (edited)
Almost drowned at 4. I can remember getting my foot stuck in drainage pipe in the creek. Everything went still and calm. Family friend pulled me out and did cpr. Had a large roll of lino fall on me at 8, it toppled out of nowhere at the flooring store as I sat in front of it and landed on my back, took two men to lift it off me. Discovered I'm allergic to morphine after a wisdom tooth surgery, I had seizures. Finally, I went to the hospital with 4 weeks to go in my pregnancy as I was in excruciating pain. Thinking I may have gone into premature labor I decided to go to the ER. Turned out I had eclampsia that was missed, my liver and kidneys were failing and I was fractions away from a stroke. I went into labor on an ambulance ride to the nearest large hospital and began losing conciousness shortly after arriving. My son was born blue, thankfully we both survived.
similarly 3 months ago
I've been close to death, but there's one I'll never understand. When I was about 13, I was sitting on the floor with a gun pointed at my head, thinking about things, as I sometimes did. And I was just about ready to do what I always did: clear the weapon, put it away, live another day. But I guess I zigged when I should have zagged and instead of safetying the weapon, I pulled the trigger instead, and I swear, I felt time slow WAY down. I felt my eyes go wide, and I remember thinking "Oh, s**t! I really went and did it!" and I actually felt relieved it was over. And the hammer hit home ... and nothing. I was like Marvin the Martian: "Where's the kaboom? Where is the Earth-shattering kaboom?" I looked at the weapon, cleared it ... out popped the round. It was chambered. No mistake. I looked at it: not a mark on it. No sign it had been fired. I sometimes sincerely wonder if it actually DID fire, and maybe this is hell.
Trisec Tebeakesse 3 months ago
At age 46, I presented at the ER with appendicitis. (I have a medical background, my doctor was impressed that I correctly self-diagnosed.) In any case, I had an emergency appendectomy, and the following day was told it happened because a large tumor had blocked off my appendix and caused it to flare up. Turned out to be Stage III colon cancer. My ER nurse friend later told me that she had never seen such a case like that in her entire career. Twelve years later, still cancer-free.
Littlemiss 3 months ago
So glad you are still here! May you remain cancer free too.
Load More Replies... Bobert Robertson 3 months ago
I have one! I was asked to help a construction project for a tv show for a weekend. Awesome i thought. Show up and they made me ride in the back of a cube van, not ideal but ok... after working all day. We loaded the materials back in, and my buddy strapped some drywall sheets (maybe 20) to the side wall. Next to it were several boxes of hardwood flooring. I had to ride in the back, with tons of tools strewn about. My back was stiff from working so I lay down on the hardwood flooring which felt amazing. Start driving and make a turn, strap gives out and all the drywall falls over on me, pushing me to the side and pinning me under the drywall. Luckily I had my phone in my hand so I was able to dial my buddy up front and he opened the back. When the light hit I realized there was a thin metal rod pointing directly at my jugular inches away. Any further and it would've gone right through. Not my buddies fault.l, nor was it his truck. It was the main guy from the show
Bobert Robertson 3 months ago
Cont'd: who made me sit there. When they realized they paid me $1000 for two days work, probably so I'd stay quiet. So scary
Load More Replies... Sea Squirrel 3 months ago (edited)
In a park, a rottweiler took a giant leap and went for my throat. I defended myself with my right arm, so he tore the muscles in my elbow instead of my neck. I was operated on, but never regained the strength I needed for my job as camera woman. Loved that job. Hate that dog's owner. It could have been one of the children playing there.
Bouche and Audi and Shyla, Oh My! 3 months ago
When I was a very young kitten, still living with my mom and her soft can-openers, I was fascinated by the water in the porcelain litter box. Well, I jumped on the seat to look at it, and fell in. If one of my mom's soft can-openers hadn't found me, I would have drowned.
Multa Nocte 3 months ago
My two kittens are now an entire three and a half months old and I live in fear that my husband will forget to put the toilet lid down. While here in Europe the water level in the toilet is lower than in the US and while my kittens have proven themselves to be escape artists (to date), I still worry about this. Was this Bouche or Audi who almost drowned? Hope that didn't count as one of the nine lives.
Load More Replies... Dave In MD 3 months ago
Almost died three times. Once while in the Navy I was just aft of a refueling station waiting to take a fuel sample when the span wire parted and the entire fuel probe and hose swung by, this was several hundred pounds of metal and rubber that would have smashed into me and swept me overboard. Second time I was working on a Navy hovercraft in the well deck of a ship as we were onloading Marines and their equipment, I had been up for about 24 hours getting this repair done and started to walk across the deck to my tool box when the loadmaster grabbed the back of my coveralls and yanked me back out of the way of a 5 ton truck, I was so tired and out of it I never saw it. Third time was a failed suicide attempt. It was a very low point in my life and thankfully I couldn't do that right.
ILoveMySon 3 months ago
Holy cow! Iam glad to read that you are still here. Thank you for your service.
Load More Replies... Gerhard “Obi-Wan” van Staden 3 months ago
Was severely overweight and developed a chronic neck problem with no obvious cause. Spent thousands to try to get it fixed. Finally, spoke to a spine specialist who told me the only thing he left that could potentially cause it was my being about 40kg overweight. Started working out and eating much healthier. Lost 20kg and got quite fit. About 18 months later, a week before my thirtieth birthday I started feeling terrible. Got worse from the Wednesday onwards until finally, that Friday I told my boss I have to go see a doctor. Drove myself to the ER and walked inside. Long story short I was having an immense heart attack. The cardiologist couldn't believe it at first but blood showed ridiculous levels of cardiac enzymes present. Turns out I had a genetically enlarged coronary artery that I was unaware of. Afterwards he explained to me how incredibly lucky I was. 9/10 would have dropped dead almost immediately. According to him the weight loss and fitness saved me.
Gavin Johnson 3 months ago
Three for me, first when I was 8 I fell from some monkey bars and cracked the back of my skull on a metal cross bar and then the concrete. Fractured my skull and got rushed to hospital, they relived pressure from behind my skull, had my headteacher waited for the ambulance to get me rather than him driving me to A&E they reckoned I’d have slipped off this mortal coil. Made it through to 14 and got trapped upside down in my kayak on a river whilst competing in a kayak slalom event. I couldn’t hand roll then and had my leg trapped in the boat, just as I was out of air I popped out and made it to the surface. Then at 30 got a battering in my kayak by a river in spate, it was fast and properly challenging, I was at the limit of my skills and strength, I misjudged a drop, got caught in a stopper wave and got properly rinsed by the river, only a well thrown safety rope from one of my fellow paddlers that landed right in my hand and then hauled me out saved my a*s. I’m charmed!
Lee Banks 3 months ago
My friend and I had a standing once a month 'date'. I had to reschedule to the next day, and he got into an argument with the door clerk at the usual place. We walked a couple miles to a different hotel. About thirty minutes in he had a massive coronary. The hotel was two minutes away from one of the best heart facilities in the nation. He had 99% blockage in all four valves. The emergency surgeon told us that if we'd been one minute further away, my best friend would have been dead. I've never been more grateful for a f**k up.
Michael Largey 3 months ago (edited)
As a young teen, I was burning some newspapers in an incinerator can. They weren't burning fast enough for me, so I got a gas can to pour a little on the fire. When I did, a flame leaped up, and the end of the gas can nozzle was now on fire. Seeing an explosion was imminent, I started running. Then I noticed that I was still holding the gas can. I plunged then end of the nozzle into some soft dirt in hopes of cutting off any oxygen to the flame. Did that work? Well, who do you think is typing this?
Nimitz 3 months ago (edited)
Oh! I've got a good one. I was a travelling IT guy for an oil company. One day in February I was in a rural Saskatchewan area going out to an oil battery. The route was 2 km south of the town, then 2 km east down a dirt road, then 1.1 km south, then 100 m west. Except the area was one of the few raised areas in Sask. called "The Bench". A storm rolled in and the high pressure of The Bench caused a complete whiteout suddenly before the 2nd turn. I could not find the 4th turn for the final 100 m visibility was so bad. So I turned around but when I got back to the dirt road, it had been cleared by a grader during the wet blizzard, resulting in compressed snow and ice. I made it 1/2 way back to the main road before losing control and sliding sideways. My tires went over the edge and dug into the ditch and my truck rolled on to its side. I will always remember watching the snow slide past the driver's side window inches from my face. The kicker is I had a truck FULL of HP desktop computers in the back and my boss had been dragging his a*s on providing me with my safety equipment. 24 heavy black computers fell around me but did not hit me or my head. Could have knocked me out to die in the blizzard or killed me outright. I walked away without a scratch!
Montanavanna 3 months ago
Driving through the woods with 2 friends around 2am, February in Montana. The driver lost control on the dirt road and we rolled onto our top. I crumpled into the floor on the passenger side. Had I not my head would have been crushed by the roof. Then we hike for 6 or 7 hours trying to get back to the highway. It was so dark you could not see anything but the outline of the road, thanks to the snow. We went up the mountain for 3 hours before we realized we were going the wrong way. Oh and we were tracked by a cougar on said walk. My husband did not believe me when I first told him. When we were finally found by some hunters and taken back to town my husband went to check out the wreck. He verified we were tracked. When we would stop to pee they would come down and scratch at the spot. He saw one big set and a small set. I knew we were in cougar country so I made sure the 3 of us stuck together and we made a lot of noise to deter an attack. Not a scratch and a hell of a story.
Magenta Blu 3 months ago
I've been struggling with mayor depression for over 30 years. In the worse times i seriously considered su.icide and survived 2 attempts only to feel even more miserable for failing even at this. Then, my mother committed sui.cide herself about 14 years ago, and having to deal with the all after legal c.rap and other stuff left, (forensics, police investigation about the cause of death, insurance not covering su.icide related expenses, financial debts, and family judgment among a lot more)...was a huge eye opener. Knowing first hand about all that, is the ONLY thing that actually stops me from taking my own life, because I don't want anyone to deal with the aftermath. I may have to thank my mother for this lesson.
Justin Tyme 3 months ago (edited)
When I was 14 years old, I got struck by lightning, stuck in quicksand, bitten by a rattlesnake, and run over by a van.
Ikey Solomon 3 months ago
spent 8 years working an ambulance saw enough death. stopped it a few times. had my own heart attack and didnt recognize it. went to the walk in not feeling well and ended up in the ER. that was 8 years ago
Doctor Strange 3 months ago
More times than I can count. Should have died the day I was born. Staph outbreak. Was almost killed by the world's largest American flag. Suicide. Most recently, a case of food poisoning turned into a viral infection. Led to internal organ failure, in particular my pancreas. Caused my blood sugar to spike. Normal blood sugar level is around 80 to 120. Mine was over 700. I didn't know it at the time, but the ER staff was telling my family to start saying goodbye because I wasn't going to make it.
PFD 3 months ago
Went round a corner on a country road and almost ran into the back of a car that had been forced to make an emergency stop to NOT run into a very old, very slow cyclist. No one was speeding or driving recklessly but it was basically a blind corner and the timing lined up like an evil maths problem. We didn't have the stopping time, skidded across the road and EXACTLY AT THAT MOMENT (see: evil maths) a lorry was in the opposite lane, much too close to even slow down. We skidded sideways across the front of it and I swear we could have counted the flies on the numberplate we were so close. Ended up unharmed in a ditch on the other side of the road. We even managed to bump the car out of the ditch after as it was a small, old car (and if it had been struck by that lorry, would have been squashed like a Coke can - it didn't even have airbags afaik). Bizarrely, neither the other car driver, the cyclist or the lorry driver even stopped.
Teagan Gatewood 3 months ago
I didn't cheat death but me and a friend beat him in a game of Battleship!
DaisyBee 3 months ago
Reading this list having just completed the Final Destination franchise (all on Netflix, worth a rewatch) is a trip
Joey Jo Jo Shabadoo 3 months ago
The final one has one of my favourite endings ever!
Load More Replies... 𝖊𝖜𝖔𝛋 3 months ago
My dad was walking to his car (parked in the close rather than the drive because there was a skip or something in front of the house). Went to open the door and realised he’d left something in the house. Walks back to the house (not even a minute away) and by the time he’d come out of the house again, there was a big commotion. Bin lorry had come into the close and reversed, over the top of my dad’s car. Crushed the entire front section like a pancake. Had he not forgotten something that morning, he would have been inside. — I also cheated death by slipping whilst climbing a mountain, heavy snow and was sliding. was moments away from going over the edge and someone reached out and pulled me back up. Didn’t really react until a while later, had to keep climbing as the guide was really far ahead and no one else had seen it. We stopped to have a break, I apparently dug myself a little hole in the snow, curled up, and cried for ages. Don’t remember much afterwards as I went into shock.
Marnie 3 months ago
When I was around 10, my cousin took me out on his farm fields on a snowmobile. At one point, while going somewhere between 30 and 60 mps (48 - 97kmh), he yells "duck", barely heard over the noise of the machine. It barely registered in my mind and took a moment, but just as it was registering I saw him duck down, so I did the same, just as we went under a thick wire that was to keep the cows in. It would have "clotheslined" me. I'm guessing fatally.
brittany 3 months ago
not me but my dad. a few weeks ago, his dog saved his life. he was jumping up on him all day and going berserk and keeping him from resting in bed. throughout the day my dad felt worse and worse and finally went to the hospital. drs said he'd been having a heart attack and he had no clue. he had emergency surgery to clear a massive blockage and had to have two stints put in. if it wasn't for his dog keeping him awake and not letting him try to sleep it off, my dad likely wouldn't be here.
Robert Beveridge 3 months ago
Back when I was young and stupid, I only ever got into car accidents when I was following all the rules. I kid you not. The worst example: May 10, 1992. Was driving to a friend's house. Ridiculously late (sometime after 3am). Tired, of course, so I was being rigid with my speed. Went around a blind curve and tgere was a garbage truck, slantwise, across both lanes. Tried to avoid it. Almost did, but caught the front grille at 35mph. If I'd had a passenger, they'd be dead. Right half of the windshield was crushed. Car was a manual transmission, and my hand was on the stick. I had to work out how to extricate my arm from under the windshield, which was no more than a quarter inch from my arm. I was pretty deep in shock, so was moving slow. In other words, if I'd hit an inch closer, my arm would've been ribbons and I'd have bled out before I could even react.
Robert Beveridge 3 months ago
I still miss that car. ('89 Dodge Daytona, a horrific shade of orange).
Load More Replies... Ace 3 months ago
Yeah, not sure why all the downvotes, but there ya go. TBF though, the "getting away with stupidity" ones are better examples of "cheating" death than most of the others.
Load More Replies... Jodi Stewart 2 months ago
Have a few! Was hit by a car when I was a kid, thankfully I was faster then the car(who didn’t see the stop sign) went onto his roof walked away with scrapes and bruisers, 2 major car accidents 1. Woman blew a yield sign doing 70 in a school zone ( after hrs thank god), T-boned me (I saw her last few seconds and was able to shimmy a little, biggest thing about that accident was I was going to take someone with me and she decided last minute not to come. She would have probably been severely injured or dead if she came, car was hit passenger side (dumbs””) that hit me tried to claim it was my fault!, 2. Accident I had a wonderful F150 and was heading back to work after an errand was T-boned with a 1980’s Bronco (built like the Mack truck of course), was a massive hit. I had just put a load of gravel in the truck bed recommended by my dad. How I was hit I nailed a lamppost, ripped it right out of the ground, just missed by probably an inch or two the fire hydrant and then hit the buildi
Jodi Stewart 2 months ago
Cont. cracked a few bricks which amazed everyone because that corner was known for accidents, and some went right into the building, 2 weeks later several of the buildings on that corner burned down, not my fault! lol. If I didn’t have the gravel I would have slipped and quite possibly died. Then was in Tampa visiting my bro. We were to go on the one massive bridge. Skyline / Skyway? think? The last minute we decided to do something else, the time we were to be on it there was a massive massive accident and many died. Had a few of the don’t go yet at a green light and jackasses speeding through that would have killed me. I think my guardian angels are drinking and seeing shrinks
Load More Replies... Danielle 3 months ago (edited)
My ankle gave way for no apparent reason whilst I was waiting to cross the road and I fell forward, into a passing bus. It was so close that I actually got a small graze on my forehead where it slightly touched the side of the bus. Literally millimetres further forward and I would have been hit in the head with a bus. I presume any full on contact to the head with a moving bus would be curtains?
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