What is the closest you ever came to death

Page 5 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,769
19
81
i caught the attention of a roaming pack of mods once, I survived; but I still am numb in spots and have not found my pants yet. ;)
 

chimmytime

Senior member
Jul 26, 2002
702
1
0
fell off a side of a mountain in the Whistler back country while snowboarding. Free fall'd between a bunch of rocks for 20 feet, then flipped down the mountain side for about 100 yards until i stopped. good times.
 

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
53,006
5,892
126
on my 4th birthday I was hit by a car crossing the street. i was dragged 90 feet under the front of the car by my head. i was in very severe condition and flown to childrens hospital in DC from a helicopter.

i ended up having a bunch of scars and a broken femur in my right leg, and I was in the hospital for 4 weeks then in a full leg cast for 6 more weeks and had to pretty much be wheel chaired around because I was too little to use crutches.

i'm pretty lucky to still be alive after that and i have a bunch of scars on my forehead still, as well as all over my body from the accident.
 

thirtythree

Diamond Member
Aug 7, 2001
8,680
3
0
Originally posted by: purbeast0
on my 4th birthday I was hit by a car crossing the street. i was dragged 90 feet under the front of the car by my head. i was in very severe condition and flown to childrens hospital in DC from a helicopter.

i ended up having a bunch of scars and a broken femur in my right leg, and I was in the hospital for 4 weeks then in a full leg cast for 6 more weeks and had to pretty much be wheel chaired around because I was too little to use crutches.

i'm pretty lucky to still be alive after that and i have a bunch of scars on my forehead still, as well as all over my body from the accident.
Hum, I've yet to read most of the replies, but it sounds like you win so far.

EDIT: Well, a couple other people have comparable stories.
 

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
53,006
5,892
126
Originally posted by: thirtythree
Originally posted by: purbeast0
on my 4th birthday I was hit by a car crossing the street. i was dragged 90 feet under the front of the car by my head. i was in very severe condition and flown to childrens hospital in DC from a helicopter.

i ended up having a bunch of scars and a broken femur in my right leg, and I was in the hospital for 4 weeks then in a full leg cast for 6 more weeks and had to pretty much be wheel chaired around because I was too little to use crutches.

i'm pretty lucky to still be alive after that and i have a bunch of scars on my forehead still, as well as all over my body from the accident.
Hum, I've yet to read most of the replies, but it sounds like you win so far.

yah I was too young to really remember it, but there is like a glimpse i remember while flying to the hospital. it's like a blurry vision of me looking up from the ground I was lying on (on a stretcher of course).

but man, i cannot even imagine how frightened my parents were when it happned. to this day my mom is very protective of me and worries about the littlest things I do, and i'm pretty sure it's because of the accdident i was in.
 

kyzen

Golden Member
Oct 4, 2005
1,557
0
0
www.chrispiekarz.com
Was trad climbing in Boulder Colorado with a friend who had only bee outdoors once. He climbed up first, anchored himself, and started to belay me up. About 60 feet off the ground and halfway through a route much harder than I'm used to climbing (5.11, I generally do 5.9 and 5.10s) I was struggling to remove a cam he had jammed in real good, when the rope fell right next to me. I yelled to my friend and he had apparently a) not tied off the end of the rope onto anything so this wouldn't happen, and b) let go and lost the rope when he was stung by a bee.

I managed to finish the climb, lugging the rope behind me, and haven't gone climbing with the guy since.
 
Nov 5, 2001
18,366
3
0
I left High School one day and was following a school bus. On just about any other day I would have followed that bus on my way home, but I had a dental appointment, so I went straight instead of turning a couple of miles down the road. Had I turned, I would have been sitting stopped behind that bus just over a hill at it's first stop. A car filled with teens from the high school ended up plowing into the back of the bus doing over 60mph, killing 2 of them. As I said, had it been any other day, I'd have been sitting right behind that bus waiting.


Another time I was working construction and was securing a parrallam beam in a credit union basement. The framing nailer I was using malfunctioned and double-shot, and at least one 3" framing nail passed close enough to my cheek I felt the breeze.
 
Nov 5, 2001
18,366
3
0
oh, and as someone else said, I have ZERO sympathy for anyone driving like a maniac on a motorcycle. Idiots like you are a hazard to everyone on the road, not just yourself.
 

pontifex

Lifer
Dec 5, 2000
43,804
46
91
Originally posted by: meltdown75
Originally posted by: pontifex
i don't know about death, but i've come close to several car accidents.
I came close to changing my avatar once.

i've actually done it at least twice now! i'm such a rebel.
 

2Xtreme21

Diamond Member
Jun 13, 2004
7,044
0
0
Severe asthma attack when I was about 4. I passed out and my heartbeat was barely audible... my parents called 911 and rushed me to the ER where they gave me breathing treatments and a bunch of steroids intravenously. All I remember is throwing up all over my parents. Pretty nice memory I guess.

And I don't think I was close to death but it was still scary-- they had me in the recovery room after I had my wisdom teeth taken out and I start convulsing due to the abrupt cut off of the anesthesia. Since it was in a dentist's office they got all scared and I remember being surrounded by doctors, nurses, and my dad with one of the doctors on the phone (to a doctor at the ER I'd assume). Apparently they told him to put me back to sleep and gradually ween it off as the abrupt stoppage caused me to almost go into a seizure. Apparently I was in the recovery room for almost 2 hours, though after the initial consciousness and convulsing I don't have any recollection of anything until I woke up on my couch at home.

They wanted to see me as a follow up for that and apparently they misjudged my weight and, subsequently, the dosage of anesthesia to give. Needless to say I was a little perturbed to hear that, though I doubt I'd win any kind of malpractice claim.
 

thirtythree

Diamond Member
Aug 7, 2001
8,680
3
0
Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
I left High School one day and was following a school bus. On just about any other day I would have followed that bus on my way home, but I had a dental appointment, so I went straight instead of turning a couple of miles down the road. Had I turned, I would have been sitting stopped behind that bus just over a hill at it's first stop. A car filled with teens from the high school ended up plowing into the back of the bus doing over 60mph, killing 2 of them. As I said, had it been any other day, I'd have been sitting right behind that bus waiting.


Another time I was working construction and was securing a parrallam beam in a credit union basement. The framing nailer I was using malfunctioned and double-shot, and at least one 3" framing nail passed close enough to my cheek I felt the breeze.
It seems very possible that things would've happened differently had you been behind the bus. (i.e., you wouldn't have been hit the same way the bus was, if at all)

EDIT: Oh, and I forgot I almost drowned at 3. I don't remember anything and haven't really bothered to ask the details. *shrug*
 
Nov 5, 2001
18,366
3
0
Originally posted by: thirtythree
Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
I left High School one day and was following a school bus. On just about any other day I would have followed that bus on my way home, but I had a dental appointment, so I went straight instead of turning a couple of miles down the road. Had I turned, I would have been sitting stopped behind that bus just over a hill at it's first stop. A car filled with teens from the high school ended up plowing into the back of the bus doing over 60mph, killing 2 of them. As I said, had it been any other day, I'd have been sitting right behind that bus waiting.


Another time I was working construction and was securing a parrallam beam in a credit union basement. The framing nailer I was using malfunctioned and double-shot, and at least one 3" framing nail passed close enough to my cheek I felt the breeze.
It seems very possible that things would've happened differently had you been behind the bus. (i.e., you wouldn't have been hit the same way the bus was, if at all)

EDIT: Oh, and I forgot when I almost drowned at 3. I don't remember it though and haven't really bothered to ask the details. *shrug*

Yes, I would have been hit from behind by a car going over 60mph as I sat at a dead stop behind the bus. I probably would have been killed instead or in addition. The bus stop was about 200 feet over the crest of a hill, so they still wouldn't have seen us in time. They now have a sign posted warning traffic of a bus stop ahead.

 

Ramma2

Platinum Member
Jul 29, 2002
2,710
1
0
3 years old, riding in a car with my mom's drunk boyfriend (not my dad, they had just divorced), in the front seat with no seatbelt (there were none in the car), on the way out to some country place to buy drugs.

Guy got a thrill out of stomping on the gas to scare me, eventually putting us in the ditch, rolling the car 3 or 4 times. I got tossed around, had to pull myself out of the wreckage. Got picked up by some couple passing by in a small pickup truck, had to ride in the back with their lawnmower. Ended up with a large strip of flesh missing from my chest, but it must not have been too serious ( :confused: ) because my mom didn't take me to the doctor until 2 days later.

Yeah, she was a good mom. I'm lucky to be alive and well adjusted.
 

MrWizzard

Platinum Member
Mar 24, 2002
2,493
0
71
Originally posted by: Unheard
I was working @ Food Lion during high school and had bathroom duty. Apparently someone had decided to dump bleach into the urinals a few minutes before I came in with my ammonia based cleaner. I sprayed them down, and then heard a hissing noise, then my eyes began burning. My next breath was useless, and I was all but passed out when I made it to the door. If I would have passed out, it would have been just me and chlorine gas until someone else decided to come into the restroom (to top this off, it was after closing, so it would have had to be an employee using the customer bathrooms).

THAT was close, a lot of people don't know about the dangers of that either.

 

Mxylplyx

Diamond Member
Mar 21, 2007
4,197
101
106
Originally posted by: jdoggg12
I died once - crashed my bike into a guard rail on the highway. Lost 16bags (2 full refills) of blood in 8 hrs. I died and they had to revive me.

Well then, I'd say your the winner.

 

Luthien

Golden Member
Feb 1, 2004
1,721
0
0
Originally posted by: CraKaJaX
Damn Luthien... sounds like you need to stop riding your bike. :p

Yeah, I have not ridden in about a decade now. I don't miss it too much and I know that if I ride again I would be a lot more careful but motorcycles are still very dangerous although fun.

Yes, people on motorcycles often cause their own accidents but very often people in cars do not notice them and pull out in front of them unable to either see them or unable to correctly judge their speed. IMO once you ride a motorcycle you have a lot more respect for riders and you try to watch out for them on the road.



 

nweaver

Diamond Member
Jan 21, 2001
6,813
1
0
Motorcycle + 90 + not turning, slid down a very steep embankment, hit a boulder at the bottom and went end over end for about 50'. I wasn't wearing a helmet, and actually climbed back up to flag down help (my friend was driving the bike at the time). At least, I'm told I climbed up...I don't actually remember anything but puking cherries in the ER from that day. I still can't stand the site/smell/taste of cherries.
 
Nov 5, 2001
18,366
3
0
Originally posted by: Luthien
Originally posted by: CraKaJaX
Damn Luthien... sounds like you need to stop riding your bike. :p

Yeah, I have not ridden in about a decade now. I don't miss it too much and I know that if I ride again I would be a lot more careful but motorcycles are still very dangerous although fun.

Yes, people on motorcycles often cause their own accidents but very often people in cars do not notice them and pull out in front of them unable to either see them or unable to correctly judge their speed. IMO once you ride a motorcycle you have a lot more respect for riders and you try to watch out for them on the road.

maybe that's because they assumed you were going somewhere near the speed limit, not 2 or 3 times the limit.
 

Luthien

Golden Member
Feb 1, 2004
1,721
0
0
Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
Originally posted by: Luthien
Originally posted by: CraKaJaX
Damn Luthien... sounds like you need to stop riding your bike. :p

Yeah, I have not ridden in about a decade now. I don't miss it too much and I know that if I ride again I would be a lot more careful but motorcycles are still very dangerous although fun.

Yes, people on motorcycles often cause their own accidents but very often people in cars do not notice them and pull out in front of them unable to either see them or unable to correctly judge their speed. IMO once you ride a motorcycle you have a lot more respect for riders and you try to watch out for them on the road.

maybe that's because they assumed you were going somewhere near the speed limit, not 2 or 3 times the limit.


I am obviously talking in general. Your trying hard to start an arguement where there isnt one.