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darwin
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
USA
5454 Posts |
 Posted - 06/01/2005 : 12:19:57
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This question was submitted to Kathryn for her question thread but it was either promoted or demoted to being its own thread (at Kathryn's urging).
Have you ever had a near death experience? Tell us about it. |
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kathryn
~ Selkie Bride ~
Belgium
15320 Posts |
Posted - 06/01/2005 : 12:55:08
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I suggested it be upgraded to its own topic, darwin. Why don't you post the two you emailed
me? They are fascinating.
Sadly, I've never had a near-death experience, though I did briefly live in Texas.
 I still believe in the excellent joy of the Catholics |
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Surfer Rosa
> Teenager of the Year <
4209 Posts |
Posted - 06/01/2005 : 13:38:14
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Isn't a miss as good as a mile?
How do you really tell if it's a near death experience? Accidents can be so random. |
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darwin
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
USA
5454 Posts |
Posted - 06/01/2005 : 13:52:49
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To get the ball rolling here are my two near death experiences.
When I was about 6 I went to the Florida State circus (yes, the University has a circus) and one of the tricks was spitting out a ball (a ping pong ball?) high into the air and catching in the mouth over and over again. So, of course the next day I was balancing a nickle on my nose and swallowed it. This happened just as my mom was leaving on some errand. I couldn't breathe at all. My sister rushed out and caught my mom before she left. She picked me up by my feet and whacked me on my back. I swallowed the nickle and was alright. At the hospital there was Xray showing the nickle in my tummy. Mysteriously the nickle was no longer there a month later when I revisited the hospital.
Second time cheating death. When I was about 21 I was in Costa Rica and went body surfing. I was having pretty fun time when I glanced back to shore and discovered I had been swept way off the coast. I was caught in a rip tide and immediately started panicing. I forgot the bit about swimming perpendicular to a rip tide and instead tried catching waves to get to shore. I was completely drained and got pushed under by waves a few times. I came sputtering back up to the surface. I really thought I was a goner. I finally managed to reach a spot where I could stand. Rested a short a bit and then started further back into shore. Found that I again couldn't reach the bottom and panic came right back. Finally managed to get in. My girlfriend at the time was on shore. That night I got completely sick. I think my body was drained. I didn't tell my parents this story for maybe 10 years.
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kathryn
~ Selkie Bride ~
Belgium
15320 Posts |
Posted - 06/01/2005 : 13:53:31
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YIKES!
I still believe in the excellent joy of the Catholics |
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Little Black Francis
> Teenager of the Year <
3648 Posts |
Posted - 06/01/2005 : 14:01:37
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was riding shotgun in a Jeep cheroke that a tree at about 45 mph somewhere arounf there and then flipped over and landed upside down. that was one of the most fucked things I've ever been involved with... the driver and I walked away, the guy in the back broke his neck and his back and puntured a lung... fucked up shit, freaks me out to think about it... what if I hadn't called shotgun?
 ... You Know What to Do |
Edited by - Little Black Francis on 06/01/2005 14:02:37 |
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darwin
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
USA
5454 Posts |
Posted - 06/01/2005 : 14:04:33
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Did the guy in the back die?
What were you like when you walked away? Calm? Shocked? Confused? |
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floop
= Wannabe Volunteer =
Mexico
15297 Posts |
Posted - 06/01/2005 : 14:08:43
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in high school i was at a beach party down in Long Beach (true story).. i don't know what we were doing all the way down there, but, we were doing the usual stuff.. drinking etc.. there was a pretty big group of people (including a bunch of people we didn't know)..
all of a sudden, from the boardwalk (we were out on the sand next to a bonfire) there was a loud succession of gunshots.. like 4 or 5 in a row. i could actually see the light from the gun from where i was.
people were screaming and ducking down for cover.. i was just frozen and in a daze..
anyway, it turns out that some homicidal freak just opened fire into our group. one guy was shot in the leg (not someone from my immediate group). luckily no one was seriously hurt or killed.
that was pretty gnarley, in retrospect |
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Little Black Francis
> Teenager of the Year <
3648 Posts |
Posted - 06/01/2005 : 14:08:55
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quote:
Originally posted by darwin
Did the guy in the back die?
What were you like when you walked away? Calm? Shocked? Confused?
He lived but he looked like a StormTrooper for about a year with braces and shit.
I was fuckin freaked out shaking and in total shock and disbelief. I had my cell phone though.
And the driver was drunk as fuck on tequila and trying to out-run a cop that he passed going 55 in a 35. I was begging him to stop.
terrible, still creeps me out... so do the video tapes of the vehicle at the junkyard... can't imagine coming closer to death, surely as close, but not closer
... You Know What to Do |
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kathryn
~ Selkie Bride ~
Belgium
15320 Posts |
Posted - 06/01/2005 : 14:11:51
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quote:
Originally posted by floop
in high school i was at a beach party down in Long Beach (true story).. i don't know what we were doing all the way down there,
Another flimsy attempt to work in the conversation THE LIE that Frank was
born in Long Beach and not Allston, Mass.
I still believe in the excellent joy of the Catholics |
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floop
= Wannabe Volunteer =
Mexico
15297 Posts |
Posted - 06/01/2005 : 14:13:05
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quote:
Originally posted by kathryn
quote:
Originally posted by floop
in high school i was at a beach party down in Long Beach (true story).. i don't know what we were doing all the way down there,
Another flimsy attempt to work in the conversation THE LIE that Frank was
born in Long Beach and not Allston, Mass.
I still believe in the excellent joy of the Catholics
note to self: stop reading kathryn's posts |
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kathryn
~ Selkie Bride ~
Belgium
15320 Posts |
Posted - 06/01/2005 : 14:13:41
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quote:
Originally posted by floop
quote:
Originally posted by kathryn
quote:
Originally posted by floop
in high school i was at a beach party down in Long Beach (true story).. i don't know what we were doing all the way down there,
Another flimsy attempt to work in the conversation THE LIE that Frank was
born in Long Beach and not Allston, Mass.
I still believe in the excellent joy of the Catholics
note to self: stop reading kathryn's posts
memo to self: stop reading floop's posts
I still believe in the excellent joy of the Catholics |
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toeknee
= Cult of Ray =
United Kingdom
281 Posts |
Posted - 06/01/2005 : 14:14:29
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My dad told me something that happened to him in the 60s. He was going to get a flight to Spain but changed his mind at the last minute and the airline gave his ticket to someone else (he didn't know who). The plane crashed in the Pyrenees and everyone died.
I don't think at the time I appreciated just how close to death he was. |
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floop
= Wannabe Volunteer =
Mexico
15297 Posts |
Posted - 06/01/2005 : 14:18:52
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quote:
Originally posted by kathryn
memo to self: stop reading floop's posts
now THAT is clever.. my hat goes off to you |
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kathryn
~ Selkie Bride ~
Belgium
15320 Posts |
Posted - 06/01/2005 : 14:20:20
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Let's stop this, floop. It will only end up as it always does with one of our
awkward hugs. Plus, we're derailing darwin's thread.
I still believe in the excellent joy of the Catholics |
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floop
= Wannabe Volunteer =
Mexico
15297 Posts |
Posted - 06/01/2005 : 14:23:28
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YOU started it. i share a tramatic experience about my life and you turn it into yet another Long Beach related attempt at humor.
where is the respect, i ask? |
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kathryn
~ Selkie Bride ~
Belgium
15320 Posts |
Posted - 06/01/2005 : 14:26:13
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I got your respect right here, floop, right here. *makes obscene gesture*
Now let's be quiet and listen. I can't believe toeknee's dad went through
that. Talk about freaky!
I still believe in the excellent joy of the Catholics |
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floop
= Wannabe Volunteer =
Mexico
15297 Posts |
Posted - 06/01/2005 : 14:27:33
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quote:
Originally posted by kathryn
I got your respect right here, floop, right here. *makes obscene gesture*
Now let's be quiet and listen. I can't believe toeknee's dad went through
that. Talk about freaky!
I still believe in the excellent joy of the Catholics
note to self: resume ignoring kathryn's posts |
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starmekitten
-= Forum Pistolera =-
United Kingdom
6370 Posts |
Posted - 06/01/2005 : 14:28:20
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I got hit by a car but it wasn't all that serious
I hope that I will live to see you undress |
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darwin
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
USA
5454 Posts |
Posted - 06/01/2005 : 14:30:00
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quote:
Originally posted by starmekitten
I got hit by a car but it wasn't all that serious
I hope that I will live to see you undress
Way to kill a story. Come on! Were you on a crosswalk? Did you land on the hood? Did you curse the driver and threaten their life? |
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starmekitten
-= Forum Pistolera =-
United Kingdom
6370 Posts |
Posted - 06/01/2005 : 14:36:30
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I already posted it.
but for you darwin, because you're pretty.
I was crossing the road round the corner from my friends house going to visit her after work, the road had recently been changed from single to double lane and I hadn't noticed. Saw the red light and the static traffic and crossed just up from the lights, the car came into my side and I went up on the hood, hit the side of my head/face on the window slid off and landed with a bump a few foot further down. I was pretty pissed off so grabbed my shoe which had flown off and stormed round to my friends house. Told her mum what had happened and she ran round to check on the (wrong end of middle aged female) driver, she ran round the corner and shouted "It's ok! Tre's fine!" at which point the driver broke into tears and wailed "I didn't hit a tree I hit a little girl..."
I was bruised for weeks, all up my right side, my leg and arm and face looked like I had been beaten up. Called my dad to tell him what happened, his response "fucking idiot"
see... boring.
my shoe was a yellow converse trainer, I feel the need to point this out everytime I tell people this because I loved those shoes.
I hope that I will live to see you undress |
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darwin
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
USA
5454 Posts |
Posted - 06/01/2005 : 14:39:38
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| Not boring. Thanks. It's odd how people's shoes fly off when they're hit by a car. |
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floop
= Wannabe Volunteer =
Mexico
15297 Posts |
Posted - 06/01/2005 : 14:41:36
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| i got hit by a car on my skateboard when i was 10, but didn't almost die |
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darwin
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
USA
5454 Posts |
Posted - 06/01/2005 : 14:42:19
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| Did you lose your shoes? |
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kathryn
~ Selkie Bride ~
Belgium
15320 Posts |
Posted - 06/01/2005 : 14:42:50
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Were you wearing a helmet?
I still believe in the excellent joy of the Catholics |
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floop
= Wannabe Volunteer =
Mexico
15297 Posts |
Posted - 06/01/2005 : 14:44:52
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kept shoes on, no helmet
i did yell at the driver though. and, remembering an episode from the A-Team, where a child runaway made money by purposly getting hit by cars and then asking for money from the drivers, i thought for a moment, "maybe i could blackmail this person into giving me some money" |
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kathryn
~ Selkie Bride ~
Belgium
15320 Posts |
Posted - 06/01/2005 : 14:45:40
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And they say TV isn't helpful to children!
I still believe in the excellent joy of the Catholics |
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VoVat
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
USA
9168 Posts |
Posted - 06/01/2005 : 18:38:25
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quote:
and, remembering an episode from the A-Team, where a child runaway made money by purposly getting hit by cars and then asking for money from the drivers, i thought for a moment, "maybe i could blackmail this person into giving me some money"
But would Mr. T have approved? I doubt it!
I was all out of luck, like a duck that died. I was all out of juice, like a moose denied. |
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floop
= Wannabe Volunteer =
Mexico
15297 Posts |
Posted - 06/01/2005 : 18:41:50
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come to think of it, it might have been KNIGHT RIDER. now i can't remember.
either way, i'm sure that neither Mr. T nor KIT would have approved |
Edited by - floop on 06/01/2005 19:02:14 |
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Sir Rockabye
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1158 Posts |
Posted - 06/01/2005 : 19:09:58
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I've never been very close to death. Probably the worst was last summer when I got stung by a bee. I wasn't aware that I was allergic, but apparently I am. Got a pretty decent anaphylactic reaction. Wasn't really near death, but I suppose had I been out in the woods, or somewhere isolated where I wasn't able to recieve medical attention, I could have been a lot worse off.
You run all kinds of red lights except the ones on the street.
When you run out of exits you can always count sheep. |
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slaveish
= Cult of Ray =
USA
269 Posts |
Posted - 06/01/2005 : 19:47:22
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| I once was riding my bike really fast, cutting across a one-way street in the wrong direction for about a half block (I used to do this all the time) and I didn't see this woman crossing the street with her baby in a stroller. I skimmed the edge of the stroller and the kid's shoe went flying. the mom freaked out at me, and the baby started crying. I just kept apologizing over and over. Really, I think the baby was crying more because of the mother than me. this isn't a near death story. this is a collision causing a shoe to fly off story. but when I was 9 or 10 I was at the neighborhood pool and amy evans sat on my shoulders while I was under water. I couldn't push her off and I started panicking. I thought I was going to drown, but finally I gave her one hard push and she fell off. but I was probably closer to death the several times I drove drunk when I was in my late teens. or the time I rode home several hours while the driver and everyone else in the car was on acid. or the time... |
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shineoftheever
> Teenager of the Year <
Canada
4307 Posts |
Posted - 06/02/2005 : 01:41:56
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quote:
Originally posted by toeknee
My dad told me something that happened to him in the 60s. He was going to get a flight to Spain but changed his mind at the last minute and the airline gave his ticket to someone else (he didn't know who). The plane crashed in the Pyrenees and everyone died.
I don't think at the time I appreciated just how close to death he was.
i have two kind of like that.
first one, as a courier driving about ten years a go i was on a somewhat popular truck route that had three lanes each way and as a general rule i would always drive in the middle lane to avoid left turners and wide righters, i came to a light and i was second in line but i was few carlengths back, for some reason i pulled into the left turn lane which had a car turning left, i thought to my self "why did i do that? what was i thinking?" when a 1-ton came snorting around the corner and rear-ended the car that had been in front of me and sent it flying into the intersection, total write-offs, and most likely serious injury(i didn't stick around).
second one, me and a buddy planned to meet at the bar and then go to the late showing of donnie brasco, we had a couple pints, settled our tab and got up to leave and we just kinda stopped, looked at each other and said "do you really wanna go?", "naw, fuck it, it starts in 15, we;ll probably end up sitting in the front row, let's just have a couple more beers". that night a gunmen entered the theatre we were going to go to and shot a guy in the second row. |
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Surfer Rosa
> Teenager of the Year <
4209 Posts |
Posted - 06/02/2005 : 01:59:12
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| Was woken up late one night by car horn/hooting (ooh look at me with my trans atlantic explaining) which turned out to be a friend of mine and one of my housemates returning from a night out . They'd noticed 2 men jump over the wall to the house we were living in. Kate had the genius idea (instead of getting out of the car) to just stick her brights on and hoot like mad till they jumped back over and ran off into the night. Later that night we heard a series of gunshots and thought nothing of it (living in the dodgy bohemian area that we did). The next morning we heard on the news that a couple had been killed by 2 intruders - when Kate described the 2 men to the police (who had killed the 2 men later that night), they said they were the same men and that we'd been damn lucky. |
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Llamadance
> Teenager of the Year <
United Kingdom
2543 Posts |
Posted - 06/02/2005 : 01:59:55
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When I was about 18/19 I was driving my parents mini metro through to Glasgow. If I remember rightly I wasn't going the usual route and was looking about a bit more than usual. So I was doing about 55-60mph in the fast lane of the dual carriageway looking out of the window to my right. I then focused back on the traffic in front of me, only to realise that they'd all bloody stopped.
I slammed on the brakes, but unfortunately it had been raining a bit, so the car aquaplaned. I hit the central reservation, and the next thing I know, the car is sitting on the central reservation, but facing in the opposite direction. I sort of shook myself, started the car up again and did a u-turn back on to the road. Only damage to the car was a burst tyre which I changed.
So very lucky that I didn't cross the central reservation(which was only slightly wider than the car) into the oncoming traffic. Also, where I hit the central reservation, there was no crash barrier - about a hundred yard gap. If I'd hit that I'd have bounced back into the traffic in my carriageway.
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We know what we are
Absolutely barking stars |
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Cheeseman1000
>> Denizen of the Citizens Band <<
Iceland
8201 Posts |
Posted - 06/02/2005 : 02:10:30
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quote:
Originally posted by darwin
quote:
Originally posted by starmekitten
I got hit by a car but it wasn't all that serious
I hope that I will live to see you undress
Way to kill a story. Come on! Were you on a crosswalk? Did you land on the hood? Did you curse the driver and threaten their life?
Crosswalk? Hood? Speak English!
What's a computer?
Eat Y'self Fitter! |
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prozacrat
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1186 Posts |
Posted - 06/02/2005 : 07:41:03
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I think I told this story a while ago, but since it's applicable...
A little over a year and a half ago my girlfriend and I were driving home and were on the interstate (going rougly 65-70mph) Neither of us remember anything more than that, but what investigators put together was the following: We were approaching an overpass and got into the left lane to make way for a car that was merging. At the same time, an incredibly drunk driver was racing south in the same northbound lane we were in. We hit head on on the overpass and our car spun back into the right lane, perpendicular to the interstate where we got t-boned by the car that was merging. At some point the cars stopped moving. Neither of us remember any of this. We both passed out, and have no memory of anything past us getting on the interstate. I was, however, talking to my cousin/bandmate on my cell phone at the time, gushing about the new wah pedal I had just purchased that day. Apparently upon impact my phone flew from my hands and was imbedded in the windshield in front of my face. My cousin listened for about the next fifteen minutes. He heard me and my girlfriend wake up. He heard my girlfriend screaming. (I don't blame her. Both her femurs were snapped and her legs were bent up over themselves.) He heard the rescue crews say they needed the Jaws Of Life because the dashboard was in her lap. My cousin was four hours away and couldn't do anything. For a few minutes after the accident he didn't hear anything, which really scared him. Fortunately we were just unconscious. It turns out that rescue crews arrived rather quickly, but they were all trying to get the drunk driver loose, who had gotten his hand caught in his car door. He was making a big fuss. Nobody bothered checking what was left of our car because everybody thought there was no way anybody would survive. Our car was just a crumpled little wad of metal. But the woman who t-boned us managed to limp over to our car and point out to the medics that we were alive. That's when they got some people to come help us. My roommate happened to drive by right after it happened (which was odd, because we live an hour away from where it occured) and he said he felt bad for whoever got killed in the really messed up car, thinking, as well, that nobody could have survived it. I talked to the EMTs and the highway patrolmen later on, and all of them expected to be pulling corpses from the car. Somehow we survived, though. Had we been hit a few yards in either direction and we would have flown past the guard rail down a 40 foot embankment. My girlfriend broke both her femurs, fractured her pelvis and shattered her tailbone, ruptured her spleen and liver, and collapsed her left lung. She spent two weeks in the hospital, and a month in a wheelchair. She had made a pretty much complete recovery within a few months, at which point she was crowned Ms. Brookings (the city in which we reside), so that was pretty neat. My injuries were far more minor. A contusion on my right lung, a broken rib, and a broken collar bone. I broke my #2 rib on the right side, and had I broken my #1 rib, less than an inch away, I would have severed a major artery and bled to death within seconds. So that's pretty cool that I didn't. However, despite several surgeries, my collarbone has still refused to heal, due to a number of unlucky circumstances. I just got back from the Mayo Clinic last week, and the procedure they can do to fix it is too risky at this point, and they want to just see how normal I can live with a broken collarbone. (I'm right handed, too.) The drunk driver was uninsured, so that makes everything a bit more difficult to deal with, but despite all that, I still consider myself living on borrowed time, so I can't complain about that. Your whole life takes on a kind of surreal tone when you KNOW you should be dead, but you aren't. |
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Topic |
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Near Death Experiences (Tell the tale)
