People Describe The Biggest Bullets They've Ever Dodged In Life

Without living multiple lifetimes, in various timelines, there's really no telling how life might have gone if relationships, events, and decisions had played out differently.

But every once in a while, something happens that is an undeniable game-changer.

Curious about others' experiences, Redditor theUncleAwesome07 asked:

"What is the biggest bullet you've dodged in life?"

A Gas Leak

"Around 2019, we were struggling financially, and as a result, our gas was shut off. After months of struggling, we were finally able to get the bill down and have the gas turned back on."

"When the worker came out, he had to do a mandatory test for carbon monoxide. Turns out our furnace was absolutely leaking carbon monoxide, and we had no idea!"

"I can’t help but think it’s entirely possible that we could’ve died from carbon monoxide poisoning if we had not had our gas shut off in the first place. We got a new furnace and loaded up on carbon monoxide detectors."

"What was a huge misfortune of having our gas shut off due to not being able to afford the bill actually ended up saving our lives in the end."

- No_fan_gets_banned

A Real Cliffhanger

"Driving to my girlfriend's parents' place in Montana for Thanksgiving..."

"Crossing a mountain pass in my 1984 Toyota Tercel, it was a beautiful, sunny winter day, but coming around a bend, I hit an ice patch and immediately started sliding off the road. It was next to a cliff, with no guardrail, and it was a slow-motion freak-out. The car came to a stop just before going over. My girlfriend didn't even have room to get out on her side."

"We slowly and carefully slid out my side, and both got out safely, but then our previous freakout turned quickly into some real concern about what the h**l we were going to do next, and how we were going to get out of there in the middle of nowhere. And, it was cold."

"Not two minutes later, a pickup truck with two guys in the cab and three in the bed came around the bend toward us. They pulled over in front of my car, and they all hopped out like a pit crew. One guy with a tow strap hooked it under the front axle, hooked it on the back of the truck, and they pulled my car off the cliff and back onto the shoulder of the highway."

"I thanked them PROFUSELY, and asked them what in the hell they were doing out in the middle of nowhere like this. One guy said that 'there wasn't much to do around here,' and helping people on the highway was kind of a fun activity."

"The entire event took a total of about ten minutes."

- One-Ball-78

Perfect Timing

"I was a spectator at the Boston Marathon the year of the bombing, standing exactly at the site of the second bomb about 10 minutes before the bomb went off."

"My wife was running the marathon and thankfully finished 10 minutes before the explosions. We had just met up in the family meeting area when the bombs detonated. It was surreal."

"I did not know until later that evening where the bombs were located, and it was only then that I realized how close I was to being a victim. Absolutely surreal."

- BigPopOfSpeed

Journey Through The Woods

"I was jogging on a path in the woods, and an enormous tree limb fell, crashing on the path ten feet behind me. If I were just a second or two slower, it would have been gruesome."

- Unhappy_Permit2571

"That is crazy lucky. The reverse happened to a car driving down the road in front of my house as a kid and killed the driver instantly. Just crazy to think that if he’d been even one second earlier or later, he would be alive. Life is wild. It wasn’t even windy out or anything."

- Apostate_Mage

Tornado Avoiders

"I was driving home with my then-girlfriend down a normal road. We decided to go out for food and stopped at Applebee's."

"The food took for-f**king-ever. It was 45 to 50 minutes between ordering and getting the food. We finished, paid, and left kind of miffed."

"Then we continued driving home, and the street lights were out at some point, and there was a detour. Turns out, a tornado ripped through that road just ahead of us. We probably would have been on the road if our food hadn't taken so long."

- leonprimrose

Newfound Love

"I was dating this girl for a while. I thought she was the one for me. Pretty, adventurous, and fun. Then I discovered that my at the time best friend and her were sleeping together for a few months. I was devastated."

"I went into a full spiral depression for about four months. When I came out of it, I reached out to some friends, who I had not talked to since, and they chose the backstabber over me. My entire friend group abandoned me. I had no one."

"Then I hit up an old friend from a younger age, as we had drifted apart because of that friend group. We started hanging out again, and he introduced me to some new people. Then, a few years after that, he introduced me to my now wife."

"Though at the time I was crushed by what they did, that 'best friend' did me a huge favor and showed me that girl's true side. And now I'm happier than I have ever been."

- skith8431

A Misdiagnosis To Healing

"I hurt my lower back last year and had to get surgery. During rehab, I was still having balance and bowel problems that, based on MRIs, shouldn’t exist."

"Due to bowel stuff, I went and got a colonoscopy at 38 years old, and they found a huge polyp that was about six months away from turning into colon cancer. The doctor mentioned how lucky I was."

"Got it taken care of and found out recently my issues are due to a different higher-up back injury where my nerve was compressed, affecting my bowel, and getting it fixed now."

"If I didn’t hurt my back, and it wasn’t misdiagnosed, I’d have colon cancer right now. A misdiagnosed back injury potentially saved my life."

- MamaOnica

A Horrible Parallel

"My dad and I used to ride the same train line every night back home from the city (for work). We sat in the same car, same row, same seat. One night, both of us couldn’t make it, so we were going to get home however (different times, take a taxi, etc)."

"That night, a gunman was on OUR train (same time) in the SAME car (third), walking up and down the aisle, shooting people. A father and son were sitting in our normal seats. The father was killed, and the son was paralyzed."

"I couldn’t ride the train for a month. Couldn’t get the thought out of my mind that it should’ve been us. I still think about it every time I’m on a train."

- ManMythLegend1

Reality Check

"I quit smoking cigarettes when I was in nursing school."

"I saw a COPD patient bent over in the tripod position in order to breathe better, and in that moment, something in my brain clicked. I told myself, 'This is you, if you do not stop,' and after some back and forth... I've quit 10+ years strong!"

- Sylwek313

Tiny Heroes For One Night

"Years ago, when I was in middle school, my brother and I had bunk beds, and he had the top one, which was held up with metal bars. If you've seen Step Brothers, you can see where I'm going with this, except it's with metal bars instead of neat boxes."

"Well, since we lived in an old house in a country neighborhood, we occasionally got bed bugs. My bed got them especially badly, and it was even worse during the summer."

"Usually, I went to bed first, but since I was tired of getting bitten, I chose to stay up as long as I could, while my brother went to bed."

"He jumped on his bed, which then fell onto mine. It did not fall flat. Rather, the side that fell was where my head would be. I slept in a chair that night. Freaking bed bugs saved my skull."

- nWo1997

A Family Vacation

"When I was about eight years old, we went on a family vacation to the mountains in western North Carolina."

"While we were there, we went tubing on a river. At one point, there were some rapids, and I fell off my tube and got caught in the undercurrent created by the big boulders in the river. I was stuck there for what felt like minutes and was unable to get to the surface."

"My parents didn’t see it happen, but some stranger did, and he yanked me out. I doubt I’d be here today if it weren’t for that man. I wish I knew who he was so I could say thank you."

- thoseDoots

Some People Never Change

"I didn’t marry my ex. He’s still the same old loser who can’t hold down a job and lives with his parents ten years after we broke up. He also constantly told me I was 'not smart' in a gentle voice, and I had just graduated law school and passed the Bar on my first try."

- Bitter_Composer6318

Avoiding A World Of Debt

"Not taking out $150k+ of private loans for a bachelor's degree in nursing at a private school. I waited an extra year to fatten up my resume and experience to apply to the cheaper (more competitive) nursing programs and got into an accelerated 15-month program that only costs $45k. I'm on the trajectory to walk and take the NCLEX next May. No regrets."

- sadkaoo

The Right Match

"I worked with two nurses and had my eye on Linda, a pretty, vivacious, smart, flirtatious woman. Her friend, Deanna, was very pretty, but quiet, though she could hold conversations. I had concert tickets and went up to ask Linda out for the first time. She was wearing a wedding ring!! (Nurses don't wear rings, and Linda had forgotten to take hers off that evening.)"

"Deanna was in an isolation room, all gowned and masked. I put on a mask, went to the door, and asked her out. We've been married 47 years this month."

"The bullet I dodged was that Linda was a flake. She was on her second marriage, broke up with him, and married twice more. She always wanted younger, then much younger men ... pretty boys. She aged out and wouldn't accept a man near her age. Last we knew, she was living alone."

- Mentalfloss1

A Kind Return

"I left my fanny pack with passport, tickets, and one thousand in cash in a toilet stall at the Milan airport when I was a teen going to Italy on a Rotary exchange. So, so stupid, and that airport had a major crime problem."

"I was panicked, about to accept that the whole month was ruined, and then heard my name over the intercom."

"Some wonderful person had returned it to the gate without even snagging some cash. I made a major karma withdrawal that day."

- TreeofLibertyFood

"I'm convinced that at least 80% of the world is good people. At least 80%. Everywhere."

- SomeFactsIJustMadeUp

From literal attacks to accidents to ruined relationships and careers, a dodged bullet will mean different things to everyone. But one thing is for certain: it'll be obvious when looking back what that turning point was.