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We never really know when or how our time on this planet might come to an end. But these Redditors found themselves frighteningly close to finding out.

In a recent thread, they shared their near-death experiences, recounting the moments when luck, quick thinking, or sheer coincidence spared them from a tragic fate. From parachute falls to near-drownings, read their incredible stories below and give your favorites an upvote.

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#1

People Who Almost Died Shared 30 Stories About What Led To It Working tired and in a rush. Worked late about 14 hours trying to please my boss. I was way too tired to be working, and my coworker and I were rushing to get done to go home. I'm a painter and was cutting in the top part of the wall on a 4 foot scaffold. I was on the tip top and missed the step board on the way down. My foot went in between the boards and vaulted the back of my head into the concrete at what I assume a decent speed. I was entirely unconscious, but my coworker came over, and he said I just looked stiff, and then I seized then limp and then seized and limp. He called 911, and the whole 10-15 minutes, he said I would seize go limp and then seize again. He heard the sirens and said the last thing he saw was me go limp and start snoring aggressively (agonal breaths). Luckily, I woke up not knowing anything, and I mean, I had no clue my own name couldn't recognize my wife, couldn't tell them where I lived and it took several days to be able to remember some things. Dr. Said that fall, and the damage to my head should've [ended] me. Boss stuck me with the $15k hospital bill and told everyone I worked for myself. I had a focal seizure a few days later, and now I'm dependent on epilepsy meds and can't function without them and will never be off them. I have never been the same since the injury. Lesson- Don't do anything extra for your boss they don't care whatsoever about you.

Leather_Ad6525 , Ernys Report

Final score:
84points
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#2

People Who Almost Died Shared 30 Stories About What Led To It 5th parachute jump my main failed, couldn't go to reserve bc I was spinning too fast. Main popped at 400 ft.

All my other jumps had been from 3000 ft. This one was from 5000 ft bc another jumper had paid extra to go higher. If not for him, I would have splattered.

MightyKittenEmpire2 , Eric Brehm Report

Final score:
71points
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While there’s no magical countdown to tell us when our final moment will arrive, we can generally steer clear of risks that might shorten our lifespan—whether that’s smoking, excessive drinking, or participating in extreme sports. Still, even with precautions, hitting that 80-year mark isn’t guaranteed. After all, staying sheltered and missing out on life’s thrills isn’t the best way to truly live.

So, just how dangerous can some activities be? To find out, Bored Panda reached out to u/MightyKittenEmpire2, one of the Redditors who shared his near-death experience. On his fifth skydiving attempt, things took a dramatic turn when his parachute failed to deploy. As he plummeted from 5,000 feet, it wasn’t until he reached 400 feet that it finally opened.

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Throughout the fall, u/MightyKittenEmpire2 remained focused on his training. “There’s a multi-step procedure to deploy the reserve chute that I had practiced over 200 times,” he shared. “It was a chant that, 40 years later, I can no longer remember.” However, knowing the steps doesn’t mean you can fully control the situation. “My feet were tangled in the cords, leaving me hanging upside down, and the partially deployed main chute caused me to spin rapidly,” he explained. “I was laser-focused on the process, with no time to think about anything else.”
#3

People Who Almost Died Shared 30 Stories About What Led To It I had an appendicitis and went to the ER, where they did some scans. They told me everything was fine and come back if the pain persists. Fortunately, I had looked at the notes for the scan on the hospitals patient app and saw that they saw what looked like a clip on my appendix like I had an appendectomy though the appendix was still there. I asked the doctor about it, and they still told me to come back if it persisted.

I went home and was still in excruciating pain. I am talking pain worse than any broken bone or other type of experience I have EVER had. Eventually, I went back and insisted they check my appendix, they did another scan, and eventually got them to bring in a surgeon. The surgeon didn't do much more than put his finger on my abdomen and ask me about the pain before he told them to prep me for surgery.

As it turned out, my appendix was almost ready to rupture, and I had a bowel obstruction. Either of those things could have [ended] me.

Remember folks, always advocate for your own health. Medical professionals make mistakes at work the same as any of us.

DirtyWritin , JC Gellidon Report

Final score:
66points
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#4

People Who Almost Died Shared 30 Stories About What Led To It Jumped into a river to save a drowning friend, when I jumped in and made the swim he was panicking and tried to pull himself up on me which in turn pushed me under. If it wasn’t for another friend throwing in the life ring both of us would have died that day.

Now whenever I see a missing ring near water I report it immediately.

Far_Kaleidoscope_102 , Blake Cheek Report

Final score:
63points
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#5

People Who Almost Died Shared 30 Stories About What Led To It I got bit by a dog after it had been chewing on a dead bear. Got sepsis within 48 hours. Horrible.

outdooridaho , Skyler Ewing Report

Final score:
54points
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“Eventually, one leg got free, which reversed my spin,” he continued. “That meant I had to throw the reserve in the opposite direction, so I adjusted my position. Just as I restarted the procedure, the other leg fell out, causing the spin to reverse again. So, I had to begin the reserve procedure all over again. That’s when the main chute finally popped open.”

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“I thought I had yelled and cursed the whole way down,” admitted u/MightyKittenEmpire2. “I vividly remembered doing just that. But a news crew filmed me from the ground, there to capture a jump competition later that day. Their footage showed me repeatedly mumbling the chant to deploy the reserve. My training kicked in.”

Despite the harrowing experience, u/MightyKittenEmpire2 wasn’t deterred from skydiving again. “I made one more jump to prove to myself I could overcome my fears,” he said. “It went well. As a poor college student, I decided I didn’t have enough money to get good, and being bad wasn’t a viable long-term plan.”
#6

People Who Almost Died Shared 30 Stories About What Led To It As embarrassing as it is to admit, a grape. Was eating alone at home one night and swallowed it whole, and I immediately started choking. Obviously I managed to dislodge it, but damn if it wasn't the scariest moment of my life.

Extension-Magician44 , Zbynek Burival Report

Final score:
53points
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#7

People Who Almost Died Shared 30 Stories About What Led To It Pneumonia, which was misdiagnosed as anxiety. I perhaps had Covid atop of pneumonia. I had been working a new teaching job for two months and had moved to a new location. I became sick. The doctors chalked it up to pneumonia while anxiety was making the illness worse than it seemed. Turns out I had myocarditis and a heart attack occurred during the inflammation of my heart muscles. I'm still recovering despite it being a year later. My stamina took a major hit and my heart shows signs of damage on an EKG.

Chevross , Polina Tankilevitch Report

Final score:
52points
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#8

People Who Almost Died Shared 30 Stories About What Led To It Year was 2001. Just left a buddies house with 4 of my buddies in a small a*s 1980s Plymouth reliant. We were only a 1/4 mile away, I was in the passenger back seat. We pulled up to a Stop sign on a busy road. Driver didnt  really fully stop and pulled out into the street. An F350 was was barreling down the road and hit us going 70mph. I was on the impact side. 

We got pushed 40-50 feet or more into a gas station, coming within 3 feet of a gas pump. I was knocked unconscious and woke up roughly 15 minutes later , in a daze unsure what had happened. When I came to, I just remember being hunched over, and first thing I noticed was my jaw didn’t feel right. I moved it left to right and it just made the worst popping sounds. I remember looking up and seeing police lights flashing everywhere. 

They ended up using the jaws of life to get me out. Ended up breaking both my mandibles in my jaw, my left clavicle, 3 places in my pelvis and my collar bone. Couldn’t walk for 3 months. Jaw was wired shut. 

Ended up making a full recovery and living a normal life. I was 19 at the time, even enlisted in the navy the following year. 41 today and suffer from some joint ailments and dull aches and pains but that’s about it. Happy to answer any questions. Oh and everyone survived miraculously. .

Sombrer0sTeve , Artyom Kulakov Report

Final score:
51points
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Now, if you’ve ever considered trying skydiving, you might feel a little apprehensive after reading this. That’s completely understandable! However, it’s worth noting that while the idea of skydiving may sound dangerous, the likelihood of something going wrong is quite low.

According to the British Parachute Association, once a skydiver is fully trained, the average injury rate is just 0.25 injuries per 1,000 jumps (or 1 in 4,000), and the fatality rate is under 0.6 per 100,000 jumps (around 1 in 168,000). In the United States, the US Parachute Association reports an average of about 18 skydiving deaths per year over the last decade, with an estimated 3.9 million jumps in 2022 and around 20 related fatalities.

While these statistics classify skydiving as a high-risk sport, they put things into perspective—jumping with a parachute is actually much safer than driving a car. According to Esurance, your odds of getting into a car accident are about 1 in 366 for every 1,000 miles driven. For many of us, driving is a daily activity, and that’s something to consider.

Ultimately, whether we find ourselves in a life-threatening event often comes down to statistics. As for whether it was fate or luck that saved u/MightyKittenEmpire2, we may never know for sure, but he refers to it as a fortunate happenstance.

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#9

People Who Almost Died Shared 30 Stories About What Led To It I was returning a DVD to the collection bin in the parking lot. I had a girlfriend in my truck with me.
I pulled up, put my window down and started to put the DVD through my window. I hit the frame and it knocked the DVD out of my hand on to the ground. I jumped out to pick it up without putting my truck in park.
My door hit one of the steel poles protecting that bin from idiots, but not this one.
My door trapped my head between it and my truck. Car isn't in park, so it's moving forward and crushing my head. I could feel the bones moving in my skull.
The girl in my truck couldn't see what was going on clearly. She was laughing.
I got my foot inside and hit the brake. Shifted into reverse, and freed my head. Had a good dent for a couple of weeks.
I hate to think about panicking and hitting the gas that day.

spiderfishx , Robby Fowler Report

Final score:
43points
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#10

A stranger, and my best friend.

Stranger drugged me at a bar; but I OD'd. Ended up in cardiac arrest.

My "friend" waited 3.5 hours to call EMS, because she thought I was being "dramatic and drunk."

She also failed to perform CPR on me correctly (on my clavicle) after telling me 6mos prior I was stupid and didn't know CPR (been in medical care for 10 years, and cpr trained since I was 16) and that she was smarter than me despite never taking a single cpr class.

She had the audacity to act like she saved my life after all was said and done.

I was lucky her 16 year old brother was at the apartment when she finally managed to get me upstairs and throw me on the couch. He called EMS the 3rd time I collapsed. (She let me fall down 2 flights of stairs, THREE TIMES)

I woke up several days later on life support with a busted nose, two black eyes, a busted mouth, fractured clavicle, fractured leg, and tendons torn in my arm.

She thought I couldn't remember anything, but I remember bits and peices; enough to know how much of an a-hole she is.

Tldr; Be careful of who your friends are. Turns out she was a super jealous and insecure person who didn't care about me at all, and envied me to the point she wanted to see me burn.

ScientistEasy368 Report

Final score:
42points
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#11

I touched a rock to remove some fishing line while scuba diving, I was wearing my cold water gloves cause I couldn’t find my thin warm water ones that morning. That rock was a stone fish, his spines went through my heavy gloves and scratched the skin but didint break it, I would have been dead before I got to the boat.

BadLandzChugz Report

Final score:
39points
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#12

People Who Almost Died Shared 30 Stories About What Led To It The ceiling in my bedroom collapsed while I was sleeping due to water damage. Luckily I had rearranged the furniture in my room a few months before and my bed was under the only part of the ceiling that didn't collapse. I was 12 at the time.

Mint_Blue_Jay , David Peinado Report

Final score:
38points
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#13

A dog.

Pretext - I was 9y/o and at a family reunion and a family member had an Akita. This dog had already snapped at multiple kids and had bitten their daughter’s hand, requiring stitches.

I was outside playing with my cousin, I came inside because I was hot and my mom looks over at me from a basement bar she is sitting at with her siblings and parents, and she offers to get me water. I declined the water and right after I said “no thanks”, the dog lunged at me from a couple feet away and I happened to look down at it as the movement startled me. Me looking down meant that it only got part of my neck, the rest was my jaw. If I hadn’t looked down I would likely have died as the dog would have gotten my neck. Anyways, I started bleeding profusely and my mom was obviously in shock. Thankfully, two family members are nurses, and my uncle was a veteran and had critical life saving skills. So they were able to keep me going until I got to the nearest hospital where I was operated on to stitch me up and repair damages to my tissue and jaw bone. The bite was, per the surgeon, “too close for comfort to my carotid artery”.

Later on my wounds got infected and one of the K-9 tooth wounds popped with infection. Literally popped. I have a massive scar where it popped because it made the wound so much bigger. So then I had an extended stay in the hospital while they treated that issue.

Also the hospital had a therapy dog going around one of the days I was there and for some reason nobody passed along the memo to not bring it in my room.

TH3_C1N1BUN Report

Final score:
38points
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#14

People Who Almost Died Shared 30 Stories About What Led To It I fell out of the raft while white water rafting. Our guide was great about telling us where to go if we fell out during certain rapids. On this particular rapid he said “if you fall out on this one…..well, just don’t fall out.”

So anyway, I fell out on that rapid. My shoulder hit a rock hard enough to tear the skin off. I heard the guide yell “oh s**t” right as I got pulled under. I don’t know how long I was under for, but it seemed like forever and everything slowed down. When I came back up the guide had his paddle stretched out just barely out of reach. We both stretched a little further and I grabbed the paddle and got pulled back into the raft. Apparently, earlier that week someone had died on that rapid after falling out.

jmiller1856 , Tom Fisk Report

Final score:
37points
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#15

Stupidity did that.

My family and I were on a little trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, driving around the forest area, admiring the white waters. After a moment, my dad pulled over at a spot where there was just a little bit of road with just enough room to walk along the edge. My mom and dad got out with their phones, They told me if I got out I would fall, so I took that as a challenge of course. I was on the side where, if I opened the door and stepped out, I would have plummeted into rocks, sticks, and a s**t ton of old trash, PLUS a strong current below.

But, being a stupid pubescent 13-year-old, I decided to test my luck. Same second I stepped out I cartoonishly plummeted. I managed to grab onto a strong root with my right hand and dug my nails into the dirt with the other, desperately trying to hold on. My dad noticed instantly and bolted over to my dumba*s and angrily gripped my wrist lifting me up like a crazed gorilla.

What was insane was that he was at least four feet away, but he reached me in like half a second. The most impressive part is at the time, my dad was morbidly obese, yet he moved faster than I had ever seen a human move. He saved my life that day.

Not too crazy of a story but just felt like sharing.


TL;DR
I was a dumba*s and stepped out of my car and nearly plummeted to a rocky and sharp river with a current.

Geckland Report

Final score:
36points
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#16

I was 5 or 6 years old, walking home from a friend's house in the afternoon, which was totally kosher in the 80's.

Thin guy with stringy blond hair pulled over in his, I kid you not, white van to ask for help looking for his pet. I absolutely believed him because he knew the animal's name. Perfect 5 year old logic.

He got close enough to hand me $2 to reward my help, and something shook loose in my brain and I booked it home. My dad was FURIOUS. He flushed the money down the toilet and then disappeared for a couple of hours. He never brought it up again.

Honestly, if he hadn't flushed the money I might not even remember the incident. Now, at 41 years old, it scares the absolute s**t out of me. I still remember that guys hair. In my memory, he looks exactly like Funboy from The Crow.

Anyway. Those after school specials were a goddamned documentary apparently, and I was almost on a milk carton. Good times.

Safestsearch Report

Final score:
36points
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#17

People Who Almost Died Shared 30 Stories About What Led To It Giving birth and having the placenta not detach so lost a lot of blood.

peachesfordinner , Turan Kaymaz Report

Final score:
35points
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#18

People Who Almost Died Shared 30 Stories About What Led To It I wanted to see if my car could reach 100mph.

I was on a dark country road.


I think about that now and a pit forms in my stomach. Such an idiot.

GTFOakaFOD , Maxim Hopman Report

Final score:
35points
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#19

People Who Almost Died Shared 30 Stories About What Led To It Diabetes. During the Covid pandemic, I started losing my hair, having severe heart pain, constant vomiting, my vision became blurred and I lost around 30kg in 2 months. My change was so quick and drastic that my wife thought I had cancer. I went to the doctor and my blood sugar was 790. The doctor said that if I had taken a few more days to start treatment, I would probably have had a heart attack at 23 years of age.

NoRecording66 , Tima Miroshnichenko Report

Final score:
34points
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#20

People Who Almost Died Shared 30 Stories About What Led To It Had a small infected sore on my foot. Got progressively worse over a long weekend. Got home on a holiday Monday and developed a high fever - freezing cold on a 90 degree day. Wanted to sleep it off and my wife forced me to emerg. Cellulitis. Gigantic memory foam leg. IV therapy for a week. Exact same thing happened two years later.

therealgrelber , Artem Saranin Report

Final score:
32points
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#21

Get a normal amount of sleep!

I ran my own business and was really proud of it, ended up getting a big project where I estimated based on two other developers helping me who'd worked on a number of projects before. The two other developers had major life crises happen that left them to drop out so I was left to complete the project in the promised time of one month.

I got maybe four hours of sleep a night, but realistically an average of two with a short nap or two during the day. I honestly didn't feel that bad during it. My ex-wife had gone on a trip to visit her family during the end of it since I was too busy to really pay attention to her at all and had planned to come back the night of the deadline.

She was arriving at like 2am the night of the deadline so after I handed off the project I went to sleep at like 8pm thinking I'd be rested enough when she got in to great her. I woke up at 6am to her being home and apologized for oversleeping, she said she couldn't wake me. About and hour later I realized the date on my computer was forward by a day...but really, I'd slept for 34 hours straight.

While it seemed kind of funny or cute at the time the lack of sleep damaged my heart and while it's technically recovered now doctors have said that most likely my life expectancy is lower than someone who hadn't been through that.

100% not worth it for any reason, get a solid 8 hours of sleep each night and live longer.

IAmASolipsist Report

Final score:
32points
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#22

When I was 15, a man tried to take me back to his place by force. I would have not made it out of his grip if we didn't hit ice, he slipped, and I hip-tossed him. I ran home.

Rojodi Report

Final score:
31points
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#23

In college my friend and I (both females) were bored one Friday night so we decided to go on a drive and play the left right game. Basically when you come to an intersection you pick left or right. Anyway, we ended up at the nearby lake and we decided to get out of my car and walk down the dock to see the stars over the water. After a few minutes we get cold and walk back to my car and get in. As soon as I turn the car on and the headlights come on, the lights shine on 3 men coming towards us out of the trees and one was carrying something. My friend screamed and we hightailed it out of there. We were lucky…who knows what would’ve happened if we didn’t get cold so fast.

No_Extreme5191 Report

Final score:
31points
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#24

Three occasions I was almost unsubscribed from life.


First time I was working a late shift in the drive thru at McDonalds. There was a shootout in the parking lot and a stray bullet barely missed me.


Second time, I doubt anybody will believe this story. I was in a brawl and someone tried to run us over with a car, and I jumped on the hood with surprisingly minor injuries. Someone also pulled a knife out, but luckily there were some rocks nearby and I landed one on his face before he could stab anybody.



Third time was a few years ago. I had congestive heart failure from a combination of being fat and kidneys almost failing from eatng so much sodium and sugar. Not exercising also contributed to that. I'm much healthier now and won't take that for granted again.

krufarong Report

Final score:
30points
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#25

People Who Almost Died Shared 30 Stories About What Led To It I was drunk, fell asleep in bed with a cigarette and only woke up because I touched the embers of my smoldering mattress in my sleep. My room was already completely full of smoke, maybe another hour and I would no longer be here.

Chance-Butterfly4970 , Corina Rainer Report

Final score:
30points
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#26

People Who Almost Died Shared 30 Stories About What Led To It My brakes failing (pedal fell to the floor) as I approached the old intersection of Circle Drive and 18th Street at high speed as lights changed, also to find out I had no emergency brake (wasn’t connected).

kimptong , cottonbro studio Report

Final score:
26points
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#27

People Who Almost Died Shared 30 Stories About What Led To It A lollipop. I was eating one at night my family was sleeping and I started choking, I couldn’t breathe. I would be very embarrassed in heaven right now if I were dead.😭😭.

F0ggyEyesight , Md Jahid Hossen Report

Final score:
24points
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#28

I got trapped under a floating bouncy house. i cut the hell out of my foot but somehow survived, lol. it still scares me thinking about it.

whatiflee Report

Final score:
24points
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#29

People Who Almost Died Shared 30 Stories About What Led To It My mouth. I was drunk as hell one night and started running my mouth to some guy and he pulled a gun on me. Can still smell the oil.

Mental-Science1288 , Pressmaster Report

Final score:
22points
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#30

My grandma had a little ictus while she was driving, only me and her in the car. I didn’t have the cellphone at the time (I was like 8 yr old) and didn’t know what to do ( she wouldn’t respond). We crashed onto many things (also the guard rail) and broke mirrors…
At a certain point we were in the wrong lane…
Still don’t know how we got home.

Complete_Joke9640 Report

Final score:
22points
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#31

Dog food. I tried making it from scratch, some raw meat juices accidentally squirted on my face and into my mouth, I got salmonella. Didn’t realize it was salmonella for like a week because I have other digestive issues. Went to the doc and they didn’t figure it out either, just told me to take Tylenol and anti diarrhea meds. I ended up in the emergency room with dysentery and overdosing on Tylenol even though I was taking the suggested amount because my liver wasn’t functioning like it was supposed to and processing it. While in the hospital, the doctors who found out it was salmonella went home before telling the next staff, who started prepping me for a colonoscopy to figure out what was wrong. AFTER I WENT THROUGH 12 HOURS OF COLONOSCOPY PREP- IYKYK- they looked closer at my chart and saw that the last team of docs figured out I had salmonella and didn’t tell anyone. They cancelled the colonoscopy because the salmonella could have apparently caused them to perforate my bowels and potentially [end] me. So almost died like 3 different ways, over dog food.

Beneficial_Hurry_931 Report

Final score:
15points
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#32

Not getting diagnosed before ...
I have POTS/disautonomia

I literally fainted while driving and since then, I'm terrified of it. Fortunately, there wasn't anyone close but I still scared the s**t out of me

To clarify, I don't faint anymore, I haven't fainted in years (god knows why) now I only get a bit dizzy but I still avoid driving like the plague.

My family thinks I'm just anxious and that I should overcome it, but I believe it's pretty irresponsible of me to drive when I can put myself or someone else in danger if I faint. Again, it hasn't happened in years, but just in case I don't do it anymore...

I prefer to take the bus, walk or pay Uber rather than driving.

Potatochips8910 Report

Final score:
13points
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#33

Riding in the open bed of a pickup truck, sitting on a bunch of inter tubes, with my brother and cousin, while my uncle drove down this bouncy dirt road.

It was real fun bouncing around, and we were all laughing like idiots until I found myself flying over the side of the truck.

My cousin somehow was able to grab me, and I’m hanging upside down with my head like a foot away from the road, with the rear tire right in my face. He and my brother hauled me back in. It was close though.

My uncle never even noticed.

WhiteNinjaN8 Report

Final score:
13points
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#34

Back in high school I was friends with a girl and we’d occasionally skip classes together. Well being in a small city with not much else to do we went off exploring. Ended up coming across train tracks after walking through bushes. So naturally as the pair of idiots we were began walking up the train tracks, we ended up seeing a memorial after about 5 minutes of walking. It sent chills down both our spines. We immediately turned around and started to head back towards where we had come from. As we’re walking we feel a slight vibration coming from the tracks which made us freeze for a moment before hearing and seeing the train flying in soon after. My friend yanked me away from the train tracks and we both practically dove into the bushes. To this day thinking about this sends chills down my spine. The train was coming fast and had we not reacted as fast as we did we would’ve had our own memorials alongside those tracks.

Interesting-Cut-4243 Report

Final score:
12points
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#35

I was 14, and using the downstairs bathroom when the entire floor of the upstairs bathroom collapsed down directly on top of me. Luckily, the toilet I was on was squarely underneath the upstairs bathtub.

The bathtub was still attached to the wall upstairs on one side, but otherwise was entirely free floating. It's the only thing that didn't fall.

When the contractor came to fix the bathrooms, my Dad asked how in the world the bathtub hadn't fallen down and crushed me. Apparently the contractor looked up at the underside of the bathtub, shrugged and just said, 'Habit?'.

meadowlark227 Report

Final score:
12points
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#36

Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (blood cancer).

I didn't even know I had it. I was having weird signs, like easily bruising and shortness of breath, but I thought it was just from work (I was working as a package handler at FedEx at the time).

What finally made me go to the hospital was sudden blindness in my right eye and bleeding from my mouth. It took all my strength to take a shower before going to the ER.

I didn't know what I was expecting them to say, but it definitely wasn't cancer.

They told me if I had waited one more day, I wouldn't be here.

70X7R1C17Y Report

Final score:
11points
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#37

I was sitting at a red light, first in position. Light turned green but something told me not to hit the gas. After about 4 seconds I look to my right and a loaded semi truck comes barreling through the intersection, blowing the red light. I truly doubt I would be here if I went when the light turned green.

BDiano Report

Final score:
11points
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#38

Avoided being shot at a mass shooting by not going to a party because my 2 year old niece was sick and needed a last minute. I was passed by the ambulances and police cars when I almost was there. Two of my friends [died].

DocDoone Report

Final score:
10points
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#39

A&W root beer float. My dad saw a restaurant, said “oooh root beer float” and then crossed the empty (at the time) oncoming traffic lane to pull into the restaurant. An 18 wheeler came around the blind curve and very nearly clipped the back of our minivan. My entire family was in the car. I was in the back and it was thiiiis close.

JoJo926 Report

Final score:
10points
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#40

People Who Almost Died Shared 30 Stories About What Led To It I fell down a steep hill covered in thornbushes at around 2 am. I was so drunk that the hill looked flat. I'm lucky I'm not dead and with the way I fell I am super lucky I'm not paralyzed/quadriplegic.

Moist_Description608 , Roan Lavery Report

Final score:
10points
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#41

People Who Almost Died Shared 30 Stories About What Led To It Cutting down a 18 inch alder tree at 14. Came down on top of me and cracked my skull, and busted the left side of my body.

hobbes8889 , Heber Davis Report

Final score:
10points
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#42

My doctor misdiagnosed me with vertigo and a year later, I ended up in the hospital for a stomachache, they did an ultrasound and they saw that I had gallstones in my gallbladder the size of a golf ball
I needed surgery right away, they told me if I would’ve gotten there 2 weeks later I would’ve died.

Sushilover418 Report

Final score:
10points
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#43

People Who Almost Died Shared 30 Stories About What Led To It When I was 19 I drank a 5th of Jaeger and tried to do a flip off an 80 ft quarry...

soitbeginsandouts , cottonbro studio Report

Final score:
10points
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#44

Was peer pressured into jumping into a river by my cousins when I was 10. I didn't know how to swim. I was holding on to a football the entire time trying to stay afloat while they're having fun. I still have no idea how I survived that, one slip and it would have been certain death.

thesilentwizard Report

Final score:
10points
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#45

Flew from Vancouver to London overnight - picked up a rental car at Heathrow and set off on a 2-3 hour drive to Suffolk. Fell asleep at the wheel and woke up on the opposite side of the road heading towards oncoming traffic just a few seconds away from a head on collision. Scared the c**p out of me - learned a big lesson! I’ll never drive when too tired again. I think about it often and thank my lucky stars I’m still here. It was such a stupid thing to do.

InvestigatorThick69 Report

Final score:
9points
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#46

I had taken my son school shopping for the weekend. We'd gone to the mall 2 days in a row already and we were out for a 3rd (picky kid, patient parent). The last day we went somewhere else and while out his mom called me in a panic because there was a shooter in the mall. I could've gone back and went in at the same door the shooter was at with my kid at my side.

Accidental_Taco Report

Final score:
8points
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#47

Front collision with a semi truck. I was 13. Fortunately both cars were driving the speed limit; 60km/h (37mp/h). we were just 20 minutes from our destination after an 8 hour drive. Luckily i only ended up with some broken ribs, and I couldn't walk properly for the whole summer. Nothing permanent.

there were two variables that are kinda scary to think about though. The person who was driving me was a retiree who had just gotten a brand new car, a tesla, which is a pretty safe car. Had we taken the trip just a week earlier it would have been in a s****y old grandpa mobile. The second is that i was trying to sleep, so i seriously considered taking off my seatbelt, which is something i never do, but it was really bugging me, and i honestly would have done it if i hadn't fallen asleep just after.

Wear your seatbelts, kids.

TheBrutusDyr Report

Final score:
8points
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#48

Was riding my bicycle when I was sideswiped by a motorcycle. I happened to be standing on my pedals at the time and was thrown face first onto concrete pavement. Among other serious injuries, my jaw was broken. I was very lucky that my neck wasn’t broken. (Yes, I was wearing a helmet. Helmets don’t protect that part of your head. My helmet was barely scratched.).

ac54 Report

Final score:
8points
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#49

When I was 7 my dad was taking a nap on the sofa and my brother (9) and I were doing a who can swallow banana chunks bigger race. I took a massive bite and it went down my throat and I just remember getting no air, no sound. My brother although older than me, is also a good bit autistic so had no idea what was going on, I ran to my dad and just started smacking his head and thank god he jumped into action and landed a large smack on my back which propelled the chunk out and it flew under the fridge.

pinkflamingo399 Report

Final score:
8points
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#50

Running a generator after a hurricane. Wind shifted and exhaust was getting into my house. Enough to set off my carbon monoxide detectors. This is your sign to check the detectors in your home.

Bannon9k Report

Final score:
8points
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#51

Few times:

1. Hit by a car in the 2nd grade. Kid who hit me was 16, had just gotten his license 3 weeks earlier.

2. had pneumonia when I was 2- mom said it was close.

3. I had a high fever with a red face for 4-5 days but my then husband wouldn't take me to the doc or even give me money for a cab (or get money out of my account for a cab). It was really scary, never been that sick in my life. Took days for my fever to go down.

nomorechoco Report

Final score:
7points
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#52

People Who Almost Died Shared 30 Stories About What Led To It My girlfriend dad beat me •_• bcs he thought I was cheating on her, when I was planning a surprise farewell party

It was a long story that had lots of miscommunication.

Just know I ended up with two stitches.

anon , Dan Burton Report

Final score:
7points
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#53

Was working street cleanup downtown in my small hometown and I had to pick up some trash that was directly underneath a massive ~30 foot tall icicle. I went over and bent over to grab the trash and the moment I turned away and moved just slightly out of the fall zone, the whole thing broke off and impaled the asphalt exactly where my head was at. Cracked the ground and everything. I was maybe 12 inches away from it when it came down.

lil-nivens Report

Final score:
7points
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#54

A piece of bacon. I was like 5/6 and my mom sent me to the store to buy some bacon. On my way home I was hungry (it’s a 5 minutes walk, but it felt way more) and I wanted to eat a piece of that bacon.
Long story short, it got stuck in my throat, I was sort of crying, I was scared and sure I’ll be dead by something I love 😭 until an old lady saw me and saved me.
19 years since that happened, my mom doesn’t know and I don’t eat any more unfried bacon.

Sorry_Finding2164 Report

Final score:
6points
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#55

My bleeding stomach ulcers. Threw up a ton of blood, went to the hospital and my BP was 50/39 and I was in the ICU for 4 days.

AcanthisittaShot8271 Report

Final score:
6points
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#56

People Who Almost Died Shared 30 Stories About What Led To It Rally crash.

Took out all my teeth and went through the driver's helmet. R.i.p.

-_-weasel , Aykut Ercan Report

Final score:
5points
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#57

The neighbors mistress wanted to be nice and gave me this very round and hard candy ball trough the garden fence at 1,5 years old. Went straight in my throat and i got purple. I can remember the feeling of not being able to get air into your lungs no matter how hard you try. The ambulance came but before that, my mom desperately stuck her finger in my throat after trying everything else and i gagged and catapulted the ball out.

CareNo4976 Report

Final score:
5points
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#58

When I was a kid, I fell from my bed in sleep and hit my head against the corner of my mom's bed. That was close. But now it's just a scar.

Obanai_Iguro22 Report

Final score:
4points
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#59

Climbed a mountain/waterfall with a friend. Went to carve a tree, the knife slipped and slit part of my wrist. Made a DIY tournicate with a 2020 face mask and some tape, then somehow managed to climb down. Amazing view still lol. R.I.P. My white Lamb of God t shirt though.

AndrewStabs77 Report

Final score:
4points
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#60

My friends and I had driven out to a country road to smoke. I was sitting in the back middle and didn't wear a seat belt. My friend was very upset with me and the whole time told me i should wear my seat belt. On our way back, I made a big deal about putting my seat belt on and made a big joke of it. The driver attempted to drift, one second we're normal in the car driving along, the next second we're completely sideways and hanging in the car. After we all get out and are standing around trying to figure out what's next, I paused and said "wow, aren't you guys glad I put on my seat belt?" I would have flown right through the windshield.

dreamershorns Report

Final score:
3points
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#61

When I was a teenager, I told my mom I was going to spend the night at my best friends house, and she told her parents she was going to spend the night at mine. Instead, we went to a party in a VERY sketchy side of town. Party ended up getting busted by the cops, and we all scattered..

In the craziness, I lost my phone and also got separated from my best friend.. so I’m wandering around outside by myself at 1-2am, in a part of town where I have NO idea where I am, without my phone… I’m on the other side of the apartment complex where the party was. I’m pacing back and forth on the sidewalk, crying and trying to figure out wtf I’m going to do.

Then a 50 ish year old man comes outside and starts asking me if I’m okay and asking what I’m doing out there all alone. I gave him a quick idea of what happened, and he told me to come with him into his apartment to spend the night, and he’d take me home first thing in the morning…

I FROZE. I hesitated, but he insisted it would be okay and for me to just come. I agreed, because I was SO scared that if I decided to just take off running, that he’d catch me and [unalive] me.

So I went with him… and as I’m sure it’s not a surprise in the slightest, he SA me. It was the LONGEST night of my entire life. I was so extremely nauseous the whole night and I didn’t get a wink of sleep… but, to my surprise, he actually did take me home in the morning. I thought for sure once I was in his apartment, I was dead.

I look back and shudder at the fact that I let him know where I live.. but I never did see him again, thank God. I explained the lost phone to my mom as “I left it on the table when we went out to breakfast at Hardee’s, and it was already gone by the time I went back for it.”

INSANE. I still can’t believe how lucky I am that he didn’t [end] me.

eternalsoupy Report

Final score:
-1point
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#62

I feel off my from the side walk down to the street and dragged on the asphalt for like 2 seconds. My helmet being wide saved my face from getting scratched on the asphalt as a dragged. Was also wearing a think jacket so that helped avoiding scratches on my arms too. But there no cars around thankfully otherwise I would’ve definitely been hit. I felt continues pain on the arm I fell on for like 4 days after.

YouTheGamers Report

Final score:
-1point
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