Brush with death experiences

[Mackeyser]

Oh boy have I had a few.

When I lived in CA, I got pneumonia. I thought it was the flu. It was so bad that I literally pulled a muscle in my back from coughing. I finally thought I was over it and just wanted to sleep.

Wife wasn’t having it and dressed me as I was so weak and drove me to the VA hospital near us. We get there and they try to take my BP in the triage and they can’t find it. After trying for ten minutes they realize it’s too low to read and rush me to the ER. It took six liters of Saline to get my BP to 100/60. The doc came in and said he was surprised that I was still alive and that for sure I would have died shortly. Wife saved my life.

When my dad was living with me, he was stressing me out so much, I thought I was having a stroke. The right side of my face was numb and my head hurt so bad. Quickly ended up in the stroke unit going through the stroke protocol. My family has a history of stroke and I was scared to death. Turns out the stress had caused a rare form of migraine which mimics a stroke.

Honestly, I worry more about incapacitation than death.

 

[Prime Time]

The experience that has stuck in my memory more than anything else is the time I almost drowned. I've always been a good swimmer. In my youth I did the high tower diving thing until I hurt my back. Then there were years of surfing in the Pacific Ocean, Santa Cruz, CA.

In 1978 some friends and I decided to go river rafting. This was the Kings River in Northern California. We got there on a Friday night and camped out. Early Saturday morning we headed for the river. There were signs forbidding swimming or rafting because the current was treacherous but being young and stupid we proceeded on.

One guy was in the front, one in the back, another to the left of the raft, and me on the right side with my right leg hanging into the water. From the moment we pushed off it was evident that this would be a roller coaster ride.

Not more than a few minutes later the raft tipped over and we all fell into the water. I sunk like a rock. The water was seriously cold and I must have gone numb. At some point I got warm again and gave up. The whole "your life passing before your eyes" thing happened.

I felt something pushing me on my back and out of the water. I landed on the bank of the river gasping for air. When I turned around to look there was no one there. I made my way back to the campsite and spent the rest of the day getting seriously drunk in our van. Everyone else made it back alive and I never said a word to them about what happened to to me.

 

[LesBaker]

When my dad was living with me, he was stressing me out so much, I thought I was having a stroke. The right side of my face was numb and my head hurt so bad. Quickly ended up in the stroke unit going through the stroke protocol. My family has a history of stroke and I was scared to death. Turns out the stress had caused a rare form of migraine which mimics a stroke.

I know someone who suffered from a cluster headache once and it was like what you are describing. Her face was actually sagging and she could barely move. I thought she was having a stroke but after the tests and scans and all it turned out to be this nasty form of headache/migraine.

It never happened to her again.

 

[fearsomefour]

The experience that has stuck in my memory more than anything else is the time I almost drowned. I've always been a good swimmer. In my youth I did the high tower diving thing until I hurt my back. Then there were years of surfing in the Pacific Ocean, Santa Cruz, CA.

In 1978 some friends and I decided to go river rafting. This was the Kings River in Northern California. We got there on a Friday night and camped out. Early Saturday morning we headed for the river. There were signs forbidding swimming or rafting because the current was treacherous but being young and stupid we proceeded on.

One guy was in the front, one in the back, another to the left of the raft, and me on the right side with my right leg hanging into the water. From the moment we pushed off it was evident that this would be a roller coaster ride.

Not more than a few minutes later the raft tipped over and we all fell into the water. I sunk like a rock. The water was seriously cold and I must have gone numb. At some point I got warm again and gave up. The whole "your life passing before your eyes" thing happened.

I felt something pushing me on my back and out of the water. I landed on the bank of the river gasping for air. When I turned around to look there was no one there. I made my way back to the campsite and spent the rest of the day getting seriously drunk in our van. Everyone else made it back alive and I never said a word to them about what happened to to me.

Wow, that's crazy.
The water in the wild.....meaning not a swimming pool.....is a dangerous thing.
People often under estimate rivers. Rivers scare me and I won't swim in them, never let my boys go in them. One listened and wouldn't listen and was down jumping into the river all the time.
Glad you made it out ok and thanks to whatever help you received.