What is the closest you have come to death?

[trad"Doc"53]

Had a wreck in a company work truck. The GMC pick-ups that had the dual tanks that came up under the cab that had a bad habit of blowing when in an accident. This was back in 1982, was burned over 76% of my body surface with 93% of my burns past 3rd degree. Was knocked out on impact with telephone pole and was estimated to have been in the truck for approximately 5 minutes before coming to and realizing I was trapped and on fire. Was able to knock out the rest of the drivers window and crawl out. Spent 6 months in Parkland burn ward and had 2.5 years of reconstructive surgery and therapy. My parents were told from the get go that I would never survive and even if I should would never walk again. Well, I obviously beat all the odds, but lots of times I wish I hadn't. I haven't had a pain free day since the accident. On a good day it's about a 6 on a scale of 1-10, but 95% of the time it runs 8-9, 24hrs. The pain and a few other ingrediants led to another near death that I don't much talk about, but it's the reason I don't use pain killers any more, not that they helped to start with. Most of my teeth I have missing are from gritting them due to the pain until they fracture and have to be removed. They say everything is for a reason and I sure would like to know this one! God bless all of you that have had bad things to happen to you.

[bigmactog]

There are some blessed people on here.......just sayin

coma in 07, o2 stats down to 40, when I woke up ev1 thought I had brain damage(some still do), was talking jibberish for a while. Best sleep I've ever had, not recommended.......

[Russ]

Wow, some of yalls stories are just down right scary!!! Some so bad they make me wanna cry. Man, I guess I am lucky. Had a lot of close calls but nothing near what some of yall have gone thru. Ghostwalker so sorry to hear bout your accident. All yall will be in my prayers that have had lasting effects from you accidents.

[Kodiakk]

I don't know if I actually died or what, but they had to bring me back when I stopped breathing and my heart stopped due to pancreantitis when I was 18. I don't remember anything except sitting there one second and the next second (to me) I was waking up in a ICU a few days later.

There are many others, but that was the closest to death.

[super_dave]

It involved Jim Beam, 2 atv's, 6 people, and a dry creek bed in Coryell county!

[junkmanhunter]

Marriage!!! As close to dying as one can get. J/K


Been very fortunate, numerous times had a few close calls but nothing like most of yours. One reason I have quit drinking.

[Keith]

WOW! Some amazing stories in this thread!

[Chew]

I am truly blessed and I like to think that my experience led me to my career in EMS. I met the FFs that responded to help me.. Joined the department. My chief talked me into EMT school and here I am today!

You're a very brave person and I admire you greatly for what you've been through and what you've done since then.

[Langston32]

I was street racing in my truck right before my daughter was born, the last time i looked down at the speed-o I was going 118 and i lost it in a slight curve in the road. My truck slid sideways off the road and rolled 15 times. I did not have my seat belt on and was ejected out of the vehicle and flew through the air 75 feet to the wood line where I landed up in some trees, I tried to hold on to the tree limbs but couldn't and fell another 20 to the ground where I dislocated my hip, broke ribs and punctured my lung. My truck made it all the way to the wood line as well and we weren't 10' apart when it was all over!

[Coup de Grace]

I would bog down the server with all mine.

Here's one if you've got an hour....

http://discussions.texasbowhunter.com/forums/showthread.php?t=206192

3 bouts with colon cancer....

Numerous close calls in the Marines and law enforcement.

Almost fell through a rusty well cover in Many, Louisiana when I was about 8 or 9. I was jumping up and down on it when it starting breaking through. Somebody knocked the hell out of me (grandma or mom/dad)

BOBBY, YOU HAVE 9 LIFES.

[PlastikBulletz]

30 years as a cop i had more than 1 close call.... car pusuit from beaumont to orange county then back into vidor, crossed s main and 105 on a light, only had time to say "o' God" because the light changed and two 18 wheelers were crossing from both sides and there was no way to stop at 122,, by some miracle both trucks stopped and nothing else tried to cross or turn... got back into beaumont and headed west on the service road,, with a big ridge in the middle,, the suspect went airborn came done on right side blowing both tires,, i was able to keep my car level and the officer behind me later told me he could see the roof of the suspects car under mine when i went airborne at about 80.... twice on one chase.....
another officer while flagging traffic was hit by an old woman on major drive,, he was barely able to call for help,, i started to him west on highway 90 ( college st) 7 lanes east and west,,at lindbergh it was 4 north and south,,, i was the closest car at about 5 miles,,, light changed again,, another "o' God" and the light changed green for me, blew through the intersection at 105mph.... that light change was not a lucky thing because every other car on the road was already in motion and all of the stopped, because of the way the light changed out of sequence and real quick
disturbance with a gun call, had a danged yankee rookie with me.... found the house and suspect, super drunk... he let us in to look for the gun,, this was a very very narrow shotgun shack, doorways were about 20" wide, narrowest doors i ever saw... rookie let the suspect enter the bedroom first, and then let him reach into a dresser drawer were he pulled the gun ( rg 22 revolver) pointed it straight at my chest and pulled the trigger, @#$%&^*( rookie never tried to stop him) and i was just tring to get into the room behind them, no time even for an "o' God" heard the hammer click as i am trying to reach through the doorway and grab the gun, didnt even have room to draw,,, drunk pulls the trigger the second time say "see i told you it quit working" stupid drunk thankfully had loaded the bullets in backwards, fireing pin was hitting the nose of the bullet!!!!!
rookie was taken into the station and given to the sgt,, he started looking for a new line of work two days later....

I hate Beaumont, and try to avoid it at all costs! Graduated from Ozen HS when it was re-opened. I remember something about the cop that got hit on Major. When was that?

[jpbruni]

My buddy and I were driving to Mason from Dallas to hunt. We left way too late and he was driving. I fell asleep in the passenger seat. I woke up to see him totally asleep and us going 75mph. I yelled at him while grabbing the wheel. We had to pull over for a while and he almost got sick to his stomach. No telling what would have happened. I have no doubt God tapped me on my shoulder because I was sound asleep.

Other time I was in my band van heading into downtown Dallas. I was on the East side of town and it was morning rush hour. Very confusing intersections and highway on and off ramps there. I roll through an intersection that I thought had a yield sign for the other road. I was wrong! I just drove right across the intersection. The second I get across, a car blows right past me a t 70mph. I had to pull over I was so freaked out! One second earlier and I would have been killed for sure. The other driver must have been distracted because he never even hit his brakes or honked his horn.

I also saved a guys life one time. We were waiting to cross a street and for some reason he thought it was clear and stepped out in the road to cross. I grabbed him by the shirt with all my might and yanked him backwards, back out of the road. The car was going about 45-50 mph and actually clipped him on the leg (no injury). He he never saw the car.

He bought me a few beers that night.

J.P.

[Texastaxi]

September 19, 2008 ... the day my brain exploded. Subarachnoid hemmorage. No warning and no explanation. The pain dropped me to my knees in our tiled living room. Several hours afterwards, my wife found me in a bathtub full of cold water, puking from the pain. Even after that, I thought it was just a bad headache and didn't want to go to the doctor, so I laid down and went to sleep, or at least tried to. When there was no relief from that she loaded me up and took me to the ER. I puked again in the ER lobby. The doctor didn't waste any time getting a CT scan and when he saw the image, he told my wife that I shouldn't be alive much less walking and talking. They took me by life flight from Katy to downtown Houston. 7 days in neurotrama ICU, pumped full of morphine and then I was taken to a regular room and discharged 3 days later.

Three months later I had a followup appointment when the doctor finally told us that the bleeding had stopped on its own and if it would have bled for another half second, I'd have died.

So a half second away is the closest that I've come to dieing. I still have unusual pains in my neck and abnormal headaches but now know that each day is a blessing. The ordeal gave me a new outlook on life.

[Jeremy7306]

I'm a fireman so I've had a few close calls.. Most recent was on a structure fire, one I my FF's low air alarm is going off- so im walking towards him alarm to find out who it is and make sure everything's alright. Well not knowing i had just stepped OVER a live power line on the ground, once I got my FF we were walking to the engine to change his bottle and we both stepped ON the live power line. Didn't really sink in till the power company showed up and confirmed that the line was hot! Thankfully we all went home in one piece that night.

[bassmatt72]

Mine is kinda boring.. I was hanging phone cable on a part time job, something went wrong and I came in contact with a primary power line that had 7200volts running through it. I don't remember any of it until I regain consciousness down on the ground. I ended up with some deep burns on my leg and hand, six weeks of scrubbing burns twice a day then small skin grafts after that. Very blessed by God that I still have all my fingers and toes.