What's the scariest thing you've ever been through?

[AhhhHereItGoes]

Obviously you don't have to share details if you don't want to.

Could be woo, a painful or life threatening situation or x near accident or an existential fear.

I'm going to think what I think mine was. In pain so engaging in distraction

The 20 mins I thought my newborn son was going to be taken to another town for open heart surgery were the absolute worst of my life. I was so sure he was going to die. Fortunately, there was no problem with his heart but he spent that night intubated and looked so fragile. That first week(s) was rough, but that 20 mins was the most scared I've ever been.

The birth of my son, shoulder dystocia birth. Stuck for what seemed like hours but was just over 3 minutes. Immediately after I looked up to see doctors crowding round the incubator/cot that they put newborns in. In my fuddled mind I thought they were crowding round him because they didn't want me to see him dead.

My mum was with me, I said "Is he dead?" She said to the doctors "Mumsy thinks he's dead!" They said he just needed some oxygen and then he just let out this noise, certainly not a healthy newborn cry noise, it was an animal-like whimper/yowl. I thought at the very least he was brain damaged.

He's now 12, almost taller than me and your typical gaming, grunting 12 year old boy.

Having Brittle asthma, which I do.
Not being able to breathe is terrifying.

Having a bad PPH was pretty scary. I remember saying to the midwife 'I thought the pain was supposed to stop' then a fading of my vision to nothing. I woke up later after scary interventions though and I think my mum and then DH were far more traumatised.

Being told i needed a heart transplant whilst 6 months pregnant.

Ds having bacterial meningitis at 3. He was in a coma for a week and it seemed he wasn't going g to recover.

He did but it took years of therapy. I knew I wouldn't live if he didn't .

Luckily he fought. He still fights today to be who he is. He is autistic. He is 27 and amazing.

In no particular order:

• being told my dad killed himself
• physically bused/beaten by another girl because "I stole" her boyfriend (?!!!). That was terrifying.
• raped in my teens
• giving birth to my premature son knowing he wouldn't survive
• on the absolute brink of bankruptcy except I couldn't pay the £600 admin charge. How ironic. Very scary not knowing where your next meal was coming from.

Being in a cinema when there was a fire. It was underground, in an otherwise closed shopping mall. The fire doors were locked and the staff ran away without doing anything to help.

Giving my sister cpr and watching her die. My ds having an anoxic reflex seizure for the first time at 1yr old and thinking he was dying.

@Cherylshaw my heart aches for your trauma. How horrific. I’m glad you and baby are safe. I can only hope your injuries are recovering

Was in a serious car accident at 13 yo, was knocked out for around 10 mins or so, came round to my dad shaking me and screaming my name, the look on his face I’ll never forget, blood pouring down his face, looking down at my leg and seeing the car door on top of it. The wait for the emergency services and the firemen having to cut me out. I’m still a nervous passenger now

Having serious pneumonia at 20yo when DD was only 9 weeks old, I had collapsed at home so my dad took me up to the hospital and the a&e doctor told me I had pneumonia, waiting in the admissions ward and I started passing out and can remember the staff saying they were really worried and rushed me to HDU. I could hardly breath and during one of my awake moments I asked the nurse if I was going to live or not. I did start to get better after 4 days in HDU but even getting up for the toilet left me gasping for breath. Then they were querying how someone so young could have ended up with it so bad and started saying I may have a clot in my lung. Thankfully it wasn’t and ended up being put down as community acquired.

@Bedforaweek
Thank you so much my lo is 4 now and perfect, unfortunately I still need to attend the hospital frequently for a tuneup 😂