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Post by jubejubes on Aug 31, 2020 2:42:18 GMT
Scariest drive that I ever did was driving from Montreal to Hamilton, during an *almost* ice-storm conditions. The 401 (4hell1) had some very narrow lanes in 2002, in early March. I had a 4WD Blazer & I drove to keep up to the semi-trucks on the highway. I used 2 complete jugs of windshield fluid and the truck was completely covered in ice by the time I got home.
The most *I am an adult* moment I have had was signing the DNR for my dad. He passed the next day. I felt horrible and cried while I was shaking & trying to sign the paperwork.
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Post by 950nancy on Aug 31, 2020 3:22:46 GMT
One time in college, I was at an old, run down laundromat. My boyfriend and I were doing laundry and he went to get something nearby. It was a really scary part of town. In walked two dirty, scary men. I practically ran out the side door. There was a vehicle there with the trunk open and a third guy waiting behind the vehicle with rope. It was like a scene out of a movie. I ran to the nearest open store and went inside shaking. I have no idea what was going on, but I really feel like if I hadn't of run, I would have been in the trunk of that vehicle. We both went back in about 30 minutes later and not a single person was in the laundromat. It was eery. I grabbed my clothes and we got out of there.
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Post by 950nancy on Aug 31, 2020 3:25:19 GMT
In 1959 , can't believe it's been that long, my dh and I along with my parents and 10 others, went on a 8 day rafting trip down the Colorado river. At night we would camp on the river bank without tents. We would just lay out our sleeping bags where ever we could find a good spot. Early one morning, just as it was getting light, a large cougar decided to pay us a visit. It walked all around each of us, pawing and sniffing at our sleeping bags. We didn't dare move. After what seemed like hours it went down to where our rafts were, stole the food that we were keeping cold in gunny sacks in the river, ate what he wanted and then left without eating any of us. lol We have a ton of bears, coyotes, bobcats, and once in a rare while, a mountain lion. Those things scare me like no other. I'd happily spend the day with bears than meet a mountain lion.
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Post by tampascrapper on Sept 1, 2020 1:52:14 GMT
For me the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced was my ds being born prematurely. He was born about 10 weeks early, weighed 3 lbs. 6 oz. I was told by one doctor that he would never walk on his own or breathe on his own. There were a couple of nights when we didn’t think he would make it through the night. He finally came home from the NICU after 7 weeks. Even then it was scary because he came home on a heart monitor and oxygen. Three or four times a day he would stop breathing, the heart monitor would go off and I was just supposed to go and shake him a little bit to get him to start breathing again. Fortunately it always worked! I also had to tube feed him for almost 2 months. So every two hours I had to get up and put a tube down his throat, push a little air into the tube while I listened with the stethoscope to make sure the tube went in his stomach and not his lungs so I didn’t drown him. Then it was either medicine, which was good because it only took about 15 minutes, or food which took about 45 minutes. Which means I had to get up in an hour and 15 minutes to do it all over again. With preemies it’s always scary that they will have long-term problems with their lungs or their eyesight. I am really really lucky because my DS is now 26. He’s 64 and doesn’t have any problems with his lungs and his eyesight is better than 20/20.
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Anita
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,703
Location: Kansas City -ish
Jun 27, 2014 2:38:58 GMT
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Post by Anita on Sept 1, 2020 3:31:04 GMT
So many. I was in a car accident in which the truck rolled, I hit my head, and I blacked out. When I came to, I was sitting on the side of the road arguing with the EMTs. I have no recollection of anything from the accident up to that point. It's like I just wasn't there. I am told I talked to several people who stopped to help, but I remember nothing.
Being put under for surgery. They thought I was completely out but I wasn't. They injected my neck to intubate me, and when I could no longer feel air passing through my throat due to the numbness, I started thrashing, thinking I was suffocating. They finished knocking me out. I woke up in a great mood because I thought they killed me.
When we were living in a military housing unit in southern California, an oil refinery across the street blew up one night. We thought an airplane crashed in our back yard. We could see the orange of flames and we were terrified to open the door. We thought we were going to find bodies.
We were in the Northridge earthquake. I was in several, but that one was on a whole other level of scary.
We were in a moving van driving down I-70 when a tornado popped up behind us. DH couldn't stop the vehicle because of the wind. I really don't know how he kept it on the road, but he did and eventually it either disappeared or went in a different direction. I never did see the tornado itself. I was just trying not to panic.
The day my DH was medivac'ed out of Europe leaving me there with a newborn and an 8-year-old. That happened to be my 30th birthday, by chance.
There are others, but I think those are the most extreme cases of my being afraid.
ETA: A year or so ago, a friend of mine had a heart attack and died in front of me. My efforts at CPR were not effective. I think I tried to block that one because it still traumatizes me.
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Post by Susie_Homemaker on Sept 1, 2020 13:10:22 GMT
I was watching my kids swim at a hotel pool and my youngest literally slipped in he was about two. No splash, no flail, just slip. I grabbed him and pulled him out and he was fine but this was the first time I learned drowning is silent. I was at a hotel pool at the beach with friends. I was sitting facing the hot tub watching my youngest (about 3yo) and talking to a friend. I watched my DD pull one arm floatie off, then the other, I was going to get up and tell her to put them back on, but as I watched she got into the hot tub and slipped right under the water. There were people sitting *right there* and not one of them saw her, she just silently went under. Thank God I did see her. I jumped up screaming and running, "get DD! get DD!". My DH was walking by, figured it out quickly and reached in and pulled her out. That was definitely one of my scariest moments. The #1 scariest thing that I can think of that happened in the last few years... DH was at OshKosh at an air show. I was sitting at work and got a text message from his cell phone that (and I can't remember the wording) an emergency had happened and he had called 9-1-1 for help. My heart stopped! In a split second I just knew that one of the planes had crashed into the crowd and he had done whatever it is you do on your iphone to call for help. I was terrified. I immediately called his cell and thank God he answered. He was fine. He had "butt dialed" and pushed the on/off button that signals you need help. It also alerts (I think) 9-1-1, or some other emergency services so they were calling him too. Our 25yo DD also got that text and was freaking out as well. It was an adrenaline filled minute or two. One I don't want to relive!
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Post by peano on Sept 1, 2020 15:28:12 GMT
On a flight from NYC to Orlando, the pilot, who sounded like Jeff Spiccoli from Fast Times At Ridgemont High, came on the speaker to announce we had lost an engine. We diverted to Newark and landed without incident—don’t remember emergency vehicles or anything like that. The silver lining was that this cured me of my flying phobia, because I had to accept the utter powerlessness of the situation.
I woke up in surgery under anesthesia and tried desperately to let the anesthesiologist know by trying to move my foot, but the paralytic they give you made that impossible. I had two thoughts before someone realized and turned up the gas. First, that I hoped I didn’t hear anyone in the OR saying hurtful things about me. And second, I remembered back to a grad school class learning that when curare was discovered by people in this country, they initially thought it was an anesthetic as well as a paralytic. So surgery was done on people who could feel everything.
When DS was around 3 we were at a local park with man-made lake that had been constructed with a gradual slope and I was sitting in the grass a few feet onto the shore while DS played in knee-deep water. I looked away for a second, and looking back, saw his head go under. I made it to him with such superhuman speed I don’t think he realized what had happened.
When I was around 14 or 15, I had a horse I used to ride after school. This day I decided to take him onto the land that was part of a nearby army base. The horse took issue with being taken out so close to feeding time, and kept trying to turn around and go back to the barn. I lost control of him, he swerved off the grass and onto a two lane road with work traffic. I had lost the reins and stirrups and was holding on desperately to the saddle horn while he ran into oncoming traffic. Since we were still close to the grass I decided to jump off rather than run into a car at full gallop. I jumped into a ditch, rolled, and got up unhurt. When I got back to the barn, he was standing in his stall waiting for dinner.
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Post by scrapcat on Sept 1, 2020 15:59:35 GMT
Wow - my heart is beating fast reading some of these. It's weird how we compartmentalize bcz for a minute I forgot....
I was at the LA airport shooting in 2013. I was heading home from a work trip, I was bummed I had missed my nephew's Halloween parade and was vowing to never take another work trip during something like that. We had just settled at the end of the terminal when a food service worker was running down the hall yelling "they're shooting, they're shooting". Everyone went from bewilderment and murmurs to yelling and running for the doors which led onto the tarmac. At first the doors wouldn't open so people were pushing up against each other and getting squished. When we got on the tarmac no one knew where to go and we just started running around parked planes and sort of made our way up against the airport. All I could see was the long line of windows of the tarmac and I'm thinking, the shooters are going to start shooting at us thru the glass. I was calling my SO and my Mom to say goodbye and prepping my body to be shot.
Little did we know....there were not "shooters" and the single shooter was not in our terminal. It was def a lesson in clear & present danger and how panic and people stampeding can be so dangerous. The worst part was it was so disorganized, the airport was a mess, there was no communication, eventually we were bused to another terminal where we sat with no information for 9 hours, except for checking twitter.
Most flights were cancelled, but I was so lucky we were able to just take off within 5 minutes of the crew having to wait. I got home at like 2 am and the local news was there and wanted to interview ppl, it was like um no.
Turns out the shooter was originally from my area, so there was a connection. And later read, when he went to airport the person dropping him off asked what airline and he just named one, so it took him to terminal 3. I was in terminal 1 and it's like, why he wouldn't have just gone to the first one?! Unfortunately a TSA worker was killed and other people hurt.
It was scary running thinking you are going to be shot and seeing your life flash before your eyes. I honestly had sort of forgot about it until I read this thread.
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schizo319
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,030
Jun 28, 2014 0:26:58 GMT
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Post by schizo319 on Sept 1, 2020 17:05:18 GMT
We broke up a fight once between my neighbor and the 20 something yo son of the woman who lived next door to him. We heard a commotion and saw that the kid was trying to beat my neighbor with a claw hammer. My neighbor a 60yo retired Vietnam combat veteran, had the kid in a headlock and his mom was wailing away on my neighbor's back with a piece of wood while shrieking hysterically at the top of her lungs. DH jumped in the middle of the chaos and got them separated (I just knew he was going to get bludgeoned by a hammer for his effort). DH took the kid and his mom off to their own property to explain to them why it was a bad idea to be antagonizing a combat vet. I stood at the bottom of my neighbor's porch steps trying to talk him down, but he ran inside and brought out a handgun - I thought I was going to see someone shot right in front of me. Some other neighbors drove by and said they had called the police, and I was finally able to convince the neighbor to put away his gun before the police arrived. In the moment, I was completely calm for some reason, but once the incident was over, I was sick to my stomach and shaky for a couple of days.
Our neighbor was generally a good guy, but he had pretty severe PTSD from 3 tours as a "point man" in Vietnam and had lived most of his life in rural Alaska where he had no neighbors. It was a really difficult transition for him to move into a neighborhood (especially right next door to a "crazy cat lady" whose cats would roam his property leaving their footprints and waste all over his belongings). Thankfully about a year later, he moved to a rural area in NM where he wouldn't have to deal with neighborhood drama.
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scrappert
Prolific Pea
RefuPea #2956
Posts: 7,960
Location: Milwaukee, WI area
Jul 11, 2014 21:20:09 GMT
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Post by scrappert on Sept 1, 2020 17:21:59 GMT
When I was living with my friend, we lived in a not so great neighborhood. I did have a car, but paying for parking was a lot so I took the bus. I worked at the mall and this particular day I closed. I took the bus home and got out. As I started walking home I noticed this car going by. It slowed down as it passed me. Right at the moment I just knew I had to get out of there. As I saw the car turn the corner and I was out of eye sight, I took off. I ran through back yards and a church parking lot. I came to a bar with a garbage can out front and hid behind that. As I was scrunched over hiding, in my mind I was thinking I was just blowing this out of proportion. No sooner did I have that thought then the car comes creeping by the bar. I again waited until they were out of sight and ran the rest of the way home. From that moment on, I rode the bus home with someone else or I drove on the days I closed.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 7, 2024 3:25:40 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2020 17:47:30 GMT
The day my DIL went into labor with our first grandson was so exciting! We settled into the waiting room with lots of other grandparents & various other relatives waiting for their new love to arrive. This L&D would play a sweet little lullaby over the PA when a baby was born, we would all cheer! Then a nurse would come for the family when mommy & baby we’re ready for visitors.
One by one, all the other families got taken back. By 3 am, we were weary & worried. I had seen my son & he was exhausted & said DIL was, too. Her mom was in delivery with them.
We were finally told she was going to surgery for a C Section. Next thing I knew, her mom came into the room & said we had to move to another waiting room. The baby was born but there were complications & we were to wait there. She didn’t know any details other than DIL was ok & my son went into the NICU with the baby & she kept saying my son needs him mama.
I don’t know how long we sat waiting, but it seemed like hours (probably 30-40 minutes) and I thought my heart was going to explode. I could barely breathe! Finally my son came in the door & cried on my shoulder. He couldn’t talk at first so I just kept saying it would be ok and hugging him.
Turns out, the baby had something in his throat at birth & couldn’t take a breath. He immediately passed out when they cut the cord & was whisked out of the room. He stayed in the NICU 4 days but went home a healthy beautiful boy. He is now 6, in first grade & smart as a whip.
But those moments where I didn’t know what happened to the baby & she kept saying my son needs his mama were so scary.
My scary event has a happy ending. Those of you who suffered through a horrible event... ive said a prayer for you to continue with strength.
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Post by papersilly on Sept 1, 2020 17:49:35 GMT
i almost drowned twice. once in a pool. once at the beach. sank like a rock both times.
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Post by tara on Sept 1, 2020 23:23:28 GMT
Reading everyone’s brave story is amazing. You all have so much courage and tells me I’ve lived a very boring life...thank god. The worst I’ve been through is when I was 7 months pregnant with my first baby. It started out a wonderful day. My parents took me to lunch and some shopping before we went to a regular checkup. We were supposed to meet my husband for dinner after. The doc was listening to the heartbeat and got this worried look. I asked if everything was all right. He didn’t answer. He just sent me to the ultrasound room. Turns out my daughters heartbeat was off the charts. They called a cardiologist in. They didn’t know why she was still alive. The only thing they could do was put me on heart medication to slow it down but they didn’t know what it would do to me. I didn’t hesitate. She was my baby. I would’ve died for her in a heartbeat. They put me in icu to monitor me for a week. My husband and parents were the ones I felt sorry for. I was just worried about my daughter. They had to worry about both of us. The medicine worked and she’s 28 now, health and getting married next year.
Another time we were stopped at a red light. My daughter was 5 and my son was a week shy of one. A drunk driver passed out going 60 miles. He slammed into the van behind us which push her into us. I remember looking in the back to see the kids. It was night and I could see the street light shining in on my daughter but my son was in a rear facing car seat and I couldn’t see him. I thought why wasn’t he crying. I thought oh my god my baby’s dead. I just started screaming. My husband jumped out and opened the back door to see to him and told me he’s alright. Thank god that van was behind us. The police said if it hadn’t have been there and if that drunk would’ve plowed into us going that speed into our little car, the kids would’ve been seriously hurt or dead.
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Post by stine on Sept 2, 2020 0:25:14 GMT
My daughter was water skiing and dropped in but there was a pontoon boat behind her and the driver was turned sideways talking with someone so didn't see her in the water. We were waving and screaming and doing whatever we could to draw attention. I think the other person finally saw us and he swerved but I will tell you that it was close and I aged years in those moments.
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AmeliaBloomer
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,842
Location: USA
Jun 26, 2014 5:01:45 GMT
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Post by AmeliaBloomer on Sept 2, 2020 1:47:16 GMT
When I was living with my friend, we lived in a not so great neighborhood. I did have a car, but paying for parking was a lot so I took the bus. I worked at the mall and this particular day I closed. I took the bus home and got out. As I started walking home I noticed this car going by. It slowed down as it passed me. Right at the moment I just knew I had to get out of there. As I saw the car turn the corner and I was out of eye sight, I took off. I ran through back yards and a church parking lot. I came to a bar with a garbage can out front and hid behind that. As I was scrunched over hiding, in my mind I was thinking I was just blowing this out of proportion. No sooner did I have that thought then the car comes creeping by the bar. I again waited until they were out of sight and ran the rest of the way home. From that moment on, I rode the bus home with someone else or I drove on the days I closed. Hold on to your hat. I had a good friend (male) many years ago who told the story of walking home one night in a residential neighborhood about ten years earlier (so, teenager). A passing car stops and very friendly man asks him if he wants a ride. Friend says no, is creeped out, and notes specific make and color of the car in the dark and a rough description of the driver. Friend notices car slowly turning corner, gets scared and hides in bushes in front of a house, watches as car circles twice more, runs home through yards and alleys. A few years after the encounter, when a big news story broke, my friend recognized the make/color of car and the physical description of the driver: John Wayne Gacy. (And yes, friend had been walking through a north side Chicago neighborhood, which also fits as a hunting ground.) I told you to hold on to your hat.
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Post by lesserknownpea on Sept 2, 2020 7:59:09 GMT
When I was living with my friend, we lived in a not so great neighborhood. I did have a car, but paying for parking was a lot so I took the bus. I worked at the mall and this particular day I closed. I took the bus home and got out. As I started walking home I noticed this car going by. It slowed down as it passed me. Right at the moment I just knew I had to get out of there. As I saw the car turn the corner and I was out of eye sight, I took off. I ran through back yards and a church parking lot. I came to a bar with a garbage can out front and hid behind that. As I was scrunched over hiding, in my mind I was thinking I was just blowing this out of proportion. No sooner did I have that thought then the car comes creeping by the bar. I again waited until they were out of sight and ran the rest of the way home. From that moment on, I rode the bus home with someone else or I drove on the days I closed. Hold on to your hat. I had a good friend (male) many years ago who told the story of walking home one night in a residential neighborhood about ten years earlier (so, teenager). A passing car stops and very friendly man asks him if he wants a ride. Friend says no, is creeped out, and notes specific make and color of the car in the dark and a rough description of the driver. Friend notices car slowly turning corner, gets scared and hides in bushes in front of a house, watches as car circles twice more, runs home through yards and alleys. A few years after the encounter, when a big news story broke, my friend recognized the make/color of car and the physical description of the driver: John Wayne Gacy. (And yes, friend had been walking through a north side Chicago neighborhood, which also fits as a hunting ground.) I told you to hold on to your hat. Yikes.
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