Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Explain How They Almost Died

People Explain How They Almost Died
Make us preferred on Google

When you are but a breath away from the wrong step and certain death, life shifts perspective for you.

Humans sometimes forget that they are mortal and that at any moment, they may face the end of their lives. When confronted with that mortality, people have a hard time fully grasping that. It can cause a full shift in their lives.


And chances are, you'll never forget the incident that almost ended your life.

u/ferfeb asked:

How did you almost die?

Here were some of those answers.

Trigger warnings: violence, blood, moments of terror, death.

Hostage Situation

Giphy I was an English teacher in Honduras. About 8 months in myself and 4 other volunteers decided to go to a "bar" a few towns over(the closest one) to celebrate one of their birthdays. A few hours in, a group of 4 men came in with masks and HUGE guns and told everyone to drop to the floor. Being half in the bag (or possibly more), I decided to hide in the men's washroom as I was right beside it.

I got yanked out by one of the men and pushed up against the wall. He then held the gun to my head and told me to give him everything I had. He then told us 4 (we were put together on the wall as we were obviously the ones that were not from around there), and said if we reported them, they knew where we worked (and they did), and would kill us. We reported the incident (although nothing came from it), and I was back home in Canada 3 days later.

Elviastryx

Thank Goodness Indeed

Slipped on some rocks and was about to fall 20-30 feet into the ocean and more rocks. When you see someone in the movies falling and they grab on to basically nothing. That can't happen you think. Wrong, thank goodness.

ketzcm

Away From The Cliffside

Giphy

I went hiking with a friend and her family in 6th grade during a camping trip they invited me on. We were coming back down and I lost my footing and feel. I started sliding towards a cliff and a bush caught me. If not for that bush I would have gone off a 200ft (at least/best guess) drop into a lake.

Even now at 21 hiking makes nervous.

ICatch42

Saved From The Tupperware

Shoeing horses. Was tucked under the hind end of one when something spooked him. I got dragged down between his hind legs. He was in cross ties so he could only really move side to side so neither of us could get away. Luckily my boss was nearby and was able to untie him and get him off me.

I was really lucky and got off mostly okay. Had a few broken ribs, a punctured and collapsed lung, broke my nose, and got a bunch of soft tissue injuries in my right arm.

But it got me out of a Tupperware party I didn't want to go to so all in all 10/10 would get trampled again

Advo-Kat

Just Driftin'

My doctor prescribed me medications that had an interaction which suppressed my central nervous system. Basically it felt like I was taking heavy tranquilizers constantly.

At the time I was commuting on a mountain road to go to night school and the meds made me so tired I almost fell asleep driving multiple times. After I almost got in what would have been a huge accident I withdrew from school for the semester.

Another doctor figured it out, took me off my meds, and I felt like a new person within days.

may_day

Just The Wrong Angle

Giphy

Slipped in a club and fell onto a half pint glass. The glass shattered and sliced open my wrist, nicking the artery and the tendon and opening my palm to the bone.

Plus side; just before I went I to shock I got to see my tendon move like the terminator! Minus side; I accidentally covered a bunch of people in my blood. Oh, and the surgeries... and the scar on my wrist

uhoh353

An Old Injury

Hit by a car doing 70mph back in 1989 - shattered my femur, half of it turned to dust, the other half ripped its way out my outer thigh as if to say "welp, gotta go kiddo, my work here is done...".

Fractured skull with brain swelling, smashed knee, smashed hip, internal bleeding - according to most witnesses, I looked like I'd stepped on a landmine.

I spent 6 months in hospital, was fitted with a custom titanium reinforced composite femur, had to relearn how to walk. The scar went keloid and its about 8 inches long, going from my hip to my knee.

In 1993 I had to have the bone swapped out for an adult one so as not to screw up my growth. I walk fine but I run with a limp.

kr239

A Warning To All

I made the mistake of driving drunk. Not, "a little tipsy" and not, "I'm pretty sure I'm fine".... Drunk with a capital D.

I am a complete jerk for driving in that state. I didn't even remember getting home. Fortunately nobody got hurt, but waking up in bed the next morning with no recollection of how I got there...

I could have killed someone and myself. Please, anyone reading this: There is always someone willing to come pick you up and drive you home. Don't let pride get in the way of that. It is always the safer option.

ThisGuyOnEarth

Just Typical Of Newark

Giphy

I was almost run over by a speeding bus in my teens. I lived in Newark, NJ at the time, and I was listening to Slipknot on my Zune (lol). I was going to cross the street, when a song came on that I didn't wanna listen to, so I stopped for a second to hit next, and the exact second I did, a bus flew past me, just inches away from my face. I literally felt the wind almost knock me back. The driver had ignored a red light and just kept on going, and I would've been mush, if I hadn't stopped to select a different song. Slipknot's Iowa album literally saved my life, in a way.

fauxname69

We Have Ignition

I was an aircraft hydraulics specialist and while looking for a leak in a 3,000 psi pressure line, a pinhole leak started right next to my head and shaved off a bit of hair just above my ear. Had I been just an inch or two to the left I would of had a stream of high pressure fluid cut right into my skull.

DuelyDeciesive

More from People

Members of the Patriot Front preparing to march with anti-abortion activists for the 49th annual March for Life in Washington DC.
Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Gay Man Speaks Out After Chilling Photo Captured Him Surrounded By White Nationalists

As Americans gathered in Washington, D.C., to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday weekend, Roswell Encina found himself witnessing a very different vision of the country.

The gay Filipino American civic leader and president and CEO of the US Capitol Historical Society was photographed aboard a Metro train surrounded by masked members of Patriot Front after the white nationalist group marched through the capital, chanting, "Reclaim America."

Keep ReadingShow less
John Oliver
Noam Galai/Comic Relief/Getty Images

John Oliver Finally Gets His Wish To Be Slapped on 'General Hospital' Cameo—And Fans Are Obsessed

Beloved long-time HBO host John Oliver made it big when he got guest-starring roles on General Hospital and Days of Our Lives, and based on his personality and sense of humor, perhaps it should be no surprise to any of us what his special requests were for the daytime soap operas.

Back in March, Oliver said on air that he dreamed of filling a "juicy" role on General Hospital, and ABC took the request so seriously that they offered him a role on both of the melodramas.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Trump Sparks Outrage After Saying He Knows Migrants Are 'Trouble' Just By 'Looking At Them'—And Everyone's Thinking The Same Thing

President Donald Trump was criticized after suggesting during a speech in the White House Rose Garden that undocumented migrants can be identified as "trouble" by "looking at them," prompting critics to call out the implication.

Trump's remarks came after reporters noted that federal immigration officials had detained more than 10,000 people over a five-day period, a sure sign that the administration's nationwide immigration crackdown is intensifying.

Keep ReadingShow less
Gavin Newsom; Donald Trump
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images; Win McNamee/Getty Images

Gavin Newsom Trolls 'Wandering' Trump With Joke About Turkey's President Being His 'Caretaker' On Recent Trip

California Governor Gavin Newsom pounced after Fox News aired footage showing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan guiding President Donald Trump down the tarmac after exiting Air Force One.

Trump arrived in Ankara, Turkey, for a NATO summit where allies were expected to press him on Washington's plans for troop reductions in Europe, seek assurances of continued support for Ukraine ahead of his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and hear his remarks at a news conference before he returned to Washington.

Keep ReadingShow less
Frankie Grande attends The 79th Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall.
Dia Dipasupil/WireImage

Frankie Grande Shares Gnarly Injury Photos After Prop Accident Causes Concussion During Broadway Show

Frankie Grande is showing fans the aftermath of a frightening Broadway mishap. The performer revealed he suffered a concussion and facial injuries after being struck by a prop during a performance of Titaníque, sharing photos of the damage days later.

The actor revealed on Instagram on Sunday that the injury occurred during the show's performance on Thursday, July 2. Photos included in the post showed bruising around his left eye and across the bridge of his nose.

Keep ReadingShow less