Has anyone ever been rescued?

[JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff]

I know this is super weird and probably, one of those things that is not at all nice IRL.

But. I have never been in a position where I have had to be rescued. Partially because I am boring, sensible, and generally the one in charge - but also, sheer dumb luck.

I am really curious to know what it feels like though. Emergency services, mountain rescue, random man in the street....

Have you ever been rescued and what was it like?

On a beach on a Scottish island. The tide surrounded us much quicker than we anticipated. Tall dh did several trips to piggy back me and 4 x dc to safety!
About 10 years ago and dc still laugh about it...

Also a shout out to a Green Flag employee from many years ago..
We broke down at the entrance to the Tyne Tunnel..7 seater car was full..
They hadn't told him how many of us there was and he couldn't 'rescue 'us all.
So he rang his dad !
He lived nearby and between them we all got home safely and the car went to get garage.

In a swimming pool as a young child. I got a bit out of my depth and panicked. Lifeguard jumped in and scooped me up. I was so embarrassed at the time, I didn’t think I was in need of rescuing but the lifeguard obviously wasn’t hanging around to find out!

I got rescued by the lifeboat in around 1987 when I told my non swimming grandad I knew how to ride a canoe and knew what I was doing (I was 7). I pointed myself straight out to sea despite all the other kids staying in the confines of a safety rope. My grandad grew smaller and smaller as I canoed off further and further out. Obvs there was no mobile phones in the day and the next thing I knew as the waves got a tad chopier and I could no longer see land the lifeboat arrived I was taken back and given the biggest telling off of my life.

Locked in office building circa 1988. Friday. Bank Holiday weekend. Fire brigade got me out of 4th floor window with a cherry picker. I was v grateful.

Two times. One when I was in a pool
teaching my 7 year old to swim. He freaked out and clung to me when I tried to convince him to swim a width by himself in the deep end, we both went under and my boob popped out of my bikini top.

a kind father swam over, grabbed my panicking DS and averted his eyes while I recovered and fixed my modesty. I swoon whenever I think about it, even though I can’t remember what the bloke looked like. Hero.

second time was when I passed out due to the heat recently and an off duty paramedic called Ben rushed to my aid. God. The authoritative approach was just so attractive.

Your last sentence made me laugh.

I’ve never understood the older man thing till I crashed my car on the motorway. It was a relief to hand over all responsibility and be looked after.

As a child in a pool went under and a friend rescued me.

Body surfing in Australia and again went under (i can’t swim so I probably should stop doing f these things) and had to be dragged back to the beach.

im not sure it fits your definition of rescue.

Yes. Last month. Car broke down in fast moving traffic. A truck was going past in the other direction . And a pair of lovely lads stopped their truck, came over and pushed us to the side. I was so grateful. Off they ran again!!

had to wait another 2 hours for the recovery truck tho.

I was on a yacht sailing round The Whitsunday islands when Cyclone Joy changed direction and hit us https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclone_Joy

We were actually holding on for grim death on the deck with ropes wrapped round us. If one of us had fallen in the sea a rescue would have been impossible.

We eventually made it to the shelter of an island and after the cyclone large boats from the mainland came and rescued us. Was terrifying. One guy had a panic attack.

Not exactly me, but I was climbing with friends and we came across a man by himself (yes, I know) who had fallen and broken his leg. No mobile signal, so we decided I would stay with him while the other two went back to somewhere they could phone for help. It was a long way, so I spent hours talking to him, keeping him warm, hydrated etc, and I got the benefit of a full mountain rescue by night without any of the pain/risk. They were so fucking impressive, and generous-spirited, having been called out from their dinners up a cold mountain in the twilight. I was fangirling them like mad (inwardly) by the time we got off the mountain.

Wow! Did they carry you out or did you climb?

Capsized raft whilst white water rafting. Got into difficulty and we were all thrown out of it. I hit my head on a rock and was knocked out briefly. Was pulled out of the river further downstream when somebody spotted me. Saved my life I think.

Mmm I can definitely see that!

I had never considered it might be a romantic thing, but maybe it is!

Last night of a holiday in Miami. Went to the loo in the middle of the night, slipped on a marble bathroom floor and knocked myself out. DH phoned 911 and I came round to find the bedroom full of very fit and capable firemen. I remember one of them asking DH if he had his credit card with him as we left the room. When we got to the fire engine they assumed DH would accompany me in the back (I was on a stretcher) but no, he wanted to ride in the cab (he was beyond excited about this!).

Sorry but "I can't swim so I should stop doing these things" really made me laugh!

WOW! Crikey. That looks terrifying.

I fainted on a train once. A random man caught me and carried me off onto the platform.

Unfortunately yes, a lot (as a child). I think I had something not quite right for a few years as I did a huge amount of completely stupid things:
Watched the SPLAAAT video at school. Decided it would be a super idea to that weekend take my collection of colourful Supasnaps free cameras to an actual building site and make a photo book project showing that the ones locally really were dangerous - I fell and hurt my knee badly, couldn’t get up and screamed and screamed and had to be rescued by the fire brigade.

I climbed up into the neighbours treehouse for hide and seek , pulled the rope ladder up but broke it and was worried I’d be in trouble so threw it higher up into the tree and tried to pretend it just disappeared. Neighbour and his friend had to go and borrow a longer ladder from someone and get me down.

I got locked in the neighbours garage as well after squeezing in showing off that I could and then someone shut it properly and I was stuck for 45mims and terrified.

On holiday I wasn’t looking where I was going and fell down a hole in the floor at the side of the house- I think it was a coal store or something, don’t know how I missed it - broke my arm and collarbone that was an ambulance and fire brigade rescue to get me out !

Twice, once as a child, I was about 8 or something, I was drowning and being swept down a river, and some teenage boys saved me, and then as an adult, it was in a different country, but a lovely taxi driver, who saved me, when a man who had mugged me then also started chasing me with a machete, the taxi driver stopped, got me into the car and chased away the guy.

As a child, maybe 11 or 12, I got stuck in a toilet cubicle at a swimming pool...I had changed into my costume in the toilet cubicle as all the changing rooms were busy. The slide lock jammed and I couldn't get out. My mum got a lifeguard who climbed over the top to rescue me. I was so embarrassed!

In the middle of the night I broke both bones in my ankle - it was hanging at a 45% angle. It was dark and I didn't know where my phone was. I managed to scoot backwards and use my arms to get onto my bed where I soiled myself in every way. It was ok though because I knew absolutely that once it was light enough to find my phone I could call for help, and someone would come. And so it came to pass. I was rescued and taken to hospital.

It is a marvellous thing to be in need of help and know that help will actually come, even though it might take quite some time.

I read recently about the earthquake in Afghanistan. I read about women trapped under the rubble who were found but ignored because they 'could not be touched by men'. They would have heard men who could have saved them but who ignored them, left them them to die.

I curse every one of those men.

I was surfing and a surfer didn’t see me and went over my head and the fin hit my head and knocked me out. I remember sinking (I had no air in my lungs) and then, because it was a cloudy day, I couldn’t see where the surface was as all around me looked the same colour and as I had no bouyancy, I couldn’t figure out which way to swim.

At that point I thought I was going to drown and I remember thinking how calm it was and at the very moment I had given up, someone dived under and pulled me up.

Never realised how dangerous it was under the sea with no sun till that day. It was absolutely terrifying not being able to figure out where the surface was!

Love this!

Me. My friends and I hired a boat from the beach in Zante. The weather was very warm and we decided to go swimming and we all jumped off the boat. Well… it is impossible to pull yourself back on to the boat when you can’t touch the floor. We have to tread water for over an hour before the boat people came and rescued us 🥴

Aged 10, I was rescued with my family from a siege/hostage situation. The context was that we were diplomatic expats in a country which experienced a coup and suddenly became very dangerous.

As an adult - well, the only thing I can think of is being rescued from a lift which got stuck between floors. Not quite the same degree of peril.