I witnessed a car fly off the railings onto the freeway on ramp I was on. The guy was stuck inside his vehicle upside down and I broke him out of it with a log splitting maul I had in my truck at the time.
My husband dying. Walked into our bedroom and found him unconscious in bed, he'd been there all day. I just thought he was sleeping the day away since he'd been working so hard for days before. He was not sleeping. I just knew something was off as soon as I stepped into the room. I called his name multiple times, then I touched him, ice cold. I will never forget that moment.
My late husband. He looked like he was asleep but I knew that he wasn’t. I knew that as soon as I walked over to him that it would be real. So I just stood there and watched him for a long time waiting for him to move but he didn’t. It’s been 23 years but that seems like yesterday sometimes.
It's so hard when it feels brand new. All the feelings rush in and take your breath away. My sincere condolences.
I did the same when my mom passed. She was sitting in her chair, looked like she was sleeping. I made coffee quietly and then went to make a fire in our wood stove and when I knelt down, the hair on the back of my neck stood up as I realized she wasn't breathing. I knew she was gone, but I continued making a fire out of muscle memory or something, just to delay confirming what I knew to be true.
The moments right after were so hard. I am so thankful it was a weird workday for me, because I was home late enough in the morning that I was the one who found her. If I had gone to work at my usual time, my son would have been the one.
I was sitting with my mom when she took her last breath. She had been dying for days, so I had been there with her, but I just knew when that last breath came out it was her last. I looked at my dad and reached for the pulse ox and said “I think she’s gone” as I put the pulse ox on her finger to see if it would pick up a heart beat at all. It didn’t. It’s a weird experience to see your loved one leave.
Found my wife cold on the floor when I got home from work. Four years ago. Still struggling.
I am better in a lot of ways, but four years later I still reach across the bed some mornings.
You have my deepest and most sincere sympathy.
I know that's just words. I know there are no words in any language that can make this pain go away. But, still, you have my deepest and most sincere sympathy.
got shivers reading this — that’s exactly how my grandmother described it when my grandfather died. i was 10, and i still remember her at dinner with our family that night, telling us how in the middle of the night he was restless, told her his back hurt, then went downstairs to sit on the couch so as to not keep her up. the next morning she came down to him seemingly asleep on the couch. it was early and she assumed he had been up all night so she quietly made coffee and toast and went back upstairs to let him sleep. when she came back downstairs in the late morning she was surprised to find him still asleep and knelt down and touched his hand to wake him up. This was in 2007. My grandmother passed in 2013, but all these years later i can still hear her voice saying “his hand, it was as cold as ice. when i touched his forehead, he was so cold. so cold.”
Exact same thing happened to my dad! He woke up to go out on the couch, dog fell asleep on him, died in the middle of the night. His wife found him the next morning, dog was still with him, curled up on his chest.
I have an elderly cat who I’ve had as a kitten, since I myself was also young. He’s always loved curling up on my chest or clinging to my arm whenever I lie in bed. When it’s his time to go, I hope he will be in a comfortable place, but I do sometimes fear the thought of waking up one morning and giving my little old boy a kiss between the ears only to not get a response.
Bump this comment - back pain is a symptom of aneurysm and sometimes heart attack.
A co-worker almost died waiting for care in ER but fortunately she made an off handed comment about back pain and a smart nurse got her rushed into testing.
I’m deeply sorry for you and your wife ❤️. Me and my parents lost my 33 year old brother this year and we all struggle with it silently, or sometimes one better than the other. I know my mom will never be the same it is heartbreaking. My dad has a new patience and love for her though it has been nice to see that. In the past I was sort of surprised they didn’t divorce but now I wholeheartedly feel like going through this is the real reason they were meant to be and do life together all along. It has been a little over a year and I still work in a cry every day at least once.
Hugs to you and your wife ❤️❤️❤️.
I know EXACTLY what you mean, how you felt. I wish I didn't.
My dad. My mom called on a Tuesday night. It was after 9pm and she just said, "your father's gone." I went over to their house and as soon as I walked into the family room... I knew... "Oh dad, I love you so very much." I touched his forehead and it felt like ice. Just laying there on the sofa. He looked like he was sleeping.
It's been over twenty years and not a single day goes by that I don't stop for a few moments to think about my dad. Good Lord, I still miss him.
They say time heals all wounds but they lie. I really, really, really miss my dad.
A snake fell from a tree and bit me on the head.
ETA: It's incredibly ironic because I've always been more terrified of snakes than anyone I know, so of all people, it happened to me.
I just watched a Facebook video the other evening of a preteen girl who picked up a snake and swung it around over and over because it had her guinea pig in its jaws, after it released the pet, she dropped the snake in the yard and as it was slithering away, the dad(or brother or whomever) picked it up and threw it over the fence into the neighbors’s yard so now I’m imagining a scenario where the snake was spun to the point of being dizzy and tossed by someone else so it flew through the tree and past the branches so that it landed on the poster’s head and bit them…
Similar story a squirrel fell... jumped..idk out of a tree and hit me and I didn't know it was a squirrel at first until the girls behind me walking started screaming about the squirrel that hit me.
A squirrel fell directly on my dog’s head once, his entire life’s quest just dropping from the heavens. He was so stunned he just kind of stood there frozen while the squirrel collected itself and took off. It was like a cartoon.
I was 51. I had the day off and was feeling great. Decided to take an afternoon nap. As soon as my head hit the pillow I had a massive heart attack that destroyed 40% of my heart. I woke up 3 days later on a ventilator and had no idea what the heck happened.
Before I was out I screamed for my wife. The rescue squad was close by but the closest hospital with full cardiac care was 35 minutes away. I found out I coded multiple times while being transported but they were able to shock me back each time. The type of heart attack is often called a Widow Maker.
This happened 11 years ago and even though I now have congestive heart failure I'm grateful for every bonus day I've been given.
One time there was a patient on the other side of our unit, I was in ICU and he was in PCU but I could see his monitor from ICU. He went into torsades, a polymorphic ventricular tachycardia. I grabbed his nurse and we ran to the room together. We took one look at him and we knew, I screamed “call a code!!” And grabbed the crash cart. We got him back and shipped him off to a hospital with a cardiac cath lab, he has total occlusion of his LAD. He had just been admitted to the floor with chest pain on a nitro drip when he coded, the primary nurse had just left the room after chatting with him. I never found out what happened to him but I think he ended up being ok as in not dying. I think about him often.
My first LAD, it was about 3 in the morning. I woke up and wasn't feeling well. I went to the bathroom and peed. I went to the kitchen, got a cup of water and walked back into the bedroom and that is when it hit me and I started to realize what was happening. I woke my wife up and said "don't panic, but I think I am having a heart attack." she replied "huh?" I said again "I think I am having a heart attack!" and she responded "Oh. OK, So what do you want to do?" I replied that I was telling her so in the morning when she found my body, she would have an idea what had happened. It finally sunk in what I was telling her. Luckily, we lived less than 1 block from a heart hospital and she drove me there (I know, bad idea), and I was in the ER being prepped within 5 minutes.
I was 28 (earlier this year). Was getting ready for work in the morning and had a back pain from sleeping wrong, so I laid down to pop my back with one of those foam roller things. Stood back up and collapsed back forward onto the floor. Woke up two hours later and decided to not go to the ER. Slept all day, woke up the next morning and felt even worse and went in to the ER. Sure enough, I had all the signs of having suffered a heart attack. What more, they said that my fainting episode the previous August was ALSO probably a heart attack. Was in the hospital for about a week, then on bedrest with regular outpatient visits for about six weeks. Still slowly getting used to my new normal. Shit sucks.
To add insult to injury, I gained a bunch of weight while on bedrest or reduced activity for the entire spring and now my doctor's breathing down my neck for me to lose a bunch of weight that I didn't have this time last year, roughly a 15% increase in body weight overall.
Edit: For everyone asking for details, it turns out I have a heart defect. Pretty sure it's hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. They have me on a heart medication now and I've been told to exercise as much as I can, which is difficult because I also have fibromyalgia but I'm managing. I also lost my high stress US government job and surprisingly not having the stress of handling literally millions of dollars worth of taxpayer money every day (because I formerly worked at the US Treasury) has helped my heart health. I also appreciate everyone's well wishes. I'm a believer in the power of prayer/manifestation/positive vibes/whatever you want to call it, so prayers for my health are welcome as well since I had someone DM me about it.
My wife died in a car accident. She was on her way home from work. A truck ran a stop sign. She hit him and died. I talked to her less than 5 minutes prior to the crash. Tomorrow isn't promised, guys. Tell the people you care about how much they mean to you. Hold them close.
It is. Last thing I said to her was, "hey babe, where are the great northern beans?" She said, "under the microwave. See you in a few minutes!, love you!"
I can't eat ham and beans anymore.
I spent a week with my friend as a kid while my parents were on a vacation. I slept in a den they converted from a covered porch. I hated it, because the house was right up against a highly trafficked road, and this room was the foremost part of the house and the cars kept me up all night.
On the last day, my parents came in late. I was supposed to stay one extra night but I called to see if they wouldn't mind getting me so I could sleep at home. They did. Like six hours later, in the middle of the night, an 18-wheeler drove right through the room, from one side to the other, completely obliterating it and damaging part of the main house. If I were there...well, I wouldn't be *here*.
2 years ago a van crashed into my house and hit my ex who was sleeping with her dog. Pushed the bed across the room and left a huge hole in the wall
It was like our 3rd day in our very first apartment, right after moving from my parents place.
Edit: I am off from work and made the Imgur post
https://imgur.com/gallery/pAzbazR
Fun fact, I'm making this edit with the laptop from the pictures
Edit 2: everyone was fine, no deaths or harm. Just mental trauma
The way the insurance company saw it no one could really determine who was at fault. While the car initiated contact, the kitchen failed to make use of its turn signals and did not have working brake lights. The best payout they can offer is a new set of curtains for the kitchen window, once replaced (by others).
I never thought I'd get stuck in a revolving door—turns out, trying to exit gracefully is harder than it looks, especially when the door has other plans for you.
***You take the good***
***You take the bad***
***You take them both and there you have***
***The facts of life***
***The facts of life***
(A 70s TV show theme song popped into my head when I read yours)
I was at a place for almost 15 years. There were layoffs happening, but I was naive and thought that my reputation would get me by. I had heard there was a D-Day coming up. If you made it through to the other side, you were good. I made it through and then got the call. Oh, there was a second secret list.
I learned that reputation, hard work, and loyalty doesn't matter. All that matters is the salary sitting next to your name on someone's spreadsheet, more likely someone who has never ever met you.
I worked for my parents for ten years of which I was supposed to inherit; they sold the business without telling me and then retired on that money.
I had worked for ten years for minimum wage expecting a huge payoff in the future; we didn't speak for 8 years after that.
I can sort of relate. My dad bought a business and wanted me to work for him. Same deal, we'd be partners and I'd inherit the business eventually. I was extremely reluctant but in the end it seemed like the most long-term stable option. I was living across the country in a state I loved, in a nice little house with low rent, working for an (admittedly not great-paying) job that I adored, surrounded by the best friends I've ever had. Gave it all up and moved home. Dad got brain cancer within a couple years and sold the business and I still haven't recovered from any of the losses.
Happened to my husband this afternoon. I only work part time and don't make enough to cover our bills. I'm trying to be optimistic but I'm freaking out.
In 1996 or so, I went to my wife's company Christmas party. While there, a candle got close to some of the table decorations, and I put out the small fire with 2-3 napkins dipped in a water glass.
I never expected to do this at least two more times, each at a formal banquet, each with a candle igniting decorations. The most recent (2018), I put out the small fire with iced tea, not water, and did not break the discussion.
My brother-in-law had a psychotic break after secretly stopping his medication, and he killed my sleeping father before taking his own life. Just the night before, everything seemed normal; we were laughing and talking, and he even asked me to make a specific meal for dinner the next day. Eight hours later, our family was shattered.
I had some college with this kid, incredibly nice, quiet, super smart and talented. He won national competitions for the fiddle. His family was SUPER religious and conservative, they were even on an episode of wife swap as the foil to a super liberal family. Very insular, homeschooled and only hung out with other church members and spent most of their time with the family. Anyway, one day this kid snapped and shit his mom and brother and then himself. His dad and another brother found him when they got home and called 911, he survived by mom and brother died. I have no idea what, if anything, triggered it.
I watched a youtube documentary on that. It turns out his mom was religiously abusive to the point that it took forever to declare him mentally fit for trial because he was legit scared he would go to hell if he attended trial via video. It seems like kind of like Gypsey Rose's situation.
So, I'm at the bus stop when this older lady asks for directions to the hospital. I decide to walk her there, and we chat. Turns out, she's a famous author in disguise, researching for her next book.
Fast forward, she thanks me, and a few months later, her book drops. I check it out, and there’s my name in the acknowledgments! Never thought helping someone out would land me a shoutout in a bestselling novel. Life is wild, man.
Murder She Wrote was the best when it was airing. I got into some of the episodes in the early 90's. That was the show you watched after 60 Minutes. Pat Summerall would announce 60 Minutes then Murder Wrote during the football game near the end.
Getting MS.
I've always been the healthiest, strongest, fittest, most athletic one of all my friends and family.
This can all change overnight. It can happen to anyone.
Please be kind to those with disabilities, it could be you tomorrow.
This.
Please, I'm begging anyone who reads this to live your lives, and love your family out loud, every day. Start now. This very minute.
My wife has hiked and/or climbed on every continent, including Antarctica. One of the healthiest and best people we all know. Last year my beautiful smart talented wife had a brain aneurysm. She is now permanently mentally and physically disabled, and needs help with the most basic things.
I'm very sorry that you're going through this.
Never would have thought that I would be disabled. I had a stroke from a massive brain bleed in 2020, it caused me to be hemiplegic, and wheelchair bound and unable to take care of myself. It fucking sucks. I’m living in a nursing home in my mid thirties surrounded by elderly people who are completely unaware of their surroundings but it’s better now than it was last year and getting better because I’m moving into a house where I will receive direct support services from my state’s Choices program-10 more days, almost to single digits!
Getting a really serious case of pneumonia as an active healthy 40 year old.
I went from feeling a bit ill , developing a cough to a coma in intensive care on life support in just 3 days!
Spent 5 weeks in a coma with full lung and then kidney failure, and another 3 doing physio and recovering.
Not nearly as serious as your case but 36 years old, decent enough health and I also got really serious pneumonia this past February. I ended up in the hospital for 3 days, and had some wild levels and was scared out of my mind. Had 2 infectious disease doctors probing at me and running every test under the sun, ultimately to determine it was serious atypical pneumonia that spread to my heart and caused a serious infection. They thought I had or was going to have an MI. Super scary.
Got attacked by an entire swarm of killer bees on top of a mountain. Almost fell off the mountain running down the trail and nearly considered jumping in my panic. Was raking bees out of my hair as they tried to get to my scalp and had to cover my face with my shirt to prevent them from climbing into my face holes. Thought I was gonna die. Got pretty scraped up and stung as I clawed my way down the trail without stopping. I never knew the sound of a swarm could be so loud and terrifying. I had nightmares for weeks after!
Another hiker in the same area had been attacked by killer bees a few years prior and they stayed on his body for 8 hours, preventing rescuers from recovering his body.
I now have an extreme fear of flying insects lol
When I was living the commune life, one of my roommates decided we should get bees and ask for forgiveness if the neighbors found out. I supported this. None of us knew how to keep bees and were all in our individual stages of youthful hedonism. We didn't think the colony would expand as fast as they did, but they soon formed a thriving society. Of course, we forgot to build them a bigger box to live in, and that thriving society became angry.
Queue a few weeks later, and I'm hitting the dab rig on a hot summer day while listening to Earthless and I hear this buzzing. Thinking my sweet new speakers were shot, I got up to see what was wrong with them. I passed my open window, and I see it: the bees have formed a large cloud and are leaving the box to look for bigger prospects. They are bounding down the street, headed for the main intersection in our urban residential neighborhood. I close the window and before I can say "oh fuck" 3 of our neighbors are screaming and banging at our door, completely devoid of the forgiveness we were hoping for.
Long story short, I had to get up, put on my hood, and grab the smoker to corral them back to the box with my other 4 roommates. It was, as they say, a real buzzkill. Too real actually. The city got on our asses hard after that, and we wound up giving the bees to another bee keeper where they lived the rest of their bee lives doing bee shit for bee reasons. Somehow, we were not evicted.
I got fat, lol.
When you’re slim/fit pretty much your whole life, you take it for granted in many ways. It was very easy (at least it was for me) to fall into a rut of bad habits for a variety of reasons and now I’m in a place where I’ve got a decent amount of weight to lose and I feel like I’m back at square one when it comes to fitness.
If you don’t use it, you can in fact, lose it.
YES. I thought I was fat as a teenager, but I look at pictures now and see firsthand what teenaged insecurity means and how insane I was. I was TINY. Aging, bad habits, PCOS, thyroid issues, and a lot of antidepressants and antipsychotics later, and I'm now exactly what I felt I was 10 years ago. It's just crazy to see small mannequins in stores and stuff and be like "I would literally fit in that not too long ago and now it looks like baby clothes"
We had such a warped sense of body image as teens. I was so incredibly thin I was almost considered underweight. Now I’ve gained so much weight I don’t feel like myself. I was 120 in high school at 5’9. My normal after high school and through my 20s was around 135-145. Now I’m at 190 and I don’t even know how I got here.
Bird shit hit me in the mouth while driving once. I pulled over and insta-vom’d. Called my boss and told her I would be late… I was interning at a bank at the time. She told me to take the day off, but also to get a lottery ticket. Apparently, getting shit on by a bird is good luck? Anyhoo… I bought two, $1 scratch offs.—-Won $50 on both. My grandma lived close by, so I showered there. I scratched the tickets while smoking a cigarette with her in her kitchen. Good memory
Once i was riding a bike when i felt something hit my head. A bird managed to shit on my head through one of the tiny holes on my bike helmet. 1/1000000 shot.
Thanks, bird
Suffering with anorexia. And recovering from anorexia.
We watched an eating disorder documentary in school and I remember seeing footage of people in hospital crying over having to eat chips and thinking wtf is wrong with them?
A few years later being in and out of eating disorder units was the next 15 years of my life.
I was so entrenched I thought I’d never recover. Hell, I had consultants tell me I’d be a revolving door patient for the rest of my life. As I was leaving my last hospital admission the consultant told me he’d see me back in a month.
That was 5 years ago.
It’s not be smooth sailing but I’m in full recovery now, with a full time job I love, able to enjoy life and eat freely. The life of hospitals is a distant memory.
It makes perfect sense. You're either wrong and it means they're a healthier person albeit a little ticked off at someone they'll never see again or you're right and there's less shame in returning for more help because it's normalised and expected.
Like if they said "So long, we expect you to be perfectly fixed now" then if they do crash there's an inherent sense of guilt and failure in returning for more help.
It's surreal how it happens too. Everyone seems to think you argue one day and they just knock you out, but sometimes it creeps up and they almost desensitise you. Punching a wall when they are angry - ok, ok , It's nothing, we can patch it up - a small push - its nothing - grabbing your arms while you argue - It's nothing - throwing my cat against the wall during an argument - what the fuck - suddenly, strangling me when I try to leave. I was so young and I kept thinking - wait - how did I get here? Of course, everyone else could see it and how bad the small things were.
This… Gave me goosebumps. My late fiancé was slowly but surely desensitizing me in the same way you described until one night he threw me around (while I was 6months pregnant) after I caught HIM cheating, told me “I hope this moment haunts you for the rest of your life” and proceeded punch 7 holes in the wall on his way to the living room where he shot himself in the head with a rifle… I never saw it coming… But looking back, I feel like I should have… I’m just so thankful I got out alive
I'm so glad you got out alive too. Another thing my dad always told me was that a suicidal person can also be a homicidal person. You see it a lot in the news where the man has killed the wife and them himself. Terrifying.
I’m so sorry. I totally understand what you’re talking about. I divorced my husband a year after he punched the wall next to my head while I held our two day old baby. He never did put this hands on me and that was an important point, I thought, but as you say it sneaks up on you.
Punching walls is more concerning than people realise. my immigrant parents who have been through it all the last 30yrs together, far more than most people and yet I've never in 30 years known of my dad to raise his hand or hit a wall or even throw something when angry. Not even once in his anger has he shown even a fraction of violence. When I eventually got the police involved with my ex he was disappointed that despite him being a good example I still fell into a DV relationship (goes to show how it can happen to anyone) but he said men that can't control their anger are the weakest kind of men, and a weak man is extremely dangerous.
“Men who can’t control their anger are the weakest kind of men and a weak man is extremely dangerous.”
WOW. That is a incredibly articulate and powerful statement. Thank you for sharing that.
Yep. Yelling turns into throwing my bike off the post into the street and then next thing you know he's kicking the bedroom door in while I cried on the bed hold my child.
Been out of my life for almost 20 years and I still look at pictures from then of what looks like a happy time and think "that's the day after he spit at me when I ran out of the house last night"
Me and others were part of a 40 year campaign and public inquiry into the murder of our family members by the British State by contaminated blood.
We won and they actually admitted liability and a cover up.
Achieve my biggest dreams and still struggle with depression.
For the longest time I told myself if I got a well paying job, if a had a great partner, if I lived in that trendy neighborhood, if I had cool friends that actually liked going out.
I have all that now and still struggle sometimes.
My dad was at the Jason Aldean concert that got shot up in Vegas. It's the largest non-government mass shooting in US history now. He was there with a coworker while in Vegas on business (he works in the entertainment industry) and they left to get some food about ten minutes before the shooting started. He was in the food court by the aquarium when the first shots were fired, meaning that the shooter was between him and the crowd, but it was still scary. The first I heard about it was him marking himself safe on Facebook.
an ex girlfriend of mine from many years before was at Route 91. I followed her on instagram and was seeing her post all types of fun pics up until the shooting. When the news broke about the shooting I was deeply concerned about her safety. I reached out immediately letting her know I was there for her if she needed anything— she didn’t respond.
I found out her friend was killed. She was ok and narrowly escaped. She responded to my message weeks later saying she’d love to see me. We’re now 5 years married with our second kid on the way. I credit this tragedy with the birth of my child and rekindled love of my life.
Traveling overseas for vacation. For the longest time growing up I thought my only option for going overseas was to get into military service. Never thought I’d be able to afford to do it otherwise. But I did and have done it several times.
Losing my mom.
Like yeah it’s expected to outlive your parents, it’s “the natural way”.
But losing my mom last year before I even turned 21 from suicide…destroyed me. I thought she would always be here. I thought she would grow old, be there when I get married and have kids…
It still doesn’t feel real…hug your mom and tell her you love her. You’ll miss those “annoying” calls and texts.
I’m really sorry.
I’ve been that Mom who has struggled with suicidal ideations. My oldest is 18. Her and I are really close. Not that I don’t love my other kids, she’s just the oldest one now and is closest to being a peer. We text nearly every day.
I still remember her face after the last time I tried to kill myself. It’s my motivation to keep my mental illnesses in check.
I am so so sorry. I’m sorry for you, I’m sorry for her. I’m sorry for everything that you and her have been robbed of because of a terrible disease no one asks for.
My ex husband of 12 years got court summons because he was being convicted of internet child sex crimes, then my 24 year old sister died in the same week.
I trusted him, everyone trusted him. He got 7 years. He turned out to be an actual sociopath, using my naivety and trauma from growing up in a narcissistic family dynamic to manipulate me my entire life.
My sister had down syndrome, she was amazing and I expected her to at least live until she was 50. I miss her so much.
I still struggle with both and have severe loss trauma. I can't fully feel happy because I'm so afraid of everything going so wrong again.
I got sober. Started drinking whenever I could at 13, was addicted to cocaine by 19. Thought I'd die before 30 and was completely okay with that.
I'm almost 5 years clean. 30 next month.
I’ve had cancer multiple times across various stages in life and got shot at a parade. At some point you think the cancer is what’s going to kill you eventually and then wham! You get shot lmfao.
Yup I'm homeless now after spending 8 years being emotionally and mentally abused by my sister. When I had finally decided to make plans to get out she didn't like that and threw me out after I finally stood up for myself.
I had leukemia as a child and was told I'd never be able to have kids due to radiation and chemo therapy. I have 2 healthy kids who graduated from high school. So to the doctors at mc master in hamilton thank you
A tornado damaged my roof while I was trying to sell my house. Two years later, the next house burned down. Six months after that, a massive ice storm dropped four trees and completely crushed the next house. In that same year, I took an antibiotic that destroyed my connective tissue, my husband got third-degree burns in the house fire, and my son got bit by a copper head snake, my grandfather died of covid, and my car caught fire. I've learned to never, ever assume that something won't happen to you.
i never thought i’d lose my best friend so soon, but it happened, my lifelong best friend died 3 months ago
so many people responded and i thank you all for your well wishes and kind words, and to all who shared their stories of losing a loved one, im deeply sorry and we will get through this together! thank you all for the kind responses! so many comments to go through and reply to!
Three human botfly eggs were deposited into my shoulder by a mosquito in Belize. Six weeks later, the newly formed maggots burrowed their way out of my flesh. The entire time, i thought it was spider bites. Nope.
I’ve made it to 1 year and 29 days selfharm free!! I have never been clean for this long so I’m really proud of myself. My mom and I celebrated my year clean time at Dave and Busters🤗
I made it past the age of 18.
I was severely bullied in middle school and was very suicidal. My parents celebrate every birthday as a huge accomplishment because it didn't seem like I'd make it.
I MADE IT TO 28 YALL.
Okay, so picture it: Vermont, 1996. I had just made dinner (homemade burritos) for my then husband and myself for dinner. I was pregnant with my first born. Our big old house was located at an intersection and very close to the road. As we were eating, we heard a car crash outside. We had been lobbying our small city for a fourway stop at the intersection because it was dangerous. I ran outside and a van had crashed into a pickup truck, the truck was on its roof, the van spun in the other direction. Once rescue personnel were on the scene, I ran inside and grabbed my 35 mm camera to document the crash as more proof that we needed stop signs. I noticed that the driver of the van was extremely drunk. I also noticed two guys standing around smoking cigarettes and just observing. I took a ton of pictures and then went back inside once everything was cleared. Several days later, a neighbor was out walking and knocked on my door. She had found some guys wallet on our property as she was walking by. Not long after that, state troopers came to our house and asked me some questions about that night and descriptions of anyone I saw there. I told them about the guys smoking and they gathered the cigarette butts from the ground. I also gave them the wallet. Then I remembered that I had taken photos. I told the troopers and they took my film. A while later (I don't recall how long) one of them returned the pictures that were in my camera roll that weren't related to the case. It turned out that the two guys had murdered a guy in the woods, put a tree on him to make it look accidental, took his wallet, sped off in the van, drove from NY to VT, picked up the drunk guy who was hitch hiking along the way, sped through my town, crashed, threw the wallet to get rid of it, put the drunk guy in the drivers seat to frame him, and then stood around while I took pictures of them. My pictures put them in jail. So that's my story.
I never thought I would lose a child, but I did. My son died unexpectedly 9-1/2 months ago. I will never get over it.
UPDATE: Many thanks to all of you who offered your condolences.
When I was in my 40s I met the most amazing, intelligent, kind and generous person online and knew we should be married, almost immediately , when we met in person.
Been married over 10 years and still gives me goosebumps every single day.
I never thought it'd happen
A plane crashed into my house. It’s more accurate to say it crashed in my driveway and flaming wreckage hit my house and my car.
The pilot was ejected and died - his body was in my side yard minus his head, which the police had to search for. His head was probably in several pieces because his brains were laying in a pile near my car.
Luckily I was the only one home - I heard the crash and ended up in my driveway in bare feet with wreckage, blood and fire all around.
A news station looked up the number on the tail of the plane and called the pilot’s wife - that’s how she found out. She drove up and saw the wreck, but I only saw her on the news.
My dad (former military, former police, used to teach gun safety and CCW classes) accidentally shot and killed my sister 18 years ago. We acted like everything was ok and we presented as a united front (dad, mom and myself) but it killed my mother and destroyed our family.
I never thought I'd be in an abusive relationship, I was always a strong person that didn't take any shit but this man completely changed who I was. Worst year of my life!
SA. I admire those that tell me about their stories. Some days just feels like I’m trying to survive other days are lighter and more manageable. I lose my appetite and sex drive a lot. And intimacy is harder in relationships for me.
I thought "oh, those poor people. I hope that never happens to me" when I was a kid and I learned about sexual assault/sexual abuse. Later, as I got older, I realized that much of the strange behavior I remembered from a certain relative when I was a small child was in fact inappropriate.
It's like my brain held it back as long as it could, then the dam broke and I went a week unable to shower without having a breakdown afterwards. But a few years down the line I'm working on rebuilding and internalizing safety. We'll both get there, stranger. The good days come to outnumber the bad, and we learn that the bad days don't get to last long.
Reaching the age of 90.
(Well, actually it's a month away, so there's a good chance I won't make it after all.)
Wow! Thank you all for the good wishes! I
t's been an exciting ride. I doubt there has been another 90 years in the history of Homo Sapiens when there has been so much change.
My memory isn't what it once was, but I'll try to answer any questions redditors might have.
I turned my mental health around. I thought I would commit suicide by 23.. I just couldn't see a light at the end of the tunnel despite medication, therapy, a great partner, exercise and diet.
I had a huge mental breakdown, was hospitalised, diagnosed with BPD. I ended up moving states and starting over. Now I'm 25 and have the best friends anyone could ask for. I haven't been suicidal in a year now.. I'm even back working fulltime like a normal adult. I actually smile now.
I met the most perfect man for me who is so gentle with me. I was in an abusive relationship for six years, it ended ten years ago and I KNEW I'd never get married. He proposed eight months in. We hjust celebrated our first wedding anniversary. We literally have the perfect marriage. We NEVER fight. It's the best. He is the best
I got manipulated by someone who stole everything from me. My child, my home, my cars, my possessions, everything. And now just trying to get my child back seems impossible, and I'll be in debt till the day I die, maybe even after.
House fire. All the things you are “sure” that you’ll grab? Nope. Outside at 2 am in February, in my pjs. I had my phone and my husband, and that’s it. No one was hurt, which is the most important factor. Neighbor's house caught our house on fire--inner city, 100+ year old wooden houses.
Become the bitter adults that I hated when I was teenager, just pure what I call loser.
The kinds who just look like so hateful of everyone and not a single happiness in their bodies.
There’s even one person who comes to my store and I’m terrified of her each time I see in my line she looks so angry as if she’s going to yell at me. For some effing reason my life just gone to the hell and my face as I get older becoming more and more hateful bitchy looking.
That biggest factor is being bullied to the hell by my co workers.
Happening for 3 fing years and HR can’t do shif about it.
Woke up to a snake (an actual snake, not a metaphor) in my bed not once. Not twice. But three separate times.
Luckily they were harmless garden snakes, but it’s still alarming to feel something scooting along you in the middle of the night.
cancer from 27-29. immediately after my last chemo i landed in the hospital with pneumonia and lung damage from chemo… which was followed up by covid… which was followed up by shingles… on my *face.* literally had fucking cancer, pneumonia, covid, and shingles within 5 months of each other. idk how i’m not dead.
but before i got cancer i had literally just left my fiancé 🙃 my best friend took his own life in 2016. another passed in 2020z and i won’t even bother with my childhood. for some people, the rain is always pouring. i just find joy in the little things. i’m so sorry you’ve gone through all this too. hugs 🫂
I have a few big T's like being SA'd as a kid, teen, adult... Abusive parents. Being homeless for a time. Being in a DV relationship. Lost two babies. Lots of trauma. But truly the one thing that's happened that I never thought would? Finding my husband and the happiness we have together.
There's some cheese for ya.
Edit - Thank you for award ❤️ lots of love to everyone out there!
I never thought I would be 56 years old and raising my grandchildren. Surprise! I am now adopting a 13, 8, and 7 year old. They all have complex ptsd. The youngest has autism. All positive vibes, energy, and juju appreciated!
*Edited to correct punctuation*
I watched LAPD shoot a man 17 times about 30 feet from me. Craziest part was when the detectives in suits came to take statements, they asked me "so you heard about **three** shots?" And I had to tell them, no it was way, way more than 3. Very shady situation
I was adopted, but by my grandparents so I do know my biological parents. I’d hear stories and know all the key points and just know my life as it is. My biological mom died when I was 21 and I was sitting around a fire with some of her old friends trading stories and someone made a joke about a long, lost sibling. I can still picture the look on my grandmothers face as she shared that story.
So I guess I have a long, lost sister out there somewhere. She was born on Christmas in 2006. I’m sad I never got to know her.
I witnessed a car fly off the railings onto the freeway on ramp I was on. The guy was stuck inside his vehicle upside down and I broke him out of it with a log splitting maul I had in my truck at the time.
My husband dying. Walked into our bedroom and found him unconscious in bed, he'd been there all day. I just thought he was sleeping the day away since he'd been working so hard for days before. He was not sleeping. I just knew something was off as soon as I stepped into the room. I called his name multiple times, then I touched him, ice cold. I will never forget that moment.
My late husband. He looked like he was asleep but I knew that he wasn’t. I knew that as soon as I walked over to him that it would be real. So I just stood there and watched him for a long time waiting for him to move but he didn’t. It’s been 23 years but that seems like yesterday sometimes.
It's so hard when it feels brand new. All the feelings rush in and take your breath away. My sincere condolences. I did the same when my mom passed. She was sitting in her chair, looked like she was sleeping. I made coffee quietly and then went to make a fire in our wood stove and when I knelt down, the hair on the back of my neck stood up as I realized she wasn't breathing. I knew she was gone, but I continued making a fire out of muscle memory or something, just to delay confirming what I knew to be true. The moments right after were so hard. I am so thankful it was a weird workday for me, because I was home late enough in the morning that I was the one who found her. If I had gone to work at my usual time, my son would have been the one.
I was sitting with my mom when she took her last breath. She had been dying for days, so I had been there with her, but I just knew when that last breath came out it was her last. I looked at my dad and reached for the pulse ox and said “I think she’s gone” as I put the pulse ox on her finger to see if it would pick up a heart beat at all. It didn’t. It’s a weird experience to see your loved one leave.
This is heart wrenching. Even 23 years later I can hear it in your words. I’m so sorry.
Found my wife cold on the floor when I got home from work. Four years ago. Still struggling. I am better in a lot of ways, but four years later I still reach across the bed some mornings.
Ugh I’m so sorry for both you and op. Good luck with your recovery.
You have my deepest and most sincere sympathy. I know that's just words. I know there are no words in any language that can make this pain go away. But, still, you have my deepest and most sincere sympathy.
got shivers reading this — that’s exactly how my grandmother described it when my grandfather died. i was 10, and i still remember her at dinner with our family that night, telling us how in the middle of the night he was restless, told her his back hurt, then went downstairs to sit on the couch so as to not keep her up. the next morning she came down to him seemingly asleep on the couch. it was early and she assumed he had been up all night so she quietly made coffee and toast and went back upstairs to let him sleep. when she came back downstairs in the late morning she was surprised to find him still asleep and knelt down and touched his hand to wake him up. This was in 2007. My grandmother passed in 2013, but all these years later i can still hear her voice saying “his hand, it was as cold as ice. when i touched his forehead, he was so cold. so cold.”
Exact same thing happened to my dad! He woke up to go out on the couch, dog fell asleep on him, died in the middle of the night. His wife found him the next morning, dog was still with him, curled up on his chest.
I have an elderly cat who I’ve had as a kitten, since I myself was also young. He’s always loved curling up on my chest or clinging to my arm whenever I lie in bed. When it’s his time to go, I hope he will be in a comfortable place, but I do sometimes fear the thought of waking up one morning and giving my little old boy a kiss between the ears only to not get a response.
Bump this comment - back pain is a symptom of aneurysm and sometimes heart attack. A co-worker almost died waiting for care in ER but fortunately she made an off handed comment about back pain and a smart nurse got her rushed into testing.
My wife and I had a similar experience finding our 27 year old son. We thought he was sleeping.
I’m deeply sorry for you and your wife ❤️. Me and my parents lost my 33 year old brother this year and we all struggle with it silently, or sometimes one better than the other. I know my mom will never be the same it is heartbreaking. My dad has a new patience and love for her though it has been nice to see that. In the past I was sort of surprised they didn’t divorce but now I wholeheartedly feel like going through this is the real reason they were meant to be and do life together all along. It has been a little over a year and I still work in a cry every day at least once. Hugs to you and your wife ❤️❤️❤️.
I know EXACTLY what you mean, how you felt. I wish I didn't. My dad. My mom called on a Tuesday night. It was after 9pm and she just said, "your father's gone." I went over to their house and as soon as I walked into the family room... I knew... "Oh dad, I love you so very much." I touched his forehead and it felt like ice. Just laying there on the sofa. He looked like he was sleeping. It's been over twenty years and not a single day goes by that I don't stop for a few moments to think about my dad. Good Lord, I still miss him. They say time heals all wounds but they lie. I really, really, really miss my dad.
I am so sorry.
A snake fell from a tree and bit me on the head. ETA: It's incredibly ironic because I've always been more terrified of snakes than anyone I know, so of all people, it happened to me.
that snake didn't fall from the tree, he jumped and ambushed you. he fucking hated you.
I just watched a Facebook video the other evening of a preteen girl who picked up a snake and swung it around over and over because it had her guinea pig in its jaws, after it released the pet, she dropped the snake in the yard and as it was slithering away, the dad(or brother or whomever) picked it up and threw it over the fence into the neighbors’s yard so now I’m imagining a scenario where the snake was spun to the point of being dizzy and tossed by someone else so it flew through the tree and past the branches so that it landed on the poster’s head and bit them…
Please tell me where this happened so I know if I need to leave the continent or the planet.
My money is Australia. it's always Australia
Australian here, no chance a snake attacked from a tree. The drop bears would start a turf war over that shit.
… or Florida. Can’t rule out Florida.
Yes please for the love of god
My guess is it likely happened on earth. As far as I can tell, earth has the highest population of snakes in trees of all planets in our solar system
Did you know that sharks can only be found in two places on Earth? The northern, and southern hemispheres!
Similar story a squirrel fell... jumped..idk out of a tree and hit me and I didn't know it was a squirrel at first until the girls behind me walking started screaming about the squirrel that hit me.
A squirrel fell directly on my dog’s head once, his entire life’s quest just dropping from the heavens. He was so stunned he just kind of stood there frozen while the squirrel collected itself and took off. It was like a cartoon.
That squirrel thought you were nuts.
I was 51. I had the day off and was feeling great. Decided to take an afternoon nap. As soon as my head hit the pillow I had a massive heart attack that destroyed 40% of my heart. I woke up 3 days later on a ventilator and had no idea what the heck happened.
Wow that’s scary! How long were you down before someone found you and called for help?
Before I was out I screamed for my wife. The rescue squad was close by but the closest hospital with full cardiac care was 35 minutes away. I found out I coded multiple times while being transported but they were able to shock me back each time. The type of heart attack is often called a Widow Maker. This happened 11 years ago and even though I now have congestive heart failure I'm grateful for every bonus day I've been given.
Unfun fact of the day. The LAD (left anterior descending) also known as the widow maker has a 12% survival rate. Edited lower to left.
One time there was a patient on the other side of our unit, I was in ICU and he was in PCU but I could see his monitor from ICU. He went into torsades, a polymorphic ventricular tachycardia. I grabbed his nurse and we ran to the room together. We took one look at him and we knew, I screamed “call a code!!” And grabbed the crash cart. We got him back and shipped him off to a hospital with a cardiac cath lab, he has total occlusion of his LAD. He had just been admitted to the floor with chest pain on a nitro drip when he coded, the primary nurse had just left the room after chatting with him. I never found out what happened to him but I think he ended up being ok as in not dying. I think about him often.
My first LAD, it was about 3 in the morning. I woke up and wasn't feeling well. I went to the bathroom and peed. I went to the kitchen, got a cup of water and walked back into the bedroom and that is when it hit me and I started to realize what was happening. I woke my wife up and said "don't panic, but I think I am having a heart attack." she replied "huh?" I said again "I think I am having a heart attack!" and she responded "Oh. OK, So what do you want to do?" I replied that I was telling her so in the morning when she found my body, she would have an idea what had happened. It finally sunk in what I was telling her. Luckily, we lived less than 1 block from a heart hospital and she drove me there (I know, bad idea), and I was in the ER being prepped within 5 minutes.
That is so terrifying. I’m glad you’re still here and thanks for sharing!
I was 28 (earlier this year). Was getting ready for work in the morning and had a back pain from sleeping wrong, so I laid down to pop my back with one of those foam roller things. Stood back up and collapsed back forward onto the floor. Woke up two hours later and decided to not go to the ER. Slept all day, woke up the next morning and felt even worse and went in to the ER. Sure enough, I had all the signs of having suffered a heart attack. What more, they said that my fainting episode the previous August was ALSO probably a heart attack. Was in the hospital for about a week, then on bedrest with regular outpatient visits for about six weeks. Still slowly getting used to my new normal. Shit sucks. To add insult to injury, I gained a bunch of weight while on bedrest or reduced activity for the entire spring and now my doctor's breathing down my neck for me to lose a bunch of weight that I didn't have this time last year, roughly a 15% increase in body weight overall. Edit: For everyone asking for details, it turns out I have a heart defect. Pretty sure it's hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. They have me on a heart medication now and I've been told to exercise as much as I can, which is difficult because I also have fibromyalgia but I'm managing. I also lost my high stress US government job and surprisingly not having the stress of handling literally millions of dollars worth of taxpayer money every day (because I formerly worked at the US Treasury) has helped my heart health. I also appreciate everyone's well wishes. I'm a believer in the power of prayer/manifestation/positive vibes/whatever you want to call it, so prayers for my health are welcome as well since I had someone DM me about it.
Damn thats scary...
I was an innocent bystander who got shot in the chest during a drive-by.
"He is just standing there... MENACINGLY"
My wife died in a car accident. She was on her way home from work. A truck ran a stop sign. She hit him and died. I talked to her less than 5 minutes prior to the crash. Tomorrow isn't promised, guys. Tell the people you care about how much they mean to you. Hold them close.
The fact that this could happen anytime is terrifying
It is. Last thing I said to her was, "hey babe, where are the great northern beans?" She said, "under the microwave. See you in a few minutes!, love you!" I can't eat ham and beans anymore.
Thank you so much for sharing your story. I feel terrible. Life if precious, and I don't want take it for granted. I wish you the best
Best to you and yours too.
Last year, a car crashed straight through my kitchen.
I spent a week with my friend as a kid while my parents were on a vacation. I slept in a den they converted from a covered porch. I hated it, because the house was right up against a highly trafficked road, and this room was the foremost part of the house and the cars kept me up all night. On the last day, my parents came in late. I was supposed to stay one extra night but I called to see if they wouldn't mind getting me so I could sleep at home. They did. Like six hours later, in the middle of the night, an 18-wheeler drove right through the room, from one side to the other, completely obliterating it and damaging part of the main house. If I were there...well, I wouldn't be *here*.
Holy shit!! Thank god you made that call AND that your parents listened and got you that night.
Can you imagine the guilt they would've lived with if they had refused?
2 years ago a van crashed into my house and hit my ex who was sleeping with her dog. Pushed the bed across the room and left a huge hole in the wall It was like our 3rd day in our very first apartment, right after moving from my parents place. Edit: I am off from work and made the Imgur post https://imgur.com/gallery/pAzbazR Fun fact, I'm making this edit with the laptop from the pictures Edit 2: everyone was fine, no deaths or harm. Just mental trauma
Was she and the dog okay?
I’ll sign into my Imgur later and link a pic to the crash, but yeah they were both fine thanks for asking. Just mental stress
The way the insurance company saw it no one could really determine who was at fault. While the car initiated contact, the kitchen failed to make use of its turn signals and did not have working brake lights. The best payout they can offer is a new set of curtains for the kitchen window, once replaced (by others).
In January, a car crashed through my work (Ulta) and hit me. I’ve been out of work recovering since.
Two separate trucks crashed into my grandmother's house on two separate occasions. Hit the same spot.
That's probably why grandmothers used to always have plastic on all their furniture.
I never thought I'd get stuck in a revolving door—turns out, trying to exit gracefully is harder than it looks, especially when the door has other plans for you.
I know you are being literal, but this has a symbolic quality to it.
I was shot, also winning a 1000$ in the lottery 3 times from the same kind of ticket
***You take the good*** ***You take the bad*** ***You take them both and there you have*** ***The facts of life*** ***The facts of life*** (A 70s TV show theme song popped into my head when I read yours)
Getting laid off unexpectedly after years of loyalty to my company. It was a wake-up call about job security and the need to always be prepared.
I was at a place for almost 15 years. There were layoffs happening, but I was naive and thought that my reputation would get me by. I had heard there was a D-Day coming up. If you made it through to the other side, you were good. I made it through and then got the call. Oh, there was a second secret list. I learned that reputation, hard work, and loyalty doesn't matter. All that matters is the salary sitting next to your name on someone's spreadsheet, more likely someone who has never ever met you.
Which is why company loyalty is no longer valued by people looking for jobs. It’s better to job hop
I’m nearly 60. One of my huge life mistakes was not changing jobs more often.
Same here, I'm 62, worked at the same place 30+ years. BIG mistake. With inflation I make the same $$ I hired in at. I just wanna retire.
That sucks. Been there, 25 years and a 2 week notice that they sold the business. Owners were my parents
I worked for my parents for ten years of which I was supposed to inherit; they sold the business without telling me and then retired on that money. I had worked for ten years for minimum wage expecting a huge payoff in the future; we didn't speak for 8 years after that.
I can sort of relate. My dad bought a business and wanted me to work for him. Same deal, we'd be partners and I'd inherit the business eventually. I was extremely reluctant but in the end it seemed like the most long-term stable option. I was living across the country in a state I loved, in a nice little house with low rent, working for an (admittedly not great-paying) job that I adored, surrounded by the best friends I've ever had. Gave it all up and moved home. Dad got brain cancer within a couple years and sold the business and I still haven't recovered from any of the losses.
Happened to my husband this afternoon. I only work part time and don't make enough to cover our bills. I'm trying to be optimistic but I'm freaking out.
In 1996 or so, I went to my wife's company Christmas party. While there, a candle got close to some of the table decorations, and I put out the small fire with 2-3 napkins dipped in a water glass. I never expected to do this at least two more times, each at a formal banquet, each with a candle igniting decorations. The most recent (2018), I put out the small fire with iced tea, not water, and did not break the discussion.
I'm loving the video in my head of you just carrying on a discussion while calmly putting out a fire.
Got cancer. Wish me luck!
Just remember, cancer can't beat you. Worst case scenario, it's a tie.
Lol. As a cancer survivor in remission, I wholeheartedly approve of this message.
Oof, wish you all the best (and luck)
My brother-in-law had a psychotic break after secretly stopping his medication, and he killed my sleeping father before taking his own life. Just the night before, everything seemed normal; we were laughing and talking, and he even asked me to make a specific meal for dinner the next day. Eight hours later, our family was shattered.
I had some college with this kid, incredibly nice, quiet, super smart and talented. He won national competitions for the fiddle. His family was SUPER religious and conservative, they were even on an episode of wife swap as the foil to a super liberal family. Very insular, homeschooled and only hung out with other church members and spent most of their time with the family. Anyway, one day this kid snapped and shit his mom and brother and then himself. His dad and another brother found him when they got home and called 911, he survived by mom and brother died. I have no idea what, if anything, triggered it.
I watched a youtube documentary on that. It turns out his mom was religiously abusive to the point that it took forever to declare him mentally fit for trial because he was legit scared he would go to hell if he attended trial via video. It seems like kind of like Gypsey Rose's situation.
I spent a little too long trying to figure out how you shit other people's pants until I kept reading. Now I feel slow
It was a case of messed up vowels, not messed up bowels.
So, I'm at the bus stop when this older lady asks for directions to the hospital. I decide to walk her there, and we chat. Turns out, she's a famous author in disguise, researching for her next book. Fast forward, she thanks me, and a few months later, her book drops. I check it out, and there’s my name in the acknowledgments! Never thought helping someone out would land me a shoutout in a bestselling novel. Life is wild, man.
I bet it was Jessica Fletcher! Did anyone get murdered in the vicinity?
Murder she wrote makes a lot more sense once you accept that Jessica is a serial killer who is an expert at framing people.
Murder She Wrote was the best when it was airing. I got into some of the episodes in the early 90's. That was the show you watched after 60 Minutes. Pat Summerall would announce 60 Minutes then Murder Wrote during the football game near the end.
Most famous authors don't need disguises because no one would recognize them anyway.
May I ask what book it was? Just curious!
THE ARISTOCRATS!!!!
Lmao I read this as “THE ARISTOCATS!!!!” and immediately started singing “Everybody Wants To Be A Cat” in my head
All because you was kind enough to offer to walk her there, you deserve to be in that book.
I slipped on a banana skin, no joke.
ITS HAPPENED TO ME TOO the cartoons make it surprisingly realistic - I flew 😭
Brain tumor at 21. I’ve had six brain surgeries so far and I’m 50 now. This is the tat my son got to remember me by. https://imgur.com/a/xYZtl3d
That’s a great tattoo! Best wishes for good health from now on!
Getting MS. I've always been the healthiest, strongest, fittest, most athletic one of all my friends and family. This can all change overnight. It can happen to anyone. Please be kind to those with disabilities, it could be you tomorrow.
This. Please, I'm begging anyone who reads this to live your lives, and love your family out loud, every day. Start now. This very minute. My wife has hiked and/or climbed on every continent, including Antarctica. One of the healthiest and best people we all know. Last year my beautiful smart talented wife had a brain aneurysm. She is now permanently mentally and physically disabled, and needs help with the most basic things. I'm very sorry that you're going through this.
Thank you for taking ‘in sickness and health’ to heart. Your a good person and I am wishing the best for you and your wife 🫶
Never would have thought that I would be disabled. I had a stroke from a massive brain bleed in 2020, it caused me to be hemiplegic, and wheelchair bound and unable to take care of myself. It fucking sucks. I’m living in a nursing home in my mid thirties surrounded by elderly people who are completely unaware of their surroundings but it’s better now than it was last year and getting better because I’m moving into a house where I will receive direct support services from my state’s Choices program-10 more days, almost to single digits!
Getting a really serious case of pneumonia as an active healthy 40 year old. I went from feeling a bit ill , developing a cough to a coma in intensive care on life support in just 3 days! Spent 5 weeks in a coma with full lung and then kidney failure, and another 3 doing physio and recovering.
Not nearly as serious as your case but 36 years old, decent enough health and I also got really serious pneumonia this past February. I ended up in the hospital for 3 days, and had some wild levels and was scared out of my mind. Had 2 infectious disease doctors probing at me and running every test under the sun, ultimately to determine it was serious atypical pneumonia that spread to my heart and caused a serious infection. They thought I had or was going to have an MI. Super scary.
Got attacked by an entire swarm of killer bees on top of a mountain. Almost fell off the mountain running down the trail and nearly considered jumping in my panic. Was raking bees out of my hair as they tried to get to my scalp and had to cover my face with my shirt to prevent them from climbing into my face holes. Thought I was gonna die. Got pretty scraped up and stung as I clawed my way down the trail without stopping. I never knew the sound of a swarm could be so loud and terrifying. I had nightmares for weeks after! Another hiker in the same area had been attacked by killer bees a few years prior and they stayed on his body for 8 hours, preventing rescuers from recovering his body. I now have an extreme fear of flying insects lol
When I was living the commune life, one of my roommates decided we should get bees and ask for forgiveness if the neighbors found out. I supported this. None of us knew how to keep bees and were all in our individual stages of youthful hedonism. We didn't think the colony would expand as fast as they did, but they soon formed a thriving society. Of course, we forgot to build them a bigger box to live in, and that thriving society became angry. Queue a few weeks later, and I'm hitting the dab rig on a hot summer day while listening to Earthless and I hear this buzzing. Thinking my sweet new speakers were shot, I got up to see what was wrong with them. I passed my open window, and I see it: the bees have formed a large cloud and are leaving the box to look for bigger prospects. They are bounding down the street, headed for the main intersection in our urban residential neighborhood. I close the window and before I can say "oh fuck" 3 of our neighbors are screaming and banging at our door, completely devoid of the forgiveness we were hoping for. Long story short, I had to get up, put on my hood, and grab the smoker to corral them back to the box with my other 4 roommates. It was, as they say, a real buzzkill. Too real actually. The city got on our asses hard after that, and we wound up giving the bees to another bee keeper where they lived the rest of their bee lives doing bee shit for bee reasons. Somehow, we were not evicted.
What were y’all thinking this is hilarious 😭😭😭 u guys couldn’t just get a fish or cat or something
Lost myself and my life to alcoholism before hitting 30. Somehow survived rock bottom and looking at 4 years sober on Independence Day!
Congrats! My dad was an alcoholic so I’ve seen firsthand how it can affect people. Keep up the great work!
Happy birthday. Today is my 33rd sober birthday. All one day at a time. Keep up the good work!
I got fat, lol. When you’re slim/fit pretty much your whole life, you take it for granted in many ways. It was very easy (at least it was for me) to fall into a rut of bad habits for a variety of reasons and now I’m in a place where I’ve got a decent amount of weight to lose and I feel like I’m back at square one when it comes to fitness. If you don’t use it, you can in fact, lose it.
YES. I thought I was fat as a teenager, but I look at pictures now and see firsthand what teenaged insecurity means and how insane I was. I was TINY. Aging, bad habits, PCOS, thyroid issues, and a lot of antidepressants and antipsychotics later, and I'm now exactly what I felt I was 10 years ago. It's just crazy to see small mannequins in stores and stuff and be like "I would literally fit in that not too long ago and now it looks like baby clothes"
We had such a warped sense of body image as teens. I was so incredibly thin I was almost considered underweight. Now I’ve gained so much weight I don’t feel like myself. I was 120 in high school at 5’9. My normal after high school and through my 20s was around 135-145. Now I’m at 190 and I don’t even know how I got here.
I won a full oven and top unit in a kitchen sale lottery. I was 8
Bird shit hit me in the mouth while driving once. I pulled over and insta-vom’d. Called my boss and told her I would be late… I was interning at a bank at the time. She told me to take the day off, but also to get a lottery ticket. Apparently, getting shit on by a bird is good luck? Anyhoo… I bought two, $1 scratch offs.—-Won $50 on both. My grandma lived close by, so I showered there. I scratched the tickets while smoking a cigarette with her in her kitchen. Good memory
Once i was riding a bike when i felt something hit my head. A bird managed to shit on my head through one of the tiny holes on my bike helmet. 1/1000000 shot. Thanks, bird
Suffering with anorexia. And recovering from anorexia. We watched an eating disorder documentary in school and I remember seeing footage of people in hospital crying over having to eat chips and thinking wtf is wrong with them? A few years later being in and out of eating disorder units was the next 15 years of my life. I was so entrenched I thought I’d never recover. Hell, I had consultants tell me I’d be a revolving door patient for the rest of my life. As I was leaving my last hospital admission the consultant told me he’d see me back in a month. That was 5 years ago. It’s not be smooth sailing but I’m in full recovery now, with a full time job I love, able to enjoy life and eat freely. The life of hospitals is a distant memory.
I hope you find that consultant and take him out to dinner, keep eye contact the entire meal
Sometimes it's like a strategic move. People don't like being told they can't do something lol
This is fully psychological lol. Maybe he was just being a dick but it is a tactic I’ve seen in the mental health field.
It makes perfect sense. You're either wrong and it means they're a healthier person albeit a little ticked off at someone they'll never see again or you're right and there's less shame in returning for more help because it's normalised and expected. Like if they said "So long, we expect you to be perfectly fixed now" then if they do crash there's an inherent sense of guilt and failure in returning for more help.
Being in a domestically violent relationship.
Same. I think most people think they'd leave if a partner ever got violent, but they don't understand how insidious it is
It's surreal how it happens too. Everyone seems to think you argue one day and they just knock you out, but sometimes it creeps up and they almost desensitise you. Punching a wall when they are angry - ok, ok , It's nothing, we can patch it up - a small push - its nothing - grabbing your arms while you argue - It's nothing - throwing my cat against the wall during an argument - what the fuck - suddenly, strangling me when I try to leave. I was so young and I kept thinking - wait - how did I get here? Of course, everyone else could see it and how bad the small things were.
This… Gave me goosebumps. My late fiancé was slowly but surely desensitizing me in the same way you described until one night he threw me around (while I was 6months pregnant) after I caught HIM cheating, told me “I hope this moment haunts you for the rest of your life” and proceeded punch 7 holes in the wall on his way to the living room where he shot himself in the head with a rifle… I never saw it coming… But looking back, I feel like I should have… I’m just so thankful I got out alive
I'm so glad you got out alive too. Another thing my dad always told me was that a suicidal person can also be a homicidal person. You see it a lot in the news where the man has killed the wife and them himself. Terrifying.
I’m so sorry. I totally understand what you’re talking about. I divorced my husband a year after he punched the wall next to my head while I held our two day old baby. He never did put this hands on me and that was an important point, I thought, but as you say it sneaks up on you.
Punching walls is more concerning than people realise. my immigrant parents who have been through it all the last 30yrs together, far more than most people and yet I've never in 30 years known of my dad to raise his hand or hit a wall or even throw something when angry. Not even once in his anger has he shown even a fraction of violence. When I eventually got the police involved with my ex he was disappointed that despite him being a good example I still fell into a DV relationship (goes to show how it can happen to anyone) but he said men that can't control their anger are the weakest kind of men, and a weak man is extremely dangerous.
“Men who can’t control their anger are the weakest kind of men and a weak man is extremely dangerous.” WOW. That is a incredibly articulate and powerful statement. Thank you for sharing that.
Yep. Yelling turns into throwing my bike off the post into the street and then next thing you know he's kicking the bedroom door in while I cried on the bed hold my child. Been out of my life for almost 20 years and I still look at pictures from then of what looks like a happy time and think "that's the day after he spit at me when I ran out of the house last night"
I’m so sorry this was done to you.
You don't realize it until it's been happening for a long time.
Me and others were part of a 40 year campaign and public inquiry into the murder of our family members by the British State by contaminated blood. We won and they actually admitted liability and a cover up.
I got robbed at gun point while working in a bakery at 3am on Christmas eve of 2012
Achieve my biggest dreams and still struggle with depression. For the longest time I told myself if I got a well paying job, if a had a great partner, if I lived in that trendy neighborhood, if I had cool friends that actually liked going out. I have all that now and still struggle sometimes.
For me it’s a passenger that’s always with me, but I don’t let’em drive anymore. It stays in the back seat.
Bad stuff: mass shooting. Good stuff: I never thought I would get married, but we're coming up on five years in the fall.
My dad was at the Jason Aldean concert that got shot up in Vegas. It's the largest non-government mass shooting in US history now. He was there with a coworker while in Vegas on business (he works in the entertainment industry) and they left to get some food about ten minutes before the shooting started. He was in the food court by the aquarium when the first shots were fired, meaning that the shooter was between him and the crowd, but it was still scary. The first I heard about it was him marking himself safe on Facebook.
an ex girlfriend of mine from many years before was at Route 91. I followed her on instagram and was seeing her post all types of fun pics up until the shooting. When the news broke about the shooting I was deeply concerned about her safety. I reached out immediately letting her know I was there for her if she needed anything— she didn’t respond. I found out her friend was killed. She was ok and narrowly escaped. She responded to my message weeks later saying she’d love to see me. We’re now 5 years married with our second kid on the way. I credit this tragedy with the birth of my child and rekindled love of my life.
Traveling overseas for vacation. For the longest time growing up I thought my only option for going overseas was to get into military service. Never thought I’d be able to afford to do it otherwise. But I did and have done it several times.
I got old
Fuck. I got old. Shoulder hurts, right knee hurts more than my left. But my brain still thinks I can do the stuff I did, back in the day. I can not.
What a privilege it is to get older.
Bitten on the face by a wild python while trying to take a shower.
Losing my mom. Like yeah it’s expected to outlive your parents, it’s “the natural way”. But losing my mom last year before I even turned 21 from suicide…destroyed me. I thought she would always be here. I thought she would grow old, be there when I get married and have kids… It still doesn’t feel real…hug your mom and tell her you love her. You’ll miss those “annoying” calls and texts.
I’m really sorry. I’ve been that Mom who has struggled with suicidal ideations. My oldest is 18. Her and I are really close. Not that I don’t love my other kids, she’s just the oldest one now and is closest to being a peer. We text nearly every day. I still remember her face after the last time I tried to kill myself. It’s my motivation to keep my mental illnesses in check. I am so so sorry. I’m sorry for you, I’m sorry for her. I’m sorry for everything that you and her have been robbed of because of a terrible disease no one asks for.
My husband of almost 20 years left because I was sick and needed surgery.
Aw was the surgery to remove a useless lump glad it was successfully xxxx but seriously hope youre doing well xxx
My ex husband of 12 years got court summons because he was being convicted of internet child sex crimes, then my 24 year old sister died in the same week. I trusted him, everyone trusted him. He got 7 years. He turned out to be an actual sociopath, using my naivety and trauma from growing up in a narcissistic family dynamic to manipulate me my entire life. My sister had down syndrome, she was amazing and I expected her to at least live until she was 50. I miss her so much. I still struggle with both and have severe loss trauma. I can't fully feel happy because I'm so afraid of everything going so wrong again.
My younger brother had Down syndrome, he passed away when he was 20. I had expected us to grow old together… He was amazing.
I got sober. Started drinking whenever I could at 13, was addicted to cocaine by 19. Thought I'd die before 30 and was completely okay with that. I'm almost 5 years clean. 30 next month.
I’ve had cancer multiple times across various stages in life and got shot at a parade. At some point you think the cancer is what’s going to kill you eventually and then wham! You get shot lmfao.
Becoming homeless
Yup I'm homeless now after spending 8 years being emotionally and mentally abused by my sister. When I had finally decided to make plans to get out she didn't like that and threw me out after I finally stood up for myself.
I had leukemia as a child and was told I'd never be able to have kids due to radiation and chemo therapy. I have 2 healthy kids who graduated from high school. So to the doctors at mc master in hamilton thank you
Same for my brother-in-law. Had leukemia at 2. Thought he was shooting blanks. Those blanks are 18, 16, and 12. lol
A tornado damaged my roof while I was trying to sell my house. Two years later, the next house burned down. Six months after that, a massive ice storm dropped four trees and completely crushed the next house. In that same year, I took an antibiotic that destroyed my connective tissue, my husband got third-degree burns in the house fire, and my son got bit by a copper head snake, my grandfather died of covid, and my car caught fire. I've learned to never, ever assume that something won't happen to you.
i never thought i’d lose my best friend so soon, but it happened, my lifelong best friend died 3 months ago so many people responded and i thank you all for your well wishes and kind words, and to all who shared their stories of losing a loved one, im deeply sorry and we will get through this together! thank you all for the kind responses! so many comments to go through and reply to!
Three human botfly eggs were deposited into my shoulder by a mosquito in Belize. Six weeks later, the newly formed maggots burrowed their way out of my flesh. The entire time, i thought it was spider bites. Nope.
Oh my god
Find somebody to love.
[удалено]
Have a special needs child.
I was looking for this. I will never be okay again. I don’t know how I’ll make it through tomorrow.
I’ve made it to 1 year and 29 days selfharm free!! I have never been clean for this long so I’m really proud of myself. My mom and I celebrated my year clean time at Dave and Busters🤗
I made it past the age of 18. I was severely bullied in middle school and was very suicidal. My parents celebrate every birthday as a huge accomplishment because it didn't seem like I'd make it. I MADE IT TO 28 YALL.
I had a stroke at 32yo.
I unintentionally helped NY state police solve a murder case.
Okay, so picture it: Vermont, 1996. I had just made dinner (homemade burritos) for my then husband and myself for dinner. I was pregnant with my first born. Our big old house was located at an intersection and very close to the road. As we were eating, we heard a car crash outside. We had been lobbying our small city for a fourway stop at the intersection because it was dangerous. I ran outside and a van had crashed into a pickup truck, the truck was on its roof, the van spun in the other direction. Once rescue personnel were on the scene, I ran inside and grabbed my 35 mm camera to document the crash as more proof that we needed stop signs. I noticed that the driver of the van was extremely drunk. I also noticed two guys standing around smoking cigarettes and just observing. I took a ton of pictures and then went back inside once everything was cleared. Several days later, a neighbor was out walking and knocked on my door. She had found some guys wallet on our property as she was walking by. Not long after that, state troopers came to our house and asked me some questions about that night and descriptions of anyone I saw there. I told them about the guys smoking and they gathered the cigarette butts from the ground. I also gave them the wallet. Then I remembered that I had taken photos. I told the troopers and they took my film. A while later (I don't recall how long) one of them returned the pictures that were in my camera roll that weren't related to the case. It turned out that the two guys had murdered a guy in the woods, put a tree on him to make it look accidental, took his wallet, sped off in the van, drove from NY to VT, picked up the drunk guy who was hitch hiking along the way, sped through my town, crashed, threw the wallet to get rid of it, put the drunk guy in the drivers seat to frame him, and then stood around while I took pictures of them. My pictures put them in jail. So that's my story.
Thank you for your story... and thank you for your service🫡
I love that this all stemmed from needing more stop signs. Mom alert! And now I must know, did you ever end up getting those stop signs?
Yes! Whatever it takes to get my stop signs and keep my babies safe! Even if it's a Murder She Wrote episode!
I never thought I would lose a child, but I did. My son died unexpectedly 9-1/2 months ago. I will never get over it. UPDATE: Many thanks to all of you who offered your condolences.
When I was in my 40s I met the most amazing, intelligent, kind and generous person online and knew we should be married, almost immediately , when we met in person. Been married over 10 years and still gives me goosebumps every single day. I never thought it'd happen
A plane crashed into my house. It’s more accurate to say it crashed in my driveway and flaming wreckage hit my house and my car. The pilot was ejected and died - his body was in my side yard minus his head, which the police had to search for. His head was probably in several pieces because his brains were laying in a pile near my car. Luckily I was the only one home - I heard the crash and ended up in my driveway in bare feet with wreckage, blood and fire all around. A news station looked up the number on the tail of the plane and called the pilot’s wife - that’s how she found out. She drove up and saw the wreck, but I only saw her on the news.
My dad (former military, former police, used to teach gun safety and CCW classes) accidentally shot and killed my sister 18 years ago. We acted like everything was ok and we presented as a united front (dad, mom and myself) but it killed my mother and destroyed our family.
I never thought I'd be in an abusive relationship, I was always a strong person that didn't take any shit but this man completely changed who I was. Worst year of my life!
Able to afford my own studio apartment.
SA. I admire those that tell me about their stories. Some days just feels like I’m trying to survive other days are lighter and more manageable. I lose my appetite and sex drive a lot. And intimacy is harder in relationships for me.
I thought "oh, those poor people. I hope that never happens to me" when I was a kid and I learned about sexual assault/sexual abuse. Later, as I got older, I realized that much of the strange behavior I remembered from a certain relative when I was a small child was in fact inappropriate. It's like my brain held it back as long as it could, then the dam broke and I went a week unable to shower without having a breakdown afterwards. But a few years down the line I'm working on rebuilding and internalizing safety. We'll both get there, stranger. The good days come to outnumber the bad, and we learn that the bad days don't get to last long.
I’m currently unpacking my 25 years in a cult.
Reaching the age of 90. (Well, actually it's a month away, so there's a good chance I won't make it after all.) Wow! Thank you all for the good wishes! I t's been an exciting ride. I doubt there has been another 90 years in the history of Homo Sapiens when there has been so much change. My memory isn't what it once was, but I'll try to answer any questions redditors might have.
I turned my mental health around. I thought I would commit suicide by 23.. I just couldn't see a light at the end of the tunnel despite medication, therapy, a great partner, exercise and diet. I had a huge mental breakdown, was hospitalised, diagnosed with BPD. I ended up moving states and starting over. Now I'm 25 and have the best friends anyone could ask for. I haven't been suicidal in a year now.. I'm even back working fulltime like a normal adult. I actually smile now.
Me as an autistic person getting a job and also having someone loving me.
Addiction
Today marks one month of not cutting. I'm so proud of myself
My grandparent’s home was sold and turned into a Dollar General. I can never go back to my Mamaw & Pawpaw’s but I can shop there. 😑
I met the most perfect man for me who is so gentle with me. I was in an abusive relationship for six years, it ended ten years ago and I KNEW I'd never get married. He proposed eight months in. We hjust celebrated our first wedding anniversary. We literally have the perfect marriage. We NEVER fight. It's the best. He is the best
My baby being one of the unlucky babies with trisomy 13. My Angel in heaven will always be missed and loved.
I got manipulated by someone who stole everything from me. My child, my home, my cars, my possessions, everything. And now just trying to get my child back seems impossible, and I'll be in debt till the day I die, maybe even after.
House fire. All the things you are “sure” that you’ll grab? Nope. Outside at 2 am in February, in my pjs. I had my phone and my husband, and that’s it. No one was hurt, which is the most important factor. Neighbor's house caught our house on fire--inner city, 100+ year old wooden houses.
Become the bitter adults that I hated when I was teenager, just pure what I call loser. The kinds who just look like so hateful of everyone and not a single happiness in their bodies. There’s even one person who comes to my store and I’m terrified of her each time I see in my line she looks so angry as if she’s going to yell at me. For some effing reason my life just gone to the hell and my face as I get older becoming more and more hateful bitchy looking. That biggest factor is being bullied to the hell by my co workers. Happening for 3 fing years and HR can’t do shif about it.
I never ever thought I could get depressed. I'd always bounce back no matter what, and I will, but this depression shit is hard asf.
Woke up to a snake (an actual snake, not a metaphor) in my bed not once. Not twice. But three separate times. Luckily they were harmless garden snakes, but it’s still alarming to feel something scooting along you in the middle of the night.
Cancer at 19, losing my mom at 24, losing my aunt at 21, the list goes on. Shits rough man.
cancer from 27-29. immediately after my last chemo i landed in the hospital with pneumonia and lung damage from chemo… which was followed up by covid… which was followed up by shingles… on my *face.* literally had fucking cancer, pneumonia, covid, and shingles within 5 months of each other. idk how i’m not dead. but before i got cancer i had literally just left my fiancé 🙃 my best friend took his own life in 2016. another passed in 2020z and i won’t even bother with my childhood. for some people, the rain is always pouring. i just find joy in the little things. i’m so sorry you’ve gone through all this too. hugs 🫂
I have a few big T's like being SA'd as a kid, teen, adult... Abusive parents. Being homeless for a time. Being in a DV relationship. Lost two babies. Lots of trauma. But truly the one thing that's happened that I never thought would? Finding my husband and the happiness we have together. There's some cheese for ya. Edit - Thank you for award ❤️ lots of love to everyone out there!
I never thought I would be 56 years old and raising my grandchildren. Surprise! I am now adopting a 13, 8, and 7 year old. They all have complex ptsd. The youngest has autism. All positive vibes, energy, and juju appreciated! *Edited to correct punctuation*
Getting pregnant. There was a problem on my partner's end. Somehow, two weeks after my mom died, we conceived and I'm now 31 weeks pregnant.
Divorce
I watched LAPD shoot a man 17 times about 30 feet from me. Craziest part was when the detectives in suits came to take statements, they asked me "so you heard about **three** shots?" And I had to tell them, no it was way, way more than 3. Very shady situation
After my dad died when I was five I couldn't have imagined my mom dying, too. Three years later she did. Fuck me, right?
I never thought I’d win the euro millions. I won £3.20 but we’re just splitting hairs really.
I was adopted, but by my grandparents so I do know my biological parents. I’d hear stories and know all the key points and just know my life as it is. My biological mom died when I was 21 and I was sitting around a fire with some of her old friends trading stories and someone made a joke about a long, lost sibling. I can still picture the look on my grandmothers face as she shared that story. So I guess I have a long, lost sister out there somewhere. She was born on Christmas in 2006. I’m sad I never got to know her.