What's the scariest moment of your life?

[Lonelydaisy]

Following on from a thread I read earlier..

What's the most scariest life event you've been through?

Mine would be a stroke at 25 years old.

Taking my son in to hospital for a bone marrow transplant, low chance of success, high risk of severe complications, and being utterly convinced I wouldn't be bringing him home.

He walked it, medical miracle that he is.

The moment between my dad telling me something had happened to my sister, and then telling me she had died suddenly.

I remember repeating 'What? Oh my god, what?' and my heart going wild.

Instant tears just remembering it.

@Blossomandbee it was tied in with lots of other people, most of who I didn’t know but who worked with someone I did know. All I can think is that because it was tied in with other people I just got scooped along. After sitting there for weeks listening to the evidence for others to then have my barrister ask what evidence there was of me doing what they said I had done and for the police officer to say ‘there is no evidence’ completely stunned me. I felt like I was banging my head against a wall. This had clouded over my wedding, I had to tell my work about it who were hugely supportive fortunately and believed me 100% and took unpaid leave.

I had PTSD after. All logic said this shouldn’t be able to happen but it did.

The scariest moment for me was driving along a dual carriage way and pulled out to overtake a van. Accelerator pedal got stuck no idea what to do- car speeding up.
Told my partner sat next to me who of course thought I was joking.
Heading towards the back of a lorry- digging frantically at the pedal with my toes.
My mind went blank- I knew if I applied hand brake it would be super dangerous for us and other road users.
After what felt like 10 mins but was probably less than 2 I managed to free the pedal and pulled over to the side with hazards on shaking.
Once I’d composed myself we pulled off at the next turning and I borrowed some scissors from a shop and cut the carpet away. The pedal had got stuck behind the carpet that had not been put back properly while getting my brake pipes repaired a week earlier. Honestly thought I was in final destination and this was how we would die

Scuba diving. During my PADI course was doing the exercise where you have to remove your regulator and blow up your BCD. Was on the sea bed and managed to take a huge gulp of water. Couldn't find my regulator. Shot 5m up in water in a panic. Instructor grabbed me and gave me his spare regulator. Terrifying. I completed the course but haven't dived since.

For me it was either the moment the midwife couldn't find a heartbeat when I was pregnant with DD. She went pale and ran off to find a doctor. I'm not sure I even dared breath until they'd come back. When the doctor found the heartbeat she visibly sagged with relief and I nearly cried.
Also when the doctors told me that my husband was critically ill and would need life saving surgery. It all came completely out of the blue and I really understood the meaning of having your world ripped out from under your feet in one moment.
Thankfully DD and DH are both fine now!

I had been to netball practice after school and was walking through the park with my schoolmates when I was 12. We were laughing at something and a guy walking in front of us in his twenties thought we were laughing at him. He turned and shouted 'You what?' really loudly and pulled out a gun. I immediately ran off (flight) and he started following me pointing the gun at me. I jumped over a 9ft wall to get away from him. Our parents called the police who came to school the next day and completely dismissed us, saying it would have been a replica gun and we were silly for being frightened. This was in the early 90's. I honestly have never felt utter panic like it. I genuinely thought he was going to shoot me.

Some fascinating stories on here. Some very touching, some very disturbing, and some very moving.

Thanks for sharing them everyone.

My DD getting run over. She was on her scooter, out of sight for a couple of seconds as we went around a corner. Seeing the car stopped in the road and looking under the car to see her lying motionless was horrific, as was the screaming that came out of my mouth that I had no control over! Thankfully DH was with us and was so calm and collected, I will always be thankful for that.

Somehow even though her helmet was completely smashed she walked away with minor bruising and scratches, I have no idea how! It will stay with me forever and the reason my children never, ever go on anything with wheels without a helmet. The amount of concussions on the ward she was on from kids falling off scooters and bikes and bashing their heads without helmets was scary and DD would not be here had she not been wearing one!

I was in labour, at home, hundreds of miles from a hospital. Midwife came, with gas and air- yay! Then the cannister ran out. That was my first moment.
Later that same night, the cord prolapsed. That was pure, naked terror. Sadly, it was warranted and the baby died.

I have two that stand out.

First, being 23 on my way home from a night out, 6 guys cornered me into an ally. Thankfully 2 minutes later a shop keeper came around the corner and scared them away.

And 2 years ago I went to a festival and in the crowd I fell to the ground and people fell onto of me. I was down for what felt like a life time and couldn’t breathe. A guy had me by the arm and was trying to pull me free, but people just kept falling and the weight was getting heavier. When I was finally pulled free I collapsed and woke up over the barrier with paramedics over me.
I honestly thought I was dying. I was trapped and there was nothing I could do.

Still to this day I can’t have anything over my face. I panic if the bed covers are over me.
It was a surreal, awful feeling.

Swimming as a child in Lake Victoria in Uganda and seeing my father on the shore shouting and signalling me to come out. I turned round and there was a huge hippo about 5 ft. away from me. It was reckless to allow us to swim there as the lake was full of crocodiles as well as hippos. There was also the danger of contracting Bilharzia.

Finding my dad dead from hanging when I was a small child... didn't think anything would ever compare to that it's stayed with me for life
And then I found my stepdad dead on the balcony on holiday from a sudden heart attack a few years later... my poor mum has been through the mill!
Strongest woman I know

Being in a minicab in Manchester and somehow ending up in a high speed car chase. Good job I was quite pissed and only realised the danger afterwards. The other car crashed into a lamppost. Driver was shaken but ok.

Paragliding was pretty scary. The jeep ride up the mountain was worse though. So bad that I'd rather take my chances jumping off the mountain rather than take the ride down again.

My mum having a heart attack when I was 17 and finding her semi-conscious on the floor.

Nearly stepping in front of a bus when I was 19, just not looking where I was going.

@QueeniesCroft I'm so sorry 💐

Nearly drowning when I was 4. I was a very proficient swimmer for a 4 y/o (went on to compete nationally) and was in the pool every day with my family or instructor. As a result the lifeguards thought I was messing about. The instructor was upselling lessons to another parent and looked away for a few moments. My sister pulled me out and an ambulance was called.

It took my mother a year of careful 1 metre further each day exposure therapy to get me into the deep end again and I just remember being desperate to play with my siblings down there but being too frightened. Thankfully children can be resilient little things.

Some of these are awful.

Mine was needing an ambulance for my very sick, nearly unconscious three year old on a day when traffic was gridlocked due to a bomb alert in Belfast, where we lived. We got one, plus a police escort, and people pulled onto the footpaths to let us past. Thankfully he got there on time, and recovered.

It involved me, ds, a lorry and a split second decision by me otherwise we would be both be dead. Absolutely terrifying remembering it.

Going to see my mum in hospital after she passed.

Being told to barricade ourselves in our rooms immediately because there was gunmen in the lobby during the Tunisian terrorist attacks in 2015.

My Dad collapsed upstairs when I was thirteen, my Mum put me in the kitchen with the dog afterwards as paramedics worked on him so I wouldn't see and it was awful.

I sat in the dog bed with her for what felt like hours, I remember my Granddad eventually coming in and opening the door to come and see me. The lack of adult presence and being on my own has been a sheer terror I've never been able to forget.

Or going to see said Granddad in his care home. We hadn't seen him for six months due to lockdown and I was terrified of him.

He was a completely different man, skeletal, long greasy hair, couldn't speak or move, would shout very angrily and had really long, dirty finger nails.

I remember holding his hand and looking at his fingers and it was the only part of him I recognised. I like to think he recognised us, didn't know who we were but at least knew he knew us. That was hard.

Dementia is a terrible, terrible disease.

Finding my son one time after he had overdosed, he was in a very strange position on his bed, covered in vomit but it was the colour that got me. He was grey, grey lips too and glassy eyes. I thought he was dead, ran screaming through the house and woke everyone up. He survived thank god. He’s had 4 overdoses but that one was truly awful. Afterwards my other children found his suicide note. It was very personal, beautifully written. It cut deep with all of us, the only time I have ever seen my husband cry. Then seeing him hooked up to machines, suddenly so fragile.

Or when the Manchester bombings happened and DH was on duty. They called for all riot trained officers from a certain distance and he was literally days from licence expiring. He had to come and get his fireproof suit from home before he set off and I was begging him not to go.

He walked out the door and I was positive another bomb was going to go off and he wasn't coming back. That was bad too.

@feb2022

Finding my dad dead from hanging when I was a small child... didn't think anything would ever compare to that it's stayed with me for life And then I found my stepdad dead on the balcony on holiday from a sudden heart attack a few years later... my poor mum has been through the mill! Strongest woman I know

Sending huge hugs... @feb2022 My ds2 found his Dad dead in bed two days before his fifth birthday... He's 25 now. A'd remembers it vividly... 😔 😔 😔