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Yes, both times were when I was in college at Southern Illinois University in the mid-70's.
First time was when a fire broke out in the mobile home I was renting. My cat (who was deaf) woke me up and I got out of there in time. I lost everything, including the cat.
Second time was when a bunch of us went to this lake to have a BBQ. I swam out too far and couldn't make it back. Started going down and I thought I was a goner. Luckily this guy floated by on an inner tube. I held on to that thing for dear life and he brought me to shore.
I don't know that these events changed me at all except for being super-conscious of fires and not swimming in lakes.
Yes. When I was 23 I was stabbed and then strangled by a total stranger in broad daylight on a college campus. His stated intent was to drag me down a hillside and rape me. I only survived because a car came down the service road, so I elbowed him as hard as I could in his ribs and flagged the driver down. The perp was caught the next day. I never walked anywhere near even that neighborhood again.
The second time was when my heart stopped an hour after my heart attack had begun (it was a long trip to the ER). I had just been transferred to the ER receiving table and a mechanical pumper was used for 7 minutes to revive me. I've been very grateful pretty much every day since that I didn't die, although the actual moment when my heart ceased beating was very peaceful.
Last year I was driving home from a grocery store, and started to turn left onto a highway at a traffic light. Halfway through the intersection a pickup truck came barreling through the red light. I had enough time to slam on my brakes, and he swerved around me. I would have gotten Tboned, right in the driver side door, and I really felt as if I might have died.
As a teenager or maybe early 20-something, my friends and I stayed up late fishing, then took a very short nap before driving back (probably an hour to hour-half drive home). We all fell asleep in the moving car (me in the back). We woke up after hitting a side of the road reflector, spun around, and came to a stop to the side of the highway. When we came to our senses, we looked back, and had just passed under a very big concrete overpass that certainly would have taken us all out if we plowed into it instead. And it was all on a big curve too. Angels, I say, or God. I won't accept any other answer. I think it did play a role in me exploring matters greater than me/us. It got my attention.
One time when I was young and stupid (no longer young, still pretty stupid), I decided to cross some railroad tracks when the lights were flashing (no gate). I looked left and I looked right and there was no train, so I started across. What I couldn't see was that the tracks curved right past the road and the train was coming from behind some buildings (warehouse area of town). All I know is I started to cross and when I looked up, I was eyeball to eyeball with that big bright light on the engine. I probably gave the engineer a heart attack and I will never, ever cross a railroad again when the lights are going.
I had an aneurysm in 2014. I just had a terrific headache and actually drove myself to the ER where I was then transferred to another hospital for surgery. All the doctors and nurses and EMTs were very calm, so I had no idea how serious this was. I didn't even have any resulting problems after the surgery either which I guess is rare. I've heard of people having to learn to walk and talk and everything else.
One of my friends researched it afterward and was appalled at what my chances were (her words) but I've never been interested enough to look for myself. I know it would just worry me and I have enough to be worried about now. At the time, I just resolved to never drive myself to the ER again when something serious happens. Of course, when I broke my ankle, I did call an ambulance and was sort of sorry I did after I got the bill.
But both those things were just things that happened to me. They really didn't have any lasting effect on my outlook or spirituality or anything else.
Location: IN>Germany>ND>OH>TX>CA>Currently NoVa and a Vacation Lake House in PA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by texan2yankee
The second time I was walking across the street while looking at my phone and a city bus flew behind me within inches. The force blew my phone out of my hand. People on the street saw what happened and ran to me to see if I was injured. I was untouched.
These two incidents gave me an appreciation of how damn luck plays a part in our life or death.
Hopefully, this incident convinced you to stop looking at your phone when you're walking. People do this all the time, and it baffles me.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I was in a head-on collision at age 19, in the smaller of the two cars, and what saved me from certain death was that I corrected to the left so the impact was mostly on our passenger sides. The transmission shaft into the engine was laying on the ground broken off, and the passenger-side headlight was against the firewall. I ended up with just two broken arms, and a badly bruised knee. The other driver just had a cut on the forehead. With two casts I couldn't drive for a couple of months but when I got them off I bought a larger car, and to "get back on the horse that threw me" I drove with a friend on a 2-1/2 month 18,000 mile cross country trip.
Have you ever almost died or been killed? If so, how did that change you?
Several times, but the most impactful was from a combat situation in Vietnam. It gave me a much greater appreciation for life...so much so that I now hop over ant trails on the sidewalk to make sure that I won't step on any ants.
When I was 23 and backpacking around the world, a late-night trip to the airport nearly ended in disaster. My hotel had summoned us a cab and, halfway to the airport, the driver fell asleep at the wheel.
We were on a bridge crossing the Yamuna River when the car jumped the island into oncoming traffic. Somehow, we didn't crash, but in the swerving aftermath, nearly went off of the bridge into the river. We hit a guardrail which saved us.
The driver got control and we went onward. Incredibly, he started to nod off again, so I kicked his seatback hard enough to knock him into the steering wheel and yelled.
Finally, we made it to the airport, and he began bleating for a tip! Baksheesh! Baksheesh!
I swore if I got out of India alive, I would never return. (This was after a series of bad events.)
I've visited around 100 countries on 6 continents and still feel this way about India.
-swimming- undertow tossed me.
- Car accident- ravine- 5 hours of no memory
- suicide- ( attempted obviously, cuz I'm here!)
No epiphany . More cautionary in some ways.
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