When did your world go quiet?

[PalominoOrGreyOrChestnutOrBay]

inspired by a tiktok trend recently, just thought it might be an interesting thread. I’m a regular poster not a journalist or anything like that (MNHQ can verify!).

When did your world go quiet? Basically, what was a time you got a fright and time seemed to stop or go quiet?

mine was I was on my horse and he decided to rear up, over concrete ground, and I felt him wobble back. As soon as I felt that first tilt backwards everything sort of went quiet and it was like an out of body experience (not a good one!). I couldn’t hear anyone around. I just remember the last thing I thought was along the lines of this is it im about to die and it was like everything was in slow motion. Luckily it was all ok but that split second was easily the scariest moment of my life and my world completely stopped.

So, when did your world go quiet?

[ScreamingMeMe]

@OrangePomander

I’ve twice been a passenger in car accidents and they both moved in slow motion.

I was a passenger in a car that slid on some ice, and same. It was so strange.

(We were lucky and crashed into a wooden bench that was in front of a wall: could have been much worse.)

[Axolotlquestions]

@OrangePomander

I’ve twice been a passenger in car accidents and they both moved in slow motion.

This is my experience, too. The gap between the tyre screech behind us and the crashing impact. Slow-mo and silence.

[LouLou198]

@Remainiac I had a very similar experience during an emergency section. I was bleeding out In theatre, they were frantically trying to stop the bleeding. I remember this feeling of calm washing over me and although I thought I was dying actually felt at peace with it.

[Kteeb1]

When after months and months of strange behaviour and denials I looked on my husbands phone and saw pictures and texts from a woman at his work. Just quiet for a good 5 minutes.

[SantaExpress]

When I asked the Oncologist how long my DH had left to live… and she couldn’t look at me. I asked again and she said ‘around 4 weeks’
Time stood still and I felt that all the air had left the room.
i was 36 with a young child.

[TiredyMcTired]

My 4 year olds DS woke up at 5 am one day screaming that he couldn’t see, we raced into his room and he was so hot (temp was 40) and just screaming and screaming. We called an ambulance which arrived really quickly but in the meantime DS passed out, and in the panic of the situation the sudden quiet made me think he was dead. I have no words for how that felt, I was hysterical. (He’d had a febrile convulsion due to a kidney infection and was on the mend after a couple of days in hospital).

[Avelanda]

@MrsAvocet thats exactly what it was like for me too, it’s so disorientating isn’t it? I thought I’d just gone a bit further down the road, I had no idea how bad it was until I saw the pictures. I also lost all concept of time, I thought it took them about 20 minutes to get me out of the car. When I saw the clock in the ambulance, I realised I’d been trapped for over 4 hours and I had no awareness of where that time had gone

[YorkshireLass2012]

@SantaExpress

When I asked the Oncologist how long my DH had left to live… and she couldn’t look at me. I asked again and she said ‘around 4 weeks’
Time stood still and I felt that all the air had left the room.
i was 36 with a young child.

I am so sorry @SantaExpress

[Avelanda]

@MrsAvocet and I’m much better now thank you. It was only earlier this year but I was very lucky to have minimal injuries. Hope you’re doing well too

[kateandme]

All of mine have been something to do with family.
phone call about an embalism
phone call about relapse.
man affair
sudden death
imininant death
abuse

[bluesapphire48]

When I was 21, the father of my first husband had a heart attack. He was in the hospital for three weeks and then they had us come in, in the middle of the night. We were sleeping in the car in the parking lot. When we saw the doctor, he told us my FIL had died.
I went out into the parking lot a few minutes later and the sun felt cold on my skin.

[ThatshallotBaby]

@3plusonekids
Thank you so much. She actually had a diaphragmatic hernia, and after an operation at 2 days old, she was fine. It was that moment after they cut the umbilical cord and there was no sound, they took her to one side and still no sound. That moment stretched and stretched.

[L3andlosingit]

When the voice on the phone said my infant son had arrested in Nicu and we had to get there. But I had to work out what do to with his twin brother who was at home with me. Then again when a doctor told me they couldn’t operate. It was too late. I didn’t lose it when they asked if they could turn off the machines though. I wanted his torment to end. It was all I had left to give him as a mother.

[BadTimesAtTheElRoyale]

When I had a phonecall to tell me brother had collapsed and died suddenly. Our Mum was sat next to me and I had to tell her but everything seemed to be in slow motion, like I was stuck in a vat of treacle or something. Never had anything like that before

[Yorkie177]

Near drowning for me too- in the sea- not sure how old I was but remember being dragged under and not being able to get back up and thinking very calmly that I was going to have to let my breath out and then a man yanked me out of the water and shouted at me!

[SantaExpress]

@YorkshireLass2012

Thank you. It’s some years ago now, but that moment never ever leaves you.

[nocoolnamesleft]

Personally 3. 1 when my car span on gravel. Another when a speeding drunk driver crashed into my tiny front garden when I was out there gardening, and missed me by inches. And one when I found out I had cancer. I was at the out of hours service (based in the local hospital), for a chest infection, and the nurse was looking on the computer for the results of a recent sputum culture. But in error she opened my biopsy result, which I was due to see the surgeon about in a couple of days. She went as white as a sheet, and closed it fast, but I'd already seen that it was cancer. Time went all weird, as my thoughts raced through the likely plan, and how I was going to tell my parents. I was then trying to pull myself together enough to pretend I'd not seen it, because I couldn't face talking about it right then. Staggered out, and all the noises seemed distant. Then there was someone right in my face, and her lips were moving, but didn't really hear what she was saying. Finally managed to process, and it was the mum of one of my patients, telling me the child had been admitted, and they were struggling to get IV access. Realised she was expecting me to dash up to the ward and sort it out, but I was in no state to help. Nearly blurted out "I can't, I've got cancer" but managed to change it to "I'm here as a patient" and waved my antibiotics at her.

Professionally though... Reading this thread makes me think about just how many other people's world going quiet moments I have been there for. Resuscitating babies. Not being able to resuscitate babies. Rescuscitating children. Not being able to. Giving parents the worst news in their life. Or sometimes the best, as their child recovers against the odds. Our feelings are only the tiniest fraction of those of the parents, but we do care. We do not forget those moments, and those precious little ones.

[Purpleavocado]

Over 30 years ago, I was in the back seat of a car that spun around 3 times. I remember pulling down the girl sitting next to me. Everything was in slow motion. We were miraculously unscathed.

[HappyHen17]

I’d gone into pre-term labour and hoped all the way to hospital that they’d be able to save our baby, but being told that it wasn’t possible and that I have to deliver her was a point where life and time stopped and a new life began with a grief that’s constant. Holding her for her few moments of life was also when time stopped but also went too fast 😢

[TheNefariousOrange]

I lost dd in an airport when she was 4. I was paying for our food and she was right next to me, the next minute she was gone. She was only 'missing' for about 3 minutes but I've never been so terrified in my life and the whole experience felt like I wasn't steering my own body, it was all just happening and felt like ages I was looking for her.

[YorkshireLass2012]

@SantaExpress

@YorkshireLass2012

Thank you. It’s some years ago now, but that moment never ever leaves you.

@SantaExpress 💛

[Faunanflora]

Twice for me. When my ds was born by emergency c-section having been in distress and did not cry. He is 13 now and a strapping, strong, boy. Second time when I felt something was wrong moments before I had a stroke. I was 43.

[fionarcat]

Walking towards a room where my 18 month year old had been put into an induced coma. Meningitis, it hit so fast. 5 weeks of time standing still. Thankfully, he lived but it changed him and us.

[Bikesbikesbikes]

Childbirth did it for me.

Horrendous amount of pain to the point of making me sick with every contraction. Phoned the hospital, they said to wait. I waited... all night! Contractions no closer together so I went in anyway.

Contractions didn't get closer together. After 27hrs, I begged for Morphine so I could sleep. They put me on a monitor and left my husband and me in the room (individual rooms, covid measures). My baby's heart rate dipped significantly to below 40bpm with every contraction. I remember my husband shouting, then it all got crazy.

They took me to theatre, it was a bit blurry. They showed me my son for a couple of minutes and then told his dad to take him out of the room.

Apparently, I was there for at least an hour. I couldn't tell you how long it was, just I felt cold. So damn cold. And I could see people talking, but all I could hear was static in my ears. Still no idea if it was the morphine or the blood-loss, but time became irrelevant.

No-one debriefed me. They left me on a catheter and the vibrating socks in a room with just my newborn and sent my husband home. I discharged us after they told me they couldn't help me and left me to shower alone, barely able to stand. I was safer at home.

I still relive that day in my head, for all the wrong reasons.

[FeetupTvon]

When my 2 year old son choked, I had recently done a paediatric first aid course and everything went silent… he coughed and was ok thank God.

Having a head on collision and everything going into silence and slow motion waiting for the impact. Being knocked out by banging my head, then coming to and seeing my engine in flames and not being able to undo seat belt or open door as had also broken my arm. Watching other car drive off, me thinking ‘shit this is it.’ A quiet country road with barely any traffic and I was dragged from my car by a passer by (my guardian Angel) seconds before my car burst into flames.
The whole thing still seems so surreal 25 years on.

Getting a call from ICU at 3.10am inviting me into spend 10 minutes to say goodbye to my husband who was fighting Covid.