What's the most dangerous thing you have survived?

[AbsentmindedWoman]

Curious about all kinds of narrow squeaks, really. I find it fascinating because they can be dramatic or terrifying like a car accident or being held up at knifepoint, or something that happens in the blink of an eye and death/ serious damage is averted thanks to sheer good luck! I seem to have had a fair few of the latter experiences (falls off horses, best friend pulling me out of the way of a bus by a hair's breadth, etc) but no big event.

I love how tough human beings are and what we can survive. What's the maddest and baddest thing you have survived?

No where near as bad as many of these though

Cornered in a deserted side street with my friend aged 15 our only way out blocked by some druggie with a knife telling us to give him all our money and phones amd everything. I have no idea wbere it came from but I just said "oh fuck off you little cunt" which was a very bad idea he ran at us with the knife and someone was looming after us as ge was so off his head he fell over. I have never ran so fast in my life to get away from there.

Another time whilst at university I was completely pissed on Absinthe and jad a huge argument with a male friend. He had also been drinking he got in his car and I thought he was leaving but he turned and drove straight at me full speed. I was stood against a wall and actually just decided to close my eyes and wait to be hit as I knew I didnt have time to move. The car hit the wall at an angle and due to the angle of the impact and other physics type things I didnt undertand it didnt hit me and I just got some scrapes from bricks falling around me.

Massive pph after my 5 th baby, after 12 hours of them being unable to fully stop the bleed I went to theatre only to have a reaction to the anesthetic, it went too far up and my chest and breathing were affected, I spent the night in ICU but recovered quickly from then on. Perhaps stupidly went on to have 2 more children with no problems.

Playing on the sofa with my brother aged 4 or 5. The sofa tipped backwards, smashed the plate glass window behind. Me and my brother were lying on the back of the sofa looking up at the massive shards of glass quivering above us. Mum walked in and pulled us out. I have no recollection of this.

Exh's friend stopping him from strangling me. Turning a car onto its roof and walking away with one bruise.

Being 10 days overdue before being born in 1967. Being breech, being turned and then being transverse lie.

My DM having an emergency CS as I was stil transverse lie and in distress. Her CS scar goes down from her belly button to her pubis. Mine goes across my side. I was cut in their haste to get me out. I'm 51 and my scar is still visible.

Quite how I didn't die or wasn't born with CP I do not know, it was a horrible labour that went on for days. I am incredibly lucky and fortunate. Bloody love my scar though. It shows me that people tried very hard - and succeded - to get me out and give me life. I am very grateful to them.

"I was caught up in 7/7 bombings. Feel my guardian angel was at work that day." I know someone who due to an unexplained power cut their alarm never went off that day and they slept in - meaning he was not on one of the trains that was hit when he normally would have been. Guardian angel there I reckon.

Ectopic pregnancy discovered and operated on just in time.

Pre-eclampsia that almost went undx, difficult labour that ended in emcs. Turns out I have a rare only presents at childbirth heart condition that was luckily spotted plus dd was in distress too. Also heavy blood loss probably as heart was going like clappers! Dd and I both lucky to survive. Apparently I freaked then dh out at the point where I apparently said (but don't remember) "it's fine I know it's what needs to happen" in response to a dr saying "I think we're losing them" I was unaware but he also had to deal with knowing they were trying to deal with my blood loss AND dd was refusing to breathe (still stubborn now!) apparently only choosing to do so once she "knew" I was ok.

Car accident - stationery at red light when numpty on phone runs into back of me shunting me into another road resulting almost in double t-bone. Pure luck that 2nd driver had the time and quick enough reactions to swerve onto grass verge. If he hadn't he'd have hit me side on drivers side. Disabled as a result but could've been SO much worse. Car was a write off.

Thebluedog - ex's boss (army) had a similar experience. Went to do a sort of welfare check on one of his junior people who'd been dx with PTSD. Literally one min sat chatting having coffee, relaxed as anything, next thing guys not letting him leave at knifepoint as "they" were out to get them and he had to protect them both. Awful.

Ohtheholidays - not sure if you knew or if it applied in your case but I remember my mum telling me there was a huge scare (similar to Wakefield mmr scandal) around whooping cough around the time you would've been due to be immunised. I'm about same age as you with siblings about your age. Mum says she was seen as irresponsible by many supposed friends at the time - only for them to panic when there was then (kinda predictable really a whooping cough outbreak. One of their DC very nearly died.

Prettyisoverrated - a friend of mine lost their baby due to strep b issues. She campaigns still to get regular testing brought in (this was almost 20 years ago) it's SHOCKING It still isn't.

Almost drowned three times. White water rafting once, as a child twice. Had to be actually rescued from white water. By a kayaker who said, "you were down a long time"!

Choking as a child.

Dengue hemorrhagic fever.

Hostel fire.

Multiple critical incidents in shelters, including a couple of properly worrying threats.

But we are extraordinarily lucky to live I a safe country with good health and safety and great emergency services. A couple of those might have actually killed me if I'd been in another country.

Raging anorexia/bulimia in my late teens (hospitalised on multiple occasions and force fed for a long time)

My sociopathic ex. There were some very dark days and he made me at times feel like I was so worthless I would be better off dead.

Earthquake, we didn't realise what it was at first - thought kids were running along a corridor in the hotel until the staff shouted to get out from under the chandelier and stand under a doorframe.
Car crash, I blew a tyre and spun the car on a motorway, travelling backwards facing a lorry I had been overtaking was utterly terrifying and seemed to be in slow motion.
Had my drink spiked and wondered off from a club by myself. I was found by my friends who were looking for me. Dread to think what could have happened if they hadn't found me as I was lying outside with no coat and it was -6 degrees and snowing. They thought I was just drunk but tests in hospital found date rape drug in my system.

Car crash on a 2 lane coastal road. Car hit the kerb and flipped. It came to rest less than 2m from a 10m cliff face.

I walked out of the wreck. Had 25 stitches in my arm, collapsed lung (required a chest drain) multiple broken ribs and torn spinal ligaments.

I was VERY lucky.

Childbirth
Motorway crash
Respiratory distress (allergy)

Hopefully still have 6 lives left.

@Graphista it makes me so cross. If it’s picked up through testing for something else it’s treated throughout labour with anti biotics but otherwise there is no routine testing done. When it’s such a simple test and so easy to treat I really can’t understand the logic, they say that it isn’t worthwhile testing as there is a low number of cases each year but it can be so catastrophic why wouldn’t they?!!

I was very conscious of it through both pregnancies, with my first I asked the midwife about testing and she hadn’t been asked before so had to call her supervisor who advised that they didn’t test and would only treat if it was picked up on another test.

Apologies for complete derail!

I had a car crash on the M1 and hit a lorry and bounced off it twice and ended up the wrong way on the hard shoulder. I was very lucky not to have any injuries.

Driving along a mountain highway in Brazil, nearly dark and going about 80-100kmh. Three escaped cows were ambling across the road ahead. My husband slammed on the breaks and we came to stop literally inches from the lead cow. It was a huge a zebu so if we'd been going faster we would have surely have died. Luckily as well, we were the only car on the road.

Another time when I was about 20 I was caught in a riptide. I remember seeing my life flash before me and feeling like I was going to end my days trying and failing to get to the shore. I couldn't escape even by swimming, which was a frightening feeling. I remember just relaxing but can't remember how I got out of it. I know it felt like forever before I got back to the beach and I was never so relieved to touch land.

Crashing the car at 50 mph. Doctors said I was damn lucky to be walking out of A&E later that day.

Not me, during WW2 a bomb fell in the back garden of the house my mum lived in and didn't explode. She was around 3 years old and recalled the house shaking and soot falling out of the chimney and covering one of her toys.

Driving across the Hoover Dam in the early hours of the morning after driving hundreds of miles all day across the desert. I honestly can't remember driving across the dam at all - must have been asleep - I remember my head kept dropping as I approached it. When leaving and driving away on the other side, my OH said how spectacular it was, and I suddenly realised I'd been asleep at the wheel and pulled over pretty damn quickly with the shock of what could have happened.

Car crash on a suddenly snowy Alpine mountain pass, narrowly avoiding plunging into ravine. And then coming dangerously close to being washed away in heavy floods same day.

Car crash with (now DH) driving. Motorbike smashed into back of our car at 100mph.

Childbirth. Twice, with pre-eclampsia.

I'm not a natural risk-taker so no mountain passes for me :)

I was grabbed by a man when I was 10 years old, walking home from school with my little brother. There was an underpass section beneath a busy main road. I remember the screech of his bike tyres coming down the slope behind us, then he held me from behind. I bit his hand, kicked his shin, and scrambled up the side of the underpass with my brother, where a nice man was using a phone box. He called the police and stayed with us until they arrived. To be honest, I haven't ever been able to figure out what he was going to do with me, but I'm glad I was able to escape.

Being jumped by two lads with a knife when I was 8. They were circling me and one of them put the knife to my throat. I kicked him hard in the nads and ran home. My parents didn't believe me, and were mortified years later when they realised it had actually happened and they'd done nothing about it.

Massive ulcerative colitis flare that left me so dehydrated that I was told I was within 24 hours of multiple organ shutdown.

Near head-on collision on coastal road abroad. Car came right at me and was being chased by police. Had nowhere to go as there was just a big mountain on my side. Just as car came out of everywhere the rock caved in just enough for me to pull in to the side. My little tin at school as the head on car came shooting past us.
We all drove home in complete silence after that!!

'Tin car shook' not " tin car at school... !!"

Was a passenger in a car that crashed into a tree head on. I had managed to clip the belt in around 3 seconds before impact. I don't believe I would be here if I hadn't got my belt on, car the was unrecognizable. Walked away with cuts and a broken collar bone.