People Break Down The Most Heartbreaking Things They've Ever Witnessed

There are so many things I wish I could go back in time and unsee.

Or if there was a way to "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" a few moments of life, I'd sign up.

I hate sad or tragic things.

I really dislike being witness to the worst of what life has to offer.

I've seen death and bloodshed.

If there was a way to never have that stuff in my dreams from memory, I'd take it.

But, that is a part of life.

I can't outrun it or erase it.

I know I'm not alone.

Redditor AptNuisance wanted to hear about the saddest things we've all seen, so they asked:

"Reddit, what was the most heartbreaking moment you've ever witnessed?"

46

"Watching my aunt walk up to my uncle's casket at his funeral. She was only 46."

"She sobbed the whole way there like she'd sobbed going up the aisle on her wedding day - she was a crier. It made me remember that wonderful day but juxtaposed against this one - him dying so suddenly and young... mmmm."

- JKW1988

Sad Cry GIF by SpongeBob SquarePantsGiphy

The Phone Rang

"It was my dad's birthday. I had gotten up that morning to get him gifts and a birthday cake and woken him to celebrate. He had just blown out the candles I had put on his cake when the phone rang. He said he would take the call and have a piece of cake when he came back in."

"Time passed and it seemed odd he was gone so long, so I got up to see where he was. I walked into the kitchen and he wasn't there, I looked out the window and I could see him on the phone. Nobody had to tell me what had happened. I could read it in his demeanor. I took a chair and sat down. My brother was dead."

- Consistent-Fudge-938

Begging

"Watching my mom grieve when my grandma passed. My grandma constantly spoke about how terrified she was to develop dementia, like a cruel joke she developed it and we had to watch her suffer, watch the person we once knew disappear over the span of about 5 years. It’s been a year since she passed but that day my siblings and I had to comfort her, we watched the little girl in her begging for her mom back to come out that day."

- Thin_Contribution160

Her Money

"My Dad saw I needed a new car and I think he knew he was on borrowed time. So, he said let’s go to the bank and withdraw some savings. So, what the banker saw was a woman pushing her father with an amputated leg to get out some savings. She said, 'I have to ask, are you being coerced?' I was kinda glad they asked questions like that. My Father just chuckled and said, 'No, it’s her money anyway, I won’t be around to spend it. I want to ensure she has a safe car.' He died within the year. I love that man so much."

- Wackydetective

I'm Sorry

"I overheard a crying child that was terminal and in the hospital tell his mother that he was sorry for being sick and all of the expenses—like at 2am. She was sobbing."

- Test-Equal

Sorry Home Alone GIF by filmeditorGiphy

The Scream

"Went to a funeral of my daughter’s classmate. Watched her mum just fall to the ground as the casket was lowered and she just screamed."

- Ok-Bullfrog5830

FaceTime

"My father passed in the hospital of a heart attack with dementia, during Covid lockdown - no visitors at the hospital. Watching my dad's fear on a FaceTime asking and blaming my mom for abandoning him."

- G0es2eleven

Only 10

"First time I ever saw my dad cry was at my brother's best friend's funeral. He was only 10 and died of a brain aneurism while we were all out riding dirt bikes and my dad was a rock for his friend and my brother while everything was happening and until the funeral. I actually wondered if he cared until the service. When he went to hug his friend, the boy's dad, my dad lost it and sobbed. I was wrong, my dad cared very much for him and it broke my heart to see two of the strongest men I've ever known suffering so much."

- broken_soul696

Assets

"I used to work for a financial counselor and one day a family came in to go over an elderly woman’s assets. Her son stepped away to use the bathroom and she broke down in tears, begging us to help her because her son was stripping her of everything she had."

- an_ineffable_plan

Mom

"I can't remember my exact age, but must've been something around 8yo when my mom sat in the kitchen and was crying so much. She didn't want to tell me the reason but I wouldn't let it go, so she told me my little cousin (her sister's child), barely 2yo at the time, had died (she had spent her whole life at the hospital). Hadn't seen my mom this sad and just broken up to this point and I'll never forget that moment."

- ChaosFlameEmber

Last Moments

"The Mom of a 16 year old boy spending her last moments with him in a quiet funeral home before a high school's worth of people came for the visitation. She was talking to him and rubbing his chest, I can't look at Detroit Red Wings jerseys the same way."

"The high school worth of people were in the next town over attending the funeral service of one of the other two 16 year olds who'd died in a car crash the previous week. The driver had survived but his three friends who were passengers died. They were at a sleepover and the one guy's mom was the town librarian so they drove into town to get more movies to watch."

- gfanonn

Horrific

"Years ago, one of the people I worked with had just come off a phone call with her daughter who was stationed somewhere abroad in the forces. Apparently her daughter sounded a bit down, so my colleague went out on her lunch break to get her a little present, and that afternoon, mailed it to her, to cheer her up."

"The next day, we were all laughing in the office when two policemen walked in, closely followed by my colleague's husband. Her daughter had been killed in a horrific car crash shortly after they'd had that call. I've never seen anyone go from smiling and happy to utterly devastated in the space of literally a couple of seconds."

- eezgorriseadback

Bye Kitty

"Almost a year ago, we had to put my cat to sleep because of Squamous Cell Carcinomas (Cancer). His tumor grew over his teeth. It went really quick and really aggressive. He was diagnosis one month and gone the next. It took two shots of the sedative as he tried to stay awake."

"He purred the entire time until the end. The vet said that it is harder when they purr the entire time. At the time, there was a little girl -- about 4 years old -- who wanted to 'see' the kitty, and it broke my heart that I had to tell her that he was very sick, but the truth was that no child should see any cat in that condition."

- ANovelist

Distraught

"I was in A&E and through a window into one of the small offices I saw a teenage boy being comforted who’d obviously just received some really bad news. To this day I’ve never seen someone so distraught."

- alchemistdub

Grandma

"My grandma underwent surgery for a complication I don't remember (this was over 6 years ago). During the time she was gone from home, my grandpa who appeared healthy just weeks before suddenly got sick, and by the time she got home, fully recovered, he was bedridden. It took a little over a week until he finally gave in."

"Grandma was doing okay until two days into his wake (we hold 5 day-wakes before the burial in our country). She was suddenly weak and it didn't take long until she was bedridden, and stopped talking to anyone in the family. The day before the burial, she passed away. I still remember the medics trying to revive her from my view on the outside of her bedroom window. They did all the procedure in her bedroom before she was put in her casket. I can vividly remember how it smelled."

"The family decided to postpone grandpa's funeral so they could be buried together. They will always be who I think about when I hear true love."

- sillyhoewet

Oh No

"During COVID my sister and I had to take our dog to the vet for an ear issue. They weren’t letting people in the waiting area so we went out to the car. While we’re waiting for them to call us in, an elderly couple pulls into the lot with their old golden retriever. The husband had to carry him in and my sister and I both said 'oh no.' They came out a little while later without him. When they got to the car the turned to each other, hugged, and started crying. My sister and I were a mess."

- Accomplished-Law-234

Tough

"My mom crying after my grandpa screamed at her. He had been pressuring her to send him more money - it’s a long story but the gist is he f**ked up overseas and needed money to sustain himself. Never been close with my dad’s side of the family, but seeing my mom this vulnerable completely detached me from them."

"My mom’s a tough woman so seeing someone push her around like that was heartbreaking. Just hearing her cry down the hallway was tough, especially hearing dad reassure her that it wasn’t her fault."

- Sea-Presence6809

As sad as this thread is, let it remind us to always use the most with every day.

There are so many people who will never have that chance.

Hopefully, everyone in these stories is receiving help.