Who has saved your life?

[Nevermay]

Apart from all the usual vaccinations, water companies, sanitation, NHS, etc that give us a safe, risk free life, when most of us would die before 50 without this... can anyone point to someone or something and say "they saved my life"?

My cat. Without him I don't think I would have survived mentally.
My gastro doctor who did my colonoscopy and got me my diagnosis which meant I could start treatment. Without him I would be dead. It's as simple as that. I was so very ill and was literally wasting away.

My daughter, 5 years ago she woke in the night, I popped her in bed with me and for some reason felt a slight pain in my breast, checked it and found a lump. Yep, cancer, caught early so was straight in for treatment, if I hadn't got up to her that night, who knows when I would have found it.

My husband - caught in a rip tide off the Gold Coast. I am a strong swimmer but was seriously struggling. He noticed as did the life guard. He got there first which is a source of ongoing marital humour 20 years on as I wanted this to be a story about the hot life guard!

My sister’s friend, who was a midwife, happened to be visiting my sister when I phoned at 37 plus 5, and mentioned my c-section scar was hurting.

She said, ‘Tell her to go to hospital!’

I did, and discovered that my ds2 was in distress, and the scar was on the point of rupture. They did a crash section there and then. We’d have both died if I’d left it much longer.

My best friend who kept my mental health afloat through a couple of very, very dark years and continues to be the best woman I have the privilege to know.

My friend nina

I met her when she ran a single parent support group

We'd gone outside as it was really hot,and I popped my then 8 month old in the highchair

She suggested I move him to a more shaded spot

just as I picked up the highchair (with him in it),a roof tile flew off the roof and if I hadn't stood up and moved those few inches-it would have killed us both

Her suggestion saved our lives

She died a few years later (damn you cancer) and I miss her everyday

My mum and the second Dr I saw when I was a teen and had a severe torso pain. The first Dr said my spine was out of line which was causing the horrendous back and chest pain so he would manipulate my back. He did this twice over 10 days before my mum questioned if it was right and thought I should see another Dr. I did and he diagnosed me with a spontaneous pneumothorax (collapsed lung) purely from the way I was sitting and carrying myself, as well as listening to my chest.

I ended up being rushed to a&e, had aspiration and a chest drain put in whilst fully conscious and stayed in hospital for months until I could have surgery as it would just not re-inflate by itself.

I dread to think what would have happened if I'd have seen the first Dr one more time!!

I saved my own life as a child, my parents were shit on the whole. I was 3 years old & got something stuck down my throat, I couldn't breathe, I started going blue (I know this because they both mentioned out loud that I was going blue, yet neither of them moved!).

I felt then that's no-one was going to help me so I stuck my own fingers down my throat & pulled out the object.
My parents continued eating after looking at me. What a useless pair. It continued like that throughout my entire childhood.
On the plus side I am a survivor & could probably deal with anything. I'd still have preferred loving parents though.

The electrician working for the council. I'd reported a funny smell coming from the immersion heater switch and whilst chatting away, I mentioned that the dimmer switch in the kids' room was buzzing. He offered to have a quick look at it as I wibbled on about how my partner ran an electrical repairs place and said I was fussing about nothing, as all dimmers buzzed.

Once he opened it up, he asked if my partner had done it and had he replaced anything else - yes, I said - he's done everything except our bedroom light and the sockets in the children's room.

The sparks went around and replaced every single fitting silently - because every single one had an extra long live that had been stripped and was laying against retaining screws or the back of the switch itself.

It wasn't until much later that it occurred to me that I'd mentioned that my new job provided death in service benefit of £500k a couple of weeks before it became important to replace all the switches and sockets that I used daily. And somebody who still makes a living training in health and safety managed to 'accidentally' connect everything I touched as dangerously as possible.

The obstetrician who delivered me by c-section. I was a breech presentation with the cord wrapped tightly around my neck and I'd not have survived the birth. This was the mid-60s, and my mother had been told I was breech but not that she'd be having a c-section. She arrived at hospital in early labour in the middle of the night on her due date and was immediately whisked into theatre, much to her surprise, for a c-section under GA. She then didn't see me for three days when I was in special care. It must've been horrendous for her.

Yes, my father when the Provisional I.R.A chased our family car. We'd have all been dead were it not for my dad's evasive driving training.

Got us away to safety and we all lived to tell the tale! I was a child as was my sibling. Still remember my mother's voice full of fear and my father quiet but in full concentration driving at speed as per training.

Two months previously, the Provos had murdered a relative so we knew what they could do and were capable of.

This made me smile. Glad you found yourself again.

Chilling @NeverDropYourMooncup I hope he is your ex partner now?

An international locum doctor, on secondment to my GP surgery, saved my then 3 week old first born’s life. She came out to the house with the health visitor for her rounds that day and immediately noticed that he was not well. Having then rung the hospital to tell them we were coming in immediately, she drove us all there herself. He was subsequently diagnosed with a serious congenital heart defect that had been missed on all my antenatal scans and by all the health care staff who saw him in the days after he was born.
It is 100% fatal if not surgically corrected within a few days of birth.
He is now a gorgeous, healthy 25 year old, but he would not have lived beyond a month if that GP hadn’t seen him that morning.
I never saw her again but I wish I could tell her that actually she not only saved his life but all of ours too.

I had a similar experience when I was 21 in Greece. A very kind Scottish man swum out and saved me. My DP, who couldn't swim, was on the shore watching me like a hawk so realised I was in trouble. He asked a Greek guy who had a boat, but the guy refused. I think also what saved me and stopped me panicking was me thinking, 'I can't die, I'm on holday!' !😂

One of my junior colleagues did back blows on me when I choked on a piece of meat in the hospital canteen. I did think I was going to die imminently otherwise.
I had complications in my first pregnancy which my obstetrician picked up on very quickly, so it never got to the life threatening stage, but has he not been as on the ball as he was there was certainly the potential for things to end very badly.

The nurse who I went to see thinking I had a UTI and realised I had sepsis and sent me straight to hospital

That's incredible

@thaegumathteth isn’t it !
I shudder when I remember how close we came to losing him and how different our lives would have been as a result.

My dog.

I was a single parent teen with severe PND with suicidal thoughts and had zero support from anyone.

I developed psychosis and became very paranoid and agoraphobic, so couldn’t reach out for help and I couldn’t sleep as I’d see people in my home who weren’t really there.

My dog came to me.
I loved dogs but definitely didn’t want one at the time but she was a stray and no one else would take her in and I was asked if I could look after her for a few days until they found a kennel space.

She completely changed my life and slowly I was able to get more sleep and leave my home to take her on walks.
She’d be there with me for bath time, bed time, story time and everything else.

I was eventually able to reach out to the GP and get medication and I’ve never needed medication since.

Unfortunately she is of old age now and I’m finding it hard imagining my life without her (my DD is going to be distraught as they’ve grown up together).
I wish I could make her see how much she’s done for me.

I know I wasn’t technically dying but I definitely would have committed suicide if she hadn’t come into my life and so I feel as though she saved my life.

My husband. I slipped into a hypoglycaemic coma (type 1 diabetic) while pregnant with my second. He came home to a dark house with our older baby crying and found me on the bed next to him and couldn't wake me. I only came round when the paramedics gave me some glucose gel. Totally freaked him out!

What a brilliant person

A selfless man who donated his organs. I'd be dead today without his gift.

The surgeon who operated on me at six hours old. I was born with a rare condition, without surgery I would have died.

Two psychotherapists who separately treated me for cPTSD as a result of childhood sexual abuse. I would have killed myself without their care and support.

My husband and children. Again, I would not be here if it wasn't for them. There would be no point.

And finally, my dogs past and present. They have kept me alive when no one else was around.

Wow.