NationStates Jolt Archive

I have over the last weekend
come as close to death as i've
ever done.
It all started over a couple of episodes
of high blood pressure and rapid heart rate
that sent me to the hospital and a 6 hour wait
in Emergency.
I was initially diagnosed with a myocardial infarction,
i tell you at that point i thought i was
not going to be walking out of the hospital.
They wheeled me under a tunnel to The Heart Institute,
and gave me an angiogram which showed i wasn't having
nor ever did have a heart attack,in fact my arteries were clear.
I was so relieved i high fived the Nurse.
I took some time off,still feeling a bit vulernable.
Anybody care to share some near death experiences?

I OD'd on sleeping pills in April 2001 and came within an inch of death.

never to the hospital apart from the time I cracked my head open at 4-ish

though I've nearly been shanked enough times :)

If I didn't stay a little late in school, I might have been hit by this giant oak tree we had. Poor Oak tree :(

In a general way I have come very close; life is just killing me.

If it wasn't for the helmet I was wearing one evening as I was driving home on my scooter (how I hate that word), then I wouldn't be here today. That's as close as I figure I've come to death.

That, and some idiot threatening me. However, I refuse to believe that I could die at the hands of an idiot.

In a general way I have come very close; life is just killing me.

do you think spending all day reading text books counts as being alive? :D

I kicked his shin bone then ran. :p

I OD'd on sleeping pills in April 2001 and came within an inch of death.

Really? What kind/how many did you take? I'd think you'd need a fistful... :(

I stay away from sleeping pills myself, since they can give you some interesting delusions, e.g. waking up in a sweat at 3:00a.m. and running out to your car to go some place that doesn't exist. That sort of thing. :p I'll take tranquilizers/muscle relaxants any day over that stuff. Does the same thing, without the delirium.

The closest I've come to death (I think) was a stroke/heart attack sort of thing which put me down pretty good for a couple days. Stayed awake and aware (though lacking proprioception almost completely) through it for an hour or so before recovering enough to get off the ground. The worst bit was going spasmodic and into a sort of blackout/coma for several hours when trying to sleep later that night, thinking it was 'over.' No fun.

Don't think I've ever had a 'brush with death'. Nearly been run over a fair few times, to be fair.

I kicked his shin bone then ran. :p

lawl

Anybody care to share some near death experiences?
hmmm... I could volunteer the time my BP was so high a blood vessle burst in my eye.

but for near death...

I would say sliding down a muddy embankment and going over a 100 ft drop... well mostly over. a dead Guava stump prevented all of me going over, and it held on, literally, long enough for me to get back over the edge. (yes, it collapsed over the cliff just as I scrambled back up.)

Anybody care to share some near death experiences?

I've had a few.

The one I remember best was being lost in the Wollemi national park near Sydney Australia ... it was winter and raining the whole time ... no phone, hadn't told anyone I was going ... I'd squandered all my matches lighting smokes for the first few days ... seven days on two days' food, the last three days with none at all.

The last day, I lost my pack crossing a flooded creek, so I had only the clothes I was walking in. In desperation, I climbed a hill (on all fours towards the top) and that saved me. When I traced the route back on a map, that was the only place on my route where there was a marked track.

When I found the fire-trail on the top of that ridge, I sat down and closed my eyes, and felt the dirt road with my hands to be sure it was there. I'd been hallucinating, and that road really did seem to be the difference between life and death.


When I go walking now, I tell someone my proposed route and how long to wait for me before sending help. I take a phone and spare battery, at least double food for the planned time, extra warm gear (I don't believe in down any more, it's useless when it gets wet), extra matches well-sealed in plastic, map GPS AND compass, and a walking companion if possible. I recheck all the kit at the trackhead.

It's not just dying that bugs me, but dying of my own stupidity. That would suck.

I've been hit by a car going 50, and only had my knees messed up a bit but i can still walk, I've had 3 electric shocks, nearly drowned,

I worked unloading a contained just off the docks fresh with that fumigation powder, went to lunch, got distracted, ate lunch, then looked at the powder on my hands and thought, "oh s**t" but still didnt get poisoned somehow!!

I'll be the closest I come to death will be the second before I die.

I would say sliding down a muddy embankment and going over a 100 ft drop... well mostly over. a dead Guava stump prevented all of me going over, and it held on, literally, long enough for me to get back over the edge. (yes, it collapsed over the cliff just as I scrambled back up.)

Woo, your own cartoon moment! There but for the grace of a guava were you, running in mid-air, still clutching that dead stump!

I hope you learnt the lesson I did: don't fart around with great outdoors. It doesn't have safety features ...

Woo, your own cartoon moment! There but for the grace of a guava were you, running in mid-air, still clutching that dead stump!

I hope you learnt the lesson I did: don't fart around with great outdoors. It doesn't have safety features ...

sliding... I slipped on a trail and slid down the muddy side of the mountain...

and that Guava stump was a fine safety feature. :D

I've been close to death on many occasions. Shot in the leg near femoral artery. Flipped over in a car 3 times. Every day you are close to death. It's primarily the reason I chose to live my life as if today was the only day that mattered. Make some good choices and set yourself up for tomorrow, but live for the day.

I took an overdose of painkillers and I was about six hours away from the point where the effects could be reversed, although they tell me I might have lingered on for as long as two more days before I died.

If I didn't stay a little late in school, I might have been hit by this giant oak tree we had. Poor Oak tree :(

Get a grip. That mean old tree tried to kill you!

==============

sliding... I slipped on a trail and slid down the muddy side of the mountain...

OK.

*adds 'parachute' to list of hiking kit*

and that Guava stump was a fine safety feature. :D

Yes, insofar as it probably saved your life.

But that just makes my point! If the landscape there had been a construction crane, and the guava stump a belay point prominently marked "belay here to avoid death by falling" ... and the damn silly thing came loose when you tried to use it ... you'd sue!

Forgive me piggbacking this point on the reply, but it's the brushes with death which were somehow our own fault which really stick in the memory. A reckless driver who nearly hits us induces anger. A medical emergency makes us feel vulnerable, perhaps we take more care with our general health after that. But the times we fuck up and nearly pay the full price are the near-death events we NEED to remember well if we want to keep living.

I had a near death experience when I was born.

I had a near death experience when I was born.

You nearly died while being born?

I got a off my school bus 5-10 minutes before it was hit by van, knocking it onto a pickup, which killed 4 people, and injured 6-8 more, 2 are still in the hospital. This tuesday will mark 1 month. I would have been sitting right where the van hit.

You nearly died while being born?

Yep, my mandible (lower jaw) was blocking my airway. That's why I had a Tracheostomy done and the Trachea wasn't removed until I was 9 or 10, maybe six...

Where do I start. Almost drowned as a kid swimming in a lake near my home. Up hiking at Maroon Bells in Colorado and damn near fell off a cliff. My brother saved my ass on that one. Almost fell into a tributary of the Colorado river while crossing it on a fallen tree. Again my brother saved me. Got a serious injury that could have caused my death skiing in the back country. Not to mention our unit was involved in a armored exchange with Iraqi Republican Guard units in the Gulf War. You would think I would be more careful in life.....

You would think I would be more careful in life.....

Yea, but they never remember the careful guy, they always remember the guy who was daring and took risk *nods*

I hit a patch of ice and spun off the highway once. My car missed a culvert by inches; I figure if I'd hit it I would have rolled, written the car off and quite possibly died in the process. As it was, I spent two hours in a snowy embankment waiting for a tow truck. And then another hour waiting for a tow truck to rescue the first tow truck. :rolleyes: The car took a dent from snuffing the culvert marker, but it, and I, were otherwise unharmed.

Lets see...

Meningitis when I was a baby.
Nearly shot by a police officer accidentally. My friend was pulled over, and didn't tell him I was in the back of the van asleep. When he opened the side door, I woke up and popped up, and he drew down on me.

I took an overdose of painkillers and I was about six hours away from the point where the effects could be reversed, although they tell me I might have lingered on for as long as two more days before I died.

What was the drug/dosage? That sounds kinda atypical, though it wouldn't surprise me that they would try and scare you away from taking any more...

Had a loaded gun pointed at me. Idiot at the range!

I've had my heart break a few times.

I would say sliding down a muddy embankment and going over a 100 ft drop... well mostly over. a dead Guava stump prevented all of me going over, and it held on, literally, long enough for me to get back over the edge. (yes, it collapsed over the cliff just as I scrambled back up.)

A bit similar to an incident when I was young. Was taken on a trip near the top of Mt Cook down in New Zealand. The snow was packed pretty hard and the slope was very smooth. Beyond that point was a straight cliff with a really long drop. I had climbed a bit up the slopes at the time, and when the call came to head back to the plane further down, I ended up sliding.

Couldn't come to a stop, not on unspiked shoes and certainly couldn't direct where I was going, other than down. One of the other passengers tried to grab me but ended up being pulled along. He lost his grip though, and fell down, stopping him.

Fortunately, I managed to pitch my weight forward and smacked into the ice head first. Got some bruises, a cut or two, and bled a bit, but it was a lot better than plunging off that cliff a stones throw away.

I nearly died at birth, umbilical cord was wrapped around my neck and they had to deliver me by C-section. Other then that, I was crossing the street and nearly got taken out by some moron talking on her cell phone while taking a corner at twice the speed limit a couple months ago.

Ooh. Wow. I've had quite a few close calls. I'm not exactly sure if this counts, but one time I got kicked in the groin by a cow(summer job). I hate cows. >.< ANyhoo, as I writhed on the ground, gasping for breath and trying to keep my stomach contents where they belong, the farmer(amused as hell) bends over and says, "You're lucky. If she kicked you in the head, you'd be dead." :p

A bit similar to an incident when I was young. Was taken on a trip near the top of Mt Cook down in New Zealand. The snow was packed pretty hard and the slope was very smooth. Beyond that point was a straight cliff with a really long drop. I had climbed a bit up the slopes at the time, and when the call came to head back to the plane further down, I ended up sliding.

Couldn't come to a stop, not on unspiked shoes and certainly couldn't direct where I was going, other than down. One of the other passengers tried to grab me but ended up being pulled along. He lost his grip though, and fell down, stopping him.

Fortunately, I managed to pitch my weight forward and smacked into the ice head first. Got some bruises, a cut or two, and bled a bit, but it was a lot better than plunging off that cliff a stones throw away.

Lucky! But why didn't you have spikes/crampons?

About a year back, I had an accident. I slid on black ice...spun and hit the side rail...blew up the air bag and totaled the car. The car actually caught fire..it was snowing and freezing though..I managed to gather enough wits to take off the seat belt and get out of the car. Surprisingly I did not have even a nick on me...but it shook the hell out of me...I was a nervous wreck when I realised that without the rails I would have flown off the cliff.

I nearly died at birth, umbilical cord was wrapped around my neck and they had to deliver me by C-section.

Hey, exact same story I hear about me. I guess we'd both be dead or brain-damaged without the surgeon there.

Ooh. Wow. I've had quite a few close calls. I'm not exactly sure if this counts, but one time I got kicked in the groin by a cow(summer job). I hate cows. >.< ANyhoo, as I writhed on the ground, gasping for breath and trying to keep my stomach contents where they belong, the farmer(amused as hell) bends over and says, "You're lucky. If she kicked you in the head, you'd be dead." :p

I would've tried to get the cow to kick the farmer in the stomach and then say the same thing to the farmer. I guess the reason why is the last thing you want to hear when you just got the crap kicked out of you is how lucky you were.

An angry man came after me with a screwdriver, and nearly took my eye out, luckily i dodged and disarmed him, and he scattered, muggers these days are somethin' are they not?

Lucky! But why didn't you have spikes/crampons?

Inexperience. First time on snow, and none of us had spikes or crampons.

When I was about 12, my appendix burst. I very nearly died on the operating table.

I've also managed to nearly kill myself on the roads a couple of times.

If it wasn't for the helmet I was wearing one evening as I was driving home on my scooter (how I hate that word), then I wouldn't be here today. That's as close as I figure I've come to death.I would have smashed my skull on a steel beam while cleaning out my former school's basement if it hadn't been for the football helmet I was wearing. Then again, if it hadn't been for the helmet, I probably would have seen the beam and not stood up underneath it.

But the closest I've been to death was when I nearly got run over by an ambulance.

I think I once almost overdosed on caffiene :p

I had the anaphylectic shock from a hornet sting. I passed out, I had dificulty breathing. And once an ant stung my throat from the inside (it was on a raspberry I ate). Nearly blocked my trachea, my brother later told me he was gathering himself to do the tracheotomy with his pocket knife.
Insects seem to dislike me... must have been an anteater in previous life. Or Paul Mueller.

Some thing I have in commom with my dad is that we have both been dead and revived, and we both helped each other to it.

When I was young I had a fucked up kindey, one day my dad was rushing me to hospital and by the time we got there I had stopped breathing.

14 years latter I witnessed my dad getting stabbed and had to carry him back to our house where I could call the ambulance.

I hope you get better soon.
Never been in hospital myself.
A friend once probably saved my life when I was about to step in front of an onrushing bus.

I nearly died at birth, umbilical cord was wrapped around my neck and they had to deliver me by C-section. Other then that, I was crossing the street and nearly got taken out by some moron talking on her cell phone while taking a corner at twice the speed limit a couple months ago.

"He will leave this place only when its mechanisms have done their work, death's baby, travelling down the death canal, and the noose will tighten its grip."

(Salman Rushdie: "Shame")

Must read.

My high school changed the location of the graduation ceremony. The roof collapsed at the original location, right when we would have been there! :eek:

I also once drove while seriously sleep-deprived and was just lucky that I didn't kill myself or anyone else.

I have been close to death twice.

First when I was age of seven years, I get stucked one entire month in hospital and loose near a third of my weight, an appendicite who degenerate into a peritonite, surgery occured at the very last moment.

The second time, it was the 25 July 1995, at Paris, The line who was bombed exploded ten minutes before I use it.

I was a little late because of a beautiful girl.

So French, I know.

apparently i nearly died shortly after being born but my mum won't give details. also my mum nearly threw me off a cliff when she stumbled on a rabbit hole.

oh, and i've been nearly run over a few times. twice clipped by wingmirrors as i jumped out of the way.

I had to do a boring job for about 2 years and felt like killing myself during that time.
I've been in a car with my friend who was a dangerous driver and could have caused a huge accident on the motorway, he moved to the outside lane and forgot to check his mirror, the van in the lane had to swerve close to the crash barrier to avoid collision. Needless to say i now hate my stupid friend.
Other than that, nothing i can think of.

One that sticks out is when I was 10 and playing catch with a friend in the school playground. The ball was made of some heavy plastic, and being the kids we were, started throwing the ball harder. A couple of throws later the ball smacks me right in my windpipe and I go down. I couldn't breathe, I was going into shock. I blacked out and the next thing I remember is waking up in the school's first aid room.

I have terminal untreatable leukaemia.

Do I win?

Well I was dying when I was born, abdominal muscles were over-developed and wouldn't let food pass from my stomach to small intestine. I was literally starving to death til the surgery to split the muscle. I've also got a heart defect (Tachycardia) which causes my heart to occasionally speed up drastically. Really wipes me out physically, once it made my heart stop. Right side dropped back to normal rate and the left side didn't. It beat unevenly a few times then stopped beating. 'Bout 10 seconds later it started back up.

I don't know if I ever came particularly close to death but there are a couple of incidents that could have been nasty.
When I was 9 or something, I was at a friend's New Year party and there were fireworks, and as we were watching them, one of the fireworks fell over before it went off and flew a couple of inches to the right of my head.
Another time I was walking with a couple of friends, and we were messing about a bit like you do. We came to cross the road and there was a big puddle, so I decided to jump over it to avoid getting my feet wet and ended up jumping right into the path of an incoming car. I literaly landed, saw it coming and sprung back within a split second. Seeing as I was 15 or 16 by that stage, it really was careless on my part.
Lastly this year, I was out in a single scull (one-man rowing boat). It was november-time, so it was dark, cold and wet. My coach had just shouted at me to spin the boat round and row back to the boathouse. Unfortunately he didnt tell me that one of our 8s was also turning round and rowing back, so I ended up turning into the path of the 8. I didn't see it in time and we ended up colliding. Consequently I got knocked clean out of the boat and right into the water, hitting my head on one of the 8's rigers. It was absolutely freezing. I ended up being towed to the bank by the 8 and then having to row back 2.5k. I don't know if it was in anyway life-threatening but pneumonia or hypothermia was always a risk. On a more amusing note, the bow of the 8 I crashed into thought they they had knocked my bowside riger (and oar ) off and that trying to row it back, I would just capsize again, so he absolutely paniced.Ended up jumping out of the boat as soon as they got in and screaming at the coach to go back and see if I was o.k.

What was the drug/dosage? That sounds kinda atypical, though it wouldn't surprise me that they would try and scare you away from taking any more...

Four handfuls of extra strength Tylenol. My toxicity level spiked at about two hours into the ER at three times a lethal dose. :-/

Ooh. Wow. I've had quite a few close calls. I'm not exactly sure if this counts, but one time I got kicked in the groin by a cow(summer job). I hate cows. >.< ANyhoo, as I writhed on the ground, gasping for breath and trying to keep my stomach contents where they belong, the farmer(amused as hell) bends over and says, "You're lucky. If she kicked you in the head, you'd be dead." :p

Much closer than you'd think! If she'd kicked you while you were on the ground, you might be. My great grandfather died of complications after being kicked in the head by a horse (he was a farmer).

An angry man came after me with a screwdriver, and nearly took my eye out, luckily i dodged and disarmed him, and he scattered, muggers these days are somethin' are they not?

A mugger with a screwdriver scares me far, far more than one with a gun. True that.

car crash when i was 11. white van full of paint (with a drunk driver) crashed into my family's car, both of us going about 60mph

i got out and was put in a neck and back brace, but actually only had some broken bones. my dad had to be cut out and was in quite bad shape. but all told we got off real lucky.

about the closest i've got. that and a suicide attempt, but that went so badly (and i felt too stupid afterwards to try again) it barely counts :p

I have over the last weekend
come as close to death as i've
ever done.
It all started over a couple of episodes
of high blood pressure and rapid heart rate
that sent me to the hospital and a 6 hour wait
in Emergency.
I was initially diagnosed with a myocardial infarction,
i tell you at that point i thought i was
not going to be walking out of the hospital.
They wheeled me under a tunnel to The Heart Institute,
and gave me an angiogram which showed i wasn't having
nor ever did have a heart attack,in fact my arteries were clear.
I was so relieved i high fived the Nurse.
I took some time off,still feeling a bit vulernable.
Anybody care to share some near death experiences?

Yes, I was terribly sick with a stomach flu and while being checked out for possible diverticulitis complications, oooopps they found a tumor quite by accident. I was diagnosed with renal cell cancer on my right kidney (opposite side of where they were actually focusing the CT scan). My original prognosis was very poor, they expected to find lung and liver along with it.

The doctors were all very forward about what they expected to find. It was not good and for the most part, my life was over basically. :( For three weeks this was where I was, it meant getting everything in my life in order, wills, POAs, living wills etc. Making plans for the custody of my youngest son (other two were over 18), etc. My odds of 5 year survival were less than 25%, if the cancer had spread.

I was more than fortunate, I experienced nothing less than a miracle, my doctors today even call it 'lucky'. :D Renal cell the size of tennis ball, yes. Completely encased...OMG yes, yes, yes!! (Happy dance time!!!) A second chance at a full life....YES!!!!

It has taken a full two years of clear CT scans to actually let go and breathe deep and believe though. One more year of clear and I am through the dark forrest and into the sunshine for good hopefully!!! That feeling of "vulnerable" as you describe is very, very real.

It is a strange and surreal feeling when you are slapped hard with your own mortality.

When I was 5 I got smacked into a concrete pier by a wave on the pacific coast of South America. Knocked me out but mom was watching and hauled me out.

The second time I was working on a car that was up on a lift. I was standing at the left front corner inspecting the brakes when a voice in my head said "Move." I stepped back just before a truck being driven by a co-worker hit the car and shoved it forward off the lift, landing in exactly the spot I had been standing in.

do you think spending all day reading text books counts as being alive? :D

What would you prefer?

Being a cynic, I dislike my fellow humans.

Being a pessimist, I find this dislike pointless, like all activities.

Being a skeptic, I doubt the above.

between men,a large dog and several autos, I've always been declared the winner.
I've been lucky too many times-two of my brushes made newspapers.

I fell off a ladder from the second story (is that how you spell 'story' is in a 5 story building??) of my old house. I landed on a huge bush in the yard, and broke many of its branches. I had the wind knocked out of me, scratches, bruises, and several branches sticking in my back.

I could have broken my neck, my back, or something else.

Got beaten badly several weeks ago, broke two fingers, cracked three ribs, including lung puncturing, internal bleeding and damage to internal organs. I felt that if the pounding continued for a 30 seconds more, I was a goner.

I was covering behind a van during a firefight some years ago. A bullet cut through the car and passed like one inch away from my left temple. I still remember the whistle. That one was pretty close, too.

Then again, once the accelerator system of my old car broke and I was at full throttle for 10 minutes in a half full highway, unable to brake, until I managed to crash against a side of the road, (when I remembered to turn off the engine to solve the situation). In those ten minutes, I was like 10 times near of crashing to death.

Closest I've been.

Wow,after reading this stories,
it reminds me of a quote from
The HBO Series 'Dead Like Me',
''If we knew how close to death
we come each day most of us would
never step outside our front door''.
That being said, i am taking the opposite tack,
live now because you never know.
Don't Fear The Reaper.

Ooh. Wow. I've had quite a few close calls. I'm not exactly sure if this counts, but one time I got kicked in the groin by a cow(summer job). I hate cows. >.< ANyhoo, as I writhed on the ground, gasping for breath and trying to keep my stomach contents where they belong, the farmer(amused as hell) bends over and says, "You're lucky. If she kicked you in the head, you'd be dead." :p
the farmer wasn't paying attention.. the cow did kick you in the head! :p

Lucky! But why didn't you have spikes/crampons?
And boy scouts don't really hike with spikes and crampons. it was a well used trail that was a little more muddy than usual.

Forgive me piggbacking this point on the reply, but it's the brushes with death which were somehow our own fault which really stick in the memory. A reckless driver who nearly hits us induces anger. A medical emergency makes us feel vulnerable, perhaps we take more care with our general health after that. But the times we fuck up and nearly pay the full price are the near-death events we NEED to remember well if we want to keep living.actually, had I been almost run over by some idiot, that would stand out (and I got a funny memory of that incident) or if some force of nature (say an earthquake) was the cause, that too would stand out.

People tend to remember their own knuckleheaded deeds because they have full control over their actions, I cannot control a drunk driver barrelling down towards me, nor can I control the weather, but I can control my actions.


Funny story time.

Hawaii just passed a new traffic law. bascially, it's against the law to drive through an intersection while people are still crossing (duh). the Driver has to wait till all pedestrians are out of the crossing area before proceeding, no matter what the condition of the light (double duh).

This law was pushed by the medias. it was announced on radio, television, and newspapers for months before and after it was enacted.

One day (a week after the law was enacted,) a group of us are crossing the street when this idiot tries to make a left hand turn onto the road we were crossing. he wasn't going fast, infact, he was practically inching his way across, basically, forcing those people crossing to stop while he "drove by". he was close enough to me that I could'vd hopped into his convertable.

what made it funny? the group of Cops that were watching by the building next to the street. He stopped at the next light (about 50 ft away) only to have an officer walk up to him and pull him onto the side.

XXIV.

Thief and Pig.

A man carrying a sack of corn up a high ladder propped against a wall, had nearly reached the top, when a powerful hog passing that way leant against the bottom to scratch its hide.

"I wish," said the man, speaking down the ladder, "you would make that operation as brief as possible; and when I come down I will reward you by rearing a fresh ladder especially for you."

"This one is quite good enough for a hog," was the reply; "but I am curious to know if you will keep your promise, so I'll just amuse myself until you come down."

And taking the bottom rung in his mouth, he moved off, away from the wall. A moment later he had all the loose corn he could garner, but he never got that other ladder.

MORAL.—An ace and four kings is as good a hand as one can hold in draw-poker.

-Cobwebs form an Empty Skull, by Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce.

http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b8dd36b3127cceb6104fa06b0600000025100IYsmrNo2csf

When I was in glider training I came pretty close to death. I was flying over Rome, Georgia heading about 270 at FL 20. I was ordered by the instructor to pull up on the stick and try to bring my AoA to about 10. It was about then that we hit a nice burst of air which lifted my nose beyond the critical AoA.

At this point, you usually respond by using your elevators to decrease the AoA so your wings can continue producing lift. Unfortunately, this glider had a T-tail design so the tail was in the shadows of my wing at my extreme AoA. I had entered what is known as a deep stall. My rudder was the only control surface I could use so my instinct would have been to try to use it, but my instructor told me not to touch it. I kept the stick centered and eventually the nose dropped enough that the wings once again began to produce lift. I was able to get out of the stall and only lose about 300 feet in altitude.

When we got back on the ground, I talked with the instructor about the whole situation we ended up in. It was a good thing I listened to him about not using the rudder. Had I acted on instinct, that action would have triggered a spin.

Wow,after reading this stories,
it reminds me of a quote from
The HBO Series 'Dead Like Me',
''If we knew how close to death
we come each day most of us would
never step outside our front door''.
That being said, i am taking the opposite tack,
live now because you never know.
Don't Fear The Reaper.

or as Det. Frank Drebin would say...
"You take a chance getting up in the morning, crossing the street, or sticking your face in a fan."

I've been 15 seconds away several times ;)

or as Det. Frank Drebin would say...
"You take a chance getting up in the morning, crossing the street, or sticking your face in a fan."

:p
He was ace, man that's tempting just to watch one of the Naked gun films, brilliant comedies.
Unless you are Detective Frank Drebin, it would explain your monstrous post count and ability to make funny comments without realising.;)

Late last August, I was driving home from a doctor's appointment. There's a green arrow, so I start to make a left turn. There's a whole line of cars on the other side of the intersection making left turns, so I can't really see past them.

Some idiot runs the red light, plows into me going 60 miles an hour.

When I came to, the glass from the windshield was an inch from my face, and the roof had caved in nearly to the point where it would've been hitting my head. And according to people who saw it, and the paramedics who came and picked me up, my car made a complete roll, as in it landed back on its wheels.

Insanely luckily for me, I had had my seat belt on, and the air bag went off. If either of those hadn't happened, I would've died. Hell, I probably should have anyway.

Instead, I walked away with nothing but a badly bruised right leg.

How lucky is that?

I think that the closest I've come to death was 10 years ago, when I saw my paternal grandfather agonizing at the hospital. He had a heart condition and died after 2 weeks in the ICU. I saw him the day before he died. It was just nerve-wracking. Other than that I've never had any close brushes with death myself.

:p
He was ace, man that's tempting just to watch one of the Naked gun films, brilliant comedies.
Unless you are Detective Frank Drebin, it would explain your monstrous post count and ability to make funny comments without realising.;)

the movies were nothing. you gotta watch the TV Series! :p

Det. Frank Drebin: I'd just come from the stockyards. We'd gotten reports of hundreds of cows had been senselessly slaughtered in the area, but I couldn't find any evidence. I stopped off for a hamburger and checked in with headquarters.
+++
Det. Frank Drebin: My name is Sergeant Frank Drebin, Detective Lieutenant, Police Squad. There'd been a recent wave of gorgeous fashion models found naked and unconscious in laundromats on the West Side. Unfortunately, I was assigned to investigate holdups of neighborhood credit unions. I was across town doing my laundry when I got the call on the double killing. It took me twenty minutes to get there. My boss was already on the scene.


and my favorite...
Sally Decker: Well, when I first heard the shot, and as I turned, Jim fell.
Capt. Ed Hocken: He's the teller, Frank.
Det. Frank Drebin: Jim Fell's the teller?
Sally Decker: No, Jim Johnson.
Det. Frank Drebin: Who's Jim Fell?
Capt. Ed Hocken: He's the auditor, Frank.
Sally Decker: He had the flu, so Jim
[pauses]
Sally Decker: filled in.
Det. Frank Drebin: Phil who?
Capt. Ed Hocken: Phil Din. He's the night watchman.
Sally Decker: [crying] If only Phil had been here!
Det. Frank Drebin: Wait a minute, let me get this straight: Twice came in and shot the teller and Jim Fell.
Sally Decker: No, he only shot the teller, Jim Johnson. Fell is ill.
Det. Frank Drebin: Okay, then after he shot the teller, you shot Twice.
Sally Decker: No, I only shot once.
Capt. Ed Hocken: Twice is the hold up man.
Sally Decker: Then I guess I did shoot Twice.
Det. Frank Drebin: Oh, so now you're changing your story.
Sally Decker: No, I shot Twice after Jim fell.
Det. Frank Drebin: You shot twice and Jim Fell?
Sally Decker: No, Jim fell first and then I shot Twice once.
Det. Frank Drebin: Well, who fired twice?
Sally Decker: Once!
Capt. Ed Hocken: He's the owner of the tire company, Frank.
Det. Frank Drebin: [pauses] Okay. Once is the owner of the tire company and he fired Twice. Then Twice shot the teller once.
Sally Decker: Twice.
Det. Frank Drebin: ...and Jim fell and then you fired Twice.
Sally Decker: Once!
Det. Frank Drebin: Okay. All right, that will be all for now, Ms. Decker.
Capt. Ed Hocken: We'll need you to make a formal statement down at the station.
Sally Decker: Oh, of course!
Det. Frank Drebin: You've been very helpful. We think we know how he did it.
Sally Decker: Oh, Howie couldn't have done it. He hasn't been in for weeks.
Det. Frank Drebin: Well.
[pauses]
Det. Frank Drebin: Thank you again, Ms. Decker.
[to Ed]
Det. Frank Drebin: Weeks?
Capt. Ed Hocken: Saul Weeks. He's the comptroller, Frank.

This close:
|--------|

the movies were nothing. you gotta watch the TV Series! :p

Det. Frank Drebin: I'd just come from the stockyards. We'd gotten reports of hundreds of cows had been senselessly slaughtered in the area, but I couldn't find any evidence. I stopped off for a hamburger and checked in with headquarters.
+++
Det. Frank Drebin: My name is Sergeant Frank Drebin, Detective Lieutenant, Police Squad. There'd been a recent wave of gorgeous fashion models found naked and unconscious in laundromats on the West Side. Unfortunately, I was assigned to investigate holdups of neighborhood credit unions. I was across town doing my laundry when I got the call on the double killing. It took me twenty minutes to get there. My boss was already on the scene.


and my favorite...
Sally Decker: Well, when I first heard the shot, and as I turned, Jim fell.
Capt. Ed Hocken: He's the teller, Frank.
Det. Frank Drebin: Jim Fell's the teller?
Sally Decker: No, Jim Johnson.
Det. Frank Drebin: Who's Jim Fell?
Capt. Ed Hocken: He's the auditor, Frank.
Sally Decker: He had the flu, so Jim
[pauses]
Sally Decker: filled in.
Det. Frank Drebin: Phil who?
Capt. Ed Hocken: Phil Din. He's the night watchman.
Sally Decker: [crying] If only Phil had been here!
Det. Frank Drebin: Wait a minute, let me get this straight: Twice came in and shot the teller and Jim Fell.
Sally Decker: No, he only shot the teller, Jim Johnson. Fell is ill.
Det. Frank Drebin: Okay, then after he shot the teller, you shot Twice.
Sally Decker: No, I only shot once.
Capt. Ed Hocken: Twice is the hold up man.
Sally Decker: Then I guess I did shoot Twice.
Det. Frank Drebin: Oh, so now you're changing your story.
Sally Decker: No, I shot Twice after Jim fell.
Det. Frank Drebin: You shot twice and Jim Fell?
Sally Decker: No, Jim fell first and then I shot Twice once.
Det. Frank Drebin: Well, who fired twice?
Sally Decker: Once!
Capt. Ed Hocken: He's the owner of the tire company, Frank.
Det. Frank Drebin: [pauses] Okay. Once is the owner of the tire company and he fired Twice. Then Twice shot the teller once.
Sally Decker: Twice.
Det. Frank Drebin: ...and Jim fell and then you fired Twice.
Sally Decker: Once!
Det. Frank Drebin: Okay. All right, that will be all for now, Ms. Decker.
Capt. Ed Hocken: We'll need you to make a formal statement down at the station.
Sally Decker: Oh, of course!
Det. Frank Drebin: You've been very helpful. We think we know how he did it.
Sally Decker: Oh, Howie couldn't have done it. He hasn't been in for weeks.
Det. Frank Drebin: Well.
[pauses]
Det. Frank Drebin: Thank you again, Ms. Decker.
[to Ed]
Det. Frank Drebin: Weeks?
Capt. Ed Hocken: Saul Weeks. He's the comptroller, Frank.

:p
:)
:D
I remember that scene, was hilarious to watch, right i'm definately watchin that film,
Which one is best?
Out of the three, "TheNaked gun", "The naked Gun 2 1/2", or "The naked gun 33/13".

I, uh, sprained my ankle pretty bad this one time...that's about it...

I've walked in front of a car and torn the fender off with my leg and broken the windshield with my head; been in a car that flipped over one-and-a-half times ending on the roof; been strafed by a helicopter; been shrieked at by a lunatic holding me at gunpoint; and been left unconscious on railroad tracks with a train due in a half hour.

:p
:)
:D
I remember that scene, was hilarious to watch, right i'm definately watchin that film,
Which one is best?
Out of the three, "TheNaked gun", "The naked Gun 2 1/2", or "The naked gun 33/13".


as I said... the TV Series (http://imdb.com/title/tt0083466/).

made before the movies, and had more sight gags and innuedoes than the movies.

"and that, Billy, is what we call condensation... just like when your mother gets out of the shower, the water beads on every supple curve and... oh hello Frank..."

unofficially i have been some kind of dead, my heart was stopped for i think 2 hours (+/- 1 hour) under a operation, but my blood was still circulating course of a machine so i dont really think it can be called dead, but still close as if there had been a power failure the machine had stopped and i had been dead...

pretty close if you ask me...

I ran away from a bunch of ninjas. Then I figured out how to get away!

The secret for my survival. (http://www.drmcninja.com/junk/sketchfire2.gif)

I ran away from a bunch of ninjas. Then I figured out how to get away!

The secret for my survival. (http://www.drmcninja.com/junk/sketchfire2.gif)

http://www.studip.uni-goettingen.de/pictures/smile/ohoh.gif

And boy scouts don't really hike with spikes and crampons. it was a well used trail that was a little more muddy than usual.
Huh? I was talking to the other guy, Non Aligned States?

I died once and went straight to Hell. When I came back alive I decided I had to stop making those prank calls.

On a serious note; I used to take Martial Arts and one day when sparring I was doing a sidekick and with my stupidity I lifted both feet up so I fell down upon thick wood from 4 feet high and then lost all of my breath. As result of loosing so much breath so quickly I had a sezure (not sure how to spell it) and was rushed to the hospital. That wasn't half as bad as when I had to go to some therapist type of guy because of the incident.

I have terminal untreatable leukaemia.

Do I win?

not yet

I died once and went straight to Hell. When I came back alive I decided I had to stop making those prank calls.

On a serious note; I used to take Martial Arts and one day when sparring I was doing a sidekick and with my stupidity I lifted both feet up so I fell down upon thick wood from 4 feet high and then lost all of my breath. As result of loosing so much breath so quickly I had a sezure (not sure how to spell it) and was rushed to the hospital. That wasn't half as bad as when I had to go to some therapist type of guy because of the incident.

I had something kinda like that... Not as bad though and I'm not really sure how close I actually came to death, but...

I used to take Take Kwon Do when I was a kid and once when we were in class sparring the kid I was sparring against threw a roundkick that caught me in just the right way to stun my diaphragm. Suddenly I couldn't make myself draw breath. Luckily, one of the instructors saw it and he rushed over and picked me up by putting his arms under my armpis from behind me and lifting and bending backward, essentially stretching my torso. A moment later I could breathe fine. (Thanks, Mr. May!) I dunno what would have happened otherwise.

I tried to commit suicide once, and that was it.

I came fairly close with one suicide attempt.Aspirin is pretty toxic in large enough amounts. And came at least as close in an auto accident the same year.Though all I have to show for that is a bum knee and a couple of impressive scars.

I took a .45 to the chest from about 20 feet away, fortunately, my vest took most of the force off it, and it ended up lodged in the front of my ribcage. Still broke five ribs and punctured a lung, but it was a small hole and the doctors were able to close it.
Course I got a chewing out from the Capitan,and a three day suspension once I got out of the Hospital, but I got on the local news, so it balances out.

I managed to ski off of a mini cliff once into a bunch of trees, blacked out completely and was told that if I hadn't been wearing a helmet (which was a bit of a one off anyway) I could easily have suffered massive head trauma and died (eek).
Luckily I managed to get away with a few fractures down my arm and hand but I've always worn a helmet since then!

Huh? I was talking to the other guy, Non Aligned States?

just chiming in. for we both had similar experiences.

of course, his was ice, mine was mud... :p

A few Darwin Award nominees i see...

Rolling squid;13534589']I took a .45 to the chest from about 20 feet away, fortunately, my vest took most of the force off it, and it ended up lodged in the front of my ribcage. Still broke five ribs and punctured a lung, but it was a small hole and the doctors were able to close it.
Course I got a chewing out from the Capitan,and a three day suspension once I got out of the Hospital, but I got on the local news, so it balances out.

... may I ask why the Cap chewed you out for getting shot?

I was almost killed by a drunk driver, he/she crossed the double line of the roadway,I moved my car quickly,and he/she took my mirror off my driver side door,I banged a U tp go after him/her,but the car was at least doing 70, and was long gone before I got up to speed.

I did not own a cell phone at the time,so I could not even call the cops either :(

... may I ask why the Cap chewed you out for getting shot?

Because I was stupid. I was called onto the scene of a traffic chase, "two men in car, armed, shots have been fired" I caught up with them as they swerved to avoid another car, stopped them by crashing into them. Only one person was in the car, so I got out, drew, and ordered them him out of the car. He got out, then the other guy sat up, pulled a gun and shot me. I got a shot off in return but missed. From then on, as far as I remember, the driver surrendered, and the shooter ran himslef into a dead-end.

Got hit by a car a few years ago. Oh well, fractured my leg -> time off from school and stuff = win back then.

Tried to kill myself a few times, obviously failed.

Most recently was about a year ago. Was riding my bike (Gixxer 750), hit some bad road, rear wheel went one way front went the opposite. At about 80 on a twisty road. Bike went straight over a fifty foot drop, I stopped myself about a foot short of said drop.

And I street race pretty regularly, so that puts me out there pretty far, lol.

Rolling squid;13535295']Because I was stupid. I was called onto the scene of a traffic chase, "two men in car, armed, shots have been fired" I caught up with them as they swerved to avoid another car, stopped them by crashing into them. Only one person was in the car, so I got out, drew, and ordered them him out of the car. He got out, then the other guy sat up, pulled a gun and shot me. I got a shot off in return but missed. From then on, as far as I remember, the driver surrendered, and the shooter ran himslef into a dead-end.

I wonder what kind of time the guy got for shooting you - could've been life around here. Crazy thing to do.

Well, I can give two. One, was when I was holding a loaded revolver to my head, and pulled the trigger far enough that when I broke down and went to put it away, the hammer had locked back. The next closest would have to be the time that my heart kinda spontaneously stopped when I was little... Hooray for having a dad who is a paramedic.

I wonder what kind of time the guy got for shooting you - could've been life around here. Crazy thing to do.

They both got life with a chance for parole after 25 years, which seems about to right to me.

Rolling squid;13535295']Because I was stupid. I was called onto the scene of a traffic chase, "two men in car, armed, shots have been fired" I caught up with them as they swerved to avoid another car, stopped them by crashing into them. Only one person was in the car, so I got out, drew, and ordered them him out of the car. He got out, then the other guy sat up, pulled a gun and shot me. I got a shot off in return but missed. From then on, as far as I remember, the driver surrendered, and the shooter ran himslef into a dead-end.

ok, that I can see getting chewed out... glad you were vested! :p

just chiming in. for we both had similar experiences.

of course, his was ice, mine was mud... :p

You had a tree to stop yourself with though. I had either my face, or jagged rock country. It sounds strange, but it was hard, trying to fall down. Instinct kept me holding on to my balance I guess.

I have almost been killed twice. Once, when I was 12, I was going to cross a street but there was a big truck blocking my view. Even though I did look both ways, I was not able to see the speeding car that I stepped out in front of. I barely managed to jump across the street before it hit me. I was also robbed at gunpoint at 19.

I had a close encounter with the Grim Reaper twice in the same weekend:

1) I was driving to from LA to Las Vegas in my old '95 Firebird, a car which had been in the dealer's shop at least 16 times while it was still under warranty for various defects. As I was climbing up I-15 I noticed that the car seemed to be losing power and not running smoothly. Just before I got to the Cajon Summit, a truck pulled up beside me and told me to pull over, so I did, and he pulled off just ahead of me. The driver ran up to me and told me to get out of the car quick, because I was trailing FIRE for the last several miles! So, I got out and ran the hell away from the car, and sure enough I saw smoke spewing from under the chassis. I hadn't even turned off the car, so I ran back and turned it off. Fortunately, that ended the immediate threat.

Turned out the torque converter had burned out and caused a transmission fire. (Of course, the warranty had just expired a month or so beforehand.) So that car really was a FIREbird. Could have been a fireBALL if I hadn't stopped when I did.

2) This happened late on a Friday night. Of course, no garages were nearby, and even if there had been any, they would have been closed. So I had AAA tow me about 15 miles to a motel in Victorville, in the high desert where the nearest Pontiac dealer was. Next morning I had the car towed to the dealer. It took until the following Tuesday to get the car repaired. Meanwhile, the only interesting thing to do was go to the nearby Roy Rogers Museum (which has since relocated to Branson, Missouri).

This time I almost died of BOREDOM.

Much closer than you'd think! If she'd kicked you while you were on the ground, you might be. My great grandfather died of complications after being kicked in the head by a horse (he was a farmer).

Yeah, it's a good thing he didn't kick me anywhere fragile. *nod*

Yeah, it's a good thing he didn't kick me anywhere fragile. *nod*

*kicks LG's toes* :p

*kicks LG's toes* :p

Ow! *whimpers* :(

I OD'd on sleeping pills in April 2001 and came within an inch of death.

Years ago, I ODed a lot, too. I never actually died (der) but I came pretty close a few times.
Quite frankly, it scared the shit out of me.
Luckily, I appear to be immortal and have an amazing tolerance.

A few swings.

When I was born, I was born 3 months early and etc.


I'm in good shape now :D

Yeah, umbilical cord wrapped 3 times around the throat, like a bungee breech gone bad.
Odd thing is, once you get close enough to death, it never really leaves you. It's like an immodest aroma, but one you can't quite identify the main ingredients in.

Probably within about .1 BAC.

I've almost drowned, almost choked and almost got hit by a few cars. Going by the choking and drowning....maybe, 2 or 3 minutes from dying.

I was almost the victim of a hunting accident, I'm not sure if the shotgun would have killed me or just wounded me, but it was far too close a call.

I once got heatstroke while roofing on a hot summer day and got super dizzy while still on the roof. I had to be helped down, and was obviously done working for the rest of that day.

Almost fell off of a 200 foot cliff while skiing once.

That's about it.

Lost four pints of blood after being stabbed in a mugging. Two lessons from this: 1) don't be so possessive - it's only a wallet... and 2) Mickey Mouse boxer shorts. No.

I did meet a really cute doctor though, shame she had got married one month before. Oh, karma.

Quite close.
Vicious attack of measles at 18 months of age (fever up to 40,5 °C)
Risked drowning in sea (entered during a storm and got caught by waves)
Got a nasty electrocution on a train car (by a faulty internal electrical plant, 110 V, not the catenary, that's 3 kV :D)
Risked death as I crashed with a bicycle at about 80km/h off a mountain road near a 100m-deep ravine

I hope that's enough - for a lifetime.

1995: Stabbed 3 times; Chest, back, and abdomen.
1996: Shot twice: left thigh and right chest.
1998: Stabed in the left shoulder with a broken cue stick.
2002: Beaten with a baseball bat by an inmate.
2003: Stabbed in the right thigh, back, and neck by an inmate.
2005: Stabbed in the abdomen and just under the right lung by an inmate.

I'm in law enforcement just for those thinking I'm in prison, LOL, it's not just a job....it's a test of fortitude! Everything prior to 2002 was done during my teen years and when I ran with the wrong crowd. And just for those who may want to know or might ask...I'd rather be shot than stabbed. The initial pain from a bullet entering the body is a lot...A LOT less than a knife, but recovery is a bigger pain in the @$$!

3 close calls for me.
First time when i was in primary school, some idiot turned right without using his blinker, he hit me and ran over my leg. To this day i cant sit comofortably with my right leg up.
Second time was in highschool, we had a "who dares to jump of the high roof" competition. I won, broke 3 ribs in the process and spent about 20 mins being unconscious.

Third time was just over a year ago, my girlfriend had ditched me for some other guy. I was standing at the train track smoking my "last" ciggy, when i decided i wasn't going to give her the satisfaction...
Didnt even make me stop smoking...stupid women :(

What a great thread! Verisimillitude, don't get a big head or over-analyze, it's the ineffable grace of NSG. You struck a nerve here.

I want to reply to too many of the posts, so I'll just summarize: cars kill young people, or else scare them sensible; hiking and ski-ing are fun because they are very dangerous; nearly committing suicide doesn't count, you're TRYING to scare yourself; and the human body is unsafe at any speed.

And: we're all still alive. Imagine the stories the dead could tell.

I have terminal untreatable leukaemia.

Do I win?

Yes?

Sorry to hear that :(

nearly committing suicide doesn't count,

yeh.... attempted suicide is no big deal.
</sarcasm>

Yes?

Sorry to hear that :(

As Ashmoria posted, I had "not yet" typed up. It's punchy.

Then I thought, well, a person could live for years in the shadow of death. That's not a thing to joke about.

I'm a huge fan of Ashmoria, but that was a bum note she hit there.

yeh.... attempted suicide is no big deal.
</sarcasm>

Say what you mean. Sarcasm implies an obvious truth ... and I'm sorry, but the truth isn't plain here.

EDIT: And to make my own point clearer: suicide (or attempted) as a statement to others is wrong. Suicide is FROM the subject, TO the subject. The Suicide themself. We who choose to live (however painful that is) owe not a damn thing to one who blackmails us and seeks to avoid the consequences.

As Ashmoria posted, I had "not yet" typed up. It's punchy.

Then I thought, well, a person could live for years in the shadow of death. That's not a thing to joke about.

I'm a huge fan of Ashmoria, but that was a bum note she hit there.

Ashmoria's response was 'better' :(

As Ashmoria posted, I had "not yet" typed up. It's punchy.

Then I thought, well, a person could live for years in the shadow of death. That's not a thing to joke about.

I'm a huge fan of Ashmoria, but that was a bum note she hit there.

Oh, I wouldn't worry about it. I thought Ashmoria's post was funny, and if I think it's funny, please feel free to find it funny yourself.

After all, I've been known to walk around wearing a 'I'm not dead yet' t-shirt, so I'm not blind to the comedy value.

In my situation you tend to develop a highly-attuned sense of gallows humour.

I suppose the real difference between me and most of the people in this thread is that most of the other examples are of people having accidents / doing something stupid that almost killed them, but which they didn't necessarily see coming.

Me, I know what's coming, and I know it'll kill me*, but I just don't know when.

*unless there's a surprise breakthrough in medical science, a compatible bone marrow donor is found despite the massive odds against that happening, or I get hit by a bus tomorrow, thereby rendering the leukaemia irrelevant.

Lost four pints of blood after being stabbed in a mugging. Two lessons from this: 1) don't be so possessive - it's only a wallet... and 2) Mickey Mouse boxer shorts. No.

I did meet a really cute doctor though, shame she had got married one month before. Oh, karma.

I threw up four pints of blood after a poorly-cauterized tonsilectomy when I was 10. It's a whoooole lot of blood to see coming from your body, eh?

Oh, I wouldn't worry about it. I thought Ashmoria's post was funny, and if I think it's funny, please feel free to find it funny yourself.

Of course it was funny. Somehow, it seems to carry compassion (the sense "the future is not yet") with her name beside it. In the more abstract and impersonal context of my posts, it was just cynical.

I wouldn't have posted it. Man, the shit I type up and DONT post would make a book.

After all, I've been known to walk around wearing a 'I'm not dead yet' t-shirt, so I'm not blind to the comedy value.

In my situation you tend to develop a highly-attuned sense of gallows humour.

There are two senses of humour: to laugh, and to make laugh. I try for both, and by (1) your tolerance of this joke, and (2) the t-shirt, it seems you do too.

I suppose the real difference between me and most of the people in this thread is that most of the other examples are of people having accidents / doing something stupid that almost killed them, but which they didn't necessarily see coming.

There's a fair few medical close calls too. Posters who were unconscious for significant amounts of time, hearts stopped, even technically dead.

Me, I know what's coming, and I know it'll kill me*, but I just don't know when.

Well, the last time I tried to give blood I also signed up to give bone marrow. I wred the rather lengthy and strongly-worded warning about the pain and debilitation that would involve, and ticked it anyway.

But I was rejected, because I ticked the box "have you ever used intravenous drugs?" It was in 1981, two times, each with sterile needles right out of the packet, sterile saline and tabs of LSD. The Australian Blood Bank errs on the side of caution. Insanely. I gave blood probably twenty times up 'til then, but the blood bank changed the rules, and I can't help thinking it was about "you broke a law, therefore you lie, therefore we can't trust anything on this form you just signed."

It's important to note, in Australia you get nothing for donating blood (some iron pills and a sandwich, well almost nothing.) There was no incentive for me to lie.

I was pretty insulted by the blood bank's rejection. I'm strong and healthy and I want to share that. I've always been very careful of my health, even when I was a heavy drug user. But I'll swallow my pride and go offer both the blood and the marrow again. They'll probably reject me again.

But I'll try. There are many reason the odds against finding a compatible bone marrow donor are long, but I'm reminded just how stupid this particular reason is. Good luck from your end!

It's better to err on the side of Caution.
Here in Canada,a tattoo,a night in jail,
among other things will disqualify you
from giving blood.
After the Blood scandal years ago in which
we are still feeling the fallout,The Canadian Blood
Services Agency takes absolutely No chances.
Ironic, though that i have been turned away
for the very thing that ended me up in the hospital.
high blood pressure. Live and Learn
That is how it is supposed to go ,isn't it?

It wasn't actually a near-death experience, but it scared the living fuck out of me.

A couple years back, I was sitting at my desk at work, and then suddenly I found myself slumping down almost falling out of my chair. I felt chills all over and was very disoriented. I got up to go to the restroom (I had a vague thought about getting water) and felt myself starting to black out in the hallway. I leaned against a wall until my vision cleared a little.

I work across the street from a hospital. I walked over into the ER.

Oh, did I mention that about a year prior to this my mother had been diagnosed with two brain tumors? And that the doctors had told her there was a chance she had a genetic condition that caused these tumors, and there was a chance she'd passed it down to me and my brother?

Yeah. So. Little scared at that point.

It turns out nothing was significantly wrong with me. It was some sort of vagal "hiccup" that caused me to black out.

I swear, though, I have never been so personally afraid for my life than I was then. I was sitting there in a hospital bed, mentally listing all the horrible things that could be wrong with me. I was trying to guess where my tumor was located. I was imagining how I was going to tell my partner that I had something bad growing inside my skull. I was thinking about how the next day was my birthday, and how there's all those stories of some young person tragically dying the day before their birthday...

Oy.

I'm not sure if this qualifies, since nothing actually happened (thank god) but it did have the potential to all end in tears and an ambulance ride.

Halloween a couple of years ago and $600 worth of fireworks in a box. Over-zeolous friend who refused to properly stand/ground the fireworks he was lighting. Myself and another friend standing several yards away, beside the box, shaking our heads. As could be predicted, the firework tipped and fell over, shooting flares at us and into the damn box! >.<

Thank god nothing actually lit.

Needless to say he got his lighter privilages taken away.

EDIT: And to make my own point clearer: suicide (or attempted) as a statement to others is wrong. Suicide is FROM the subject, TO the subject. The Suicide themself. We who choose to live (however painful that is) owe not a damn thing to one who blackmails us and seeks to avoid the consequences.

Suicide is an act entirely of the self, yet it's also blackmail? Make up your mind.

Your first statement was more correct: suicide is not about anyone else. And those who attempt suicide (and I have) are not "owed" any sympathy from you. But neither are they owed contempt and mockery. As you said yourself, it has nothing to do with you, so shut up and move on.

It wasn't actually a near-death experience, but it scared the living fuck out of me.
Oooooh, that reminds me of something. One day I was watching the tv when my heart stopped.
It was just a prolonged pause between heartbeats, I'm sure it must have been below two seconds, but I jumped out of the chair like I was hit by a lightning. The terror was unimaginable. Then the heart resumed with a powerful BOOOM that felt like a kick in the chest.
Later I was diagnosed with mild arythmia, but I never again experienced anything like that (and it's been 20 years since).

Suicide is an act entirely of the self, yet it's also blackmail? Make up your mind.

Your first statement was more correct: suicide is not about anyone else. And those who attempt suicide (and I have) are not "owed" any sympathy from you. But neither are they owed contempt and mockery. As you said yourself, it has nothing to do with you, so shut up and move on.

I beg your pardon. It sounds like you just told me to "shut up."

I 'tried to come out' like 3 months before I was due, like 3 times.
Third time was six weeks before my due date, and that's when I finally made it.
Left lung collapsed (presumably what 'deflated' my ribcage; it's all messed up) and they had to reinflate it.
Was in the hospital for two months I think. Two weeks or two months, whatever. Second thing was running from a pair of labrador retrievers, though I honestly don't know whether they were playing or whether they were trying to run me down. Then there was the abused, rabid dog next door which my drunken neighbor let loose one morning before school.
Think that's it.

I 'tried to come out' like 3 months before I was due, like 3 times.

You have a due date for coming out? Couldn't you just have told them all and let them deal with it in their own way?

You have a due date for coming out? Couldn't you just have told them all and let them deal with it in their own way?

From the rest of his post, i guess he means "coming out of his mum", otherwise known as being born.

From the rest of his post, i guess he means "coming out of his mum", otherwise known as being born.

Well, that depends how you define 'born'. How do you know he really was?

Well, that depends how you define 'born'. How do you know he really was?

What do you mean by "really" ...?

I and at least one other poster to this thread were "born" by C-section. I was carried by my mother (to full term, without complications until actual delivery) ... I was clearly "born" in some real sense, I'm not just a grossly overdeveloped foetus.

Breathing air, and surviving without receiving sustenance from my mother through an umbilical cord, seems to me "being born." In a more real sense than "did my entire body pass through my mother's vagina?"
I think I just grossed myself out!

and the human body is unsafe at any speed.

But not as fun. Speed has killed no one. Its that hitting something solid and not moving that tends to take you down.

I'm dead already. :upyours:

A hot shot after a high time.

I beg your pardon. It sounds like you just told me to "shut up."

Then we're speaking the same language after all. Good.