Near -death experiences..

Graces7

At my age, heading for 80, maybe I should be more in tune, but life is so precious now..

A few weeks ago I was driving home from shopping along our deep rural narrow lanes.
I hate speed and am careful and been driving over 50// love driving...

Came round a blind bend on a single track lane to find myself face to face with a huge oil tanker going at speed as there was a long straight stretch behind him. I mean really close... Can still see it if I close my eyes...

I drive a wee Susuki and had we "met" that would have been the end and so sudden....

He braked but had nowhere to go,

Had I braked?

But instinctively I accelerated and swerved to the left. Missed him by a bare two inches, ploughed through the verge/ditch and back on the road.. Saw the tracks I had made at a later date.... must have been travelling at speed as my little front wheel drive gets stuck very easily

It all seemed unreal yet the thought in my head when I thought it was the end of me was anguish at the thought of my far away family hearing of my death
And the feeling for days that I was on borrowed time and maybe I had been killed and this was some kind of ????

Life is precious and fragile.. Had an emergency health scare a few days ago and the same feelings then.

Cee-Jay-Cee

Well done on getting to 80 relatively unscathed and still driving to boot. If I make it to 80 with all my faculties in check I'll be well pleased and anything after that is a bonus.

Graces7

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

Well done on getting to 80 relatively unscathed and still driving to boot. If I make it to 80 with all my faculties in check I'll be well pleased and anything after that is a bonus.

And one I am not about to let some **** lorry driver rob me of ... after the A and E visit this week the all faculties thingie is slipping !

Beasty

Had a few near-death "experiences" in a single day a couple of years ago, although can't remember them as I was unconscious at the time.

Was a cycling accident racing up in Newry. Must have flown over the handlebars as broke one wrist and the other elbow. Reckon I'd either be dead or a cabbage if I had not put my hands out instinctively, as otherwise my head would have been more damaged than it was.

Of course I was wearing a helmet - that probably saved my life also as it must have absorbed a hell of a lot of the shock. My head pretty much shattered below the helmet line with 7 fractures (plus a few broken teeth), but there were none in the vicinity of the brain so no risk of bone impaling the brain. At least the 4 titanium plates now holding my head together don't trigger the airport security screening.

Then I apparently swallowed my tongue. If the medic following another race the other side of the road had not jumped over the central reservation to attend to me within a couple of minutes I would probably have suffocated

Hopefully that last one will be my penultimate near-death experience as I reckon I've had plenty to last a lifetime....

KERSPLAT!

Bar my weights incident I don't think I've had any thankfully. None where I thought I might actually die anyway.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

I fell off a sea cliff about 35 years ago. Landed on a narrow shingle beach and had to be airlifted out. It was on an island and a long way from the mainland. I recall falling and being quite calm about it. "Is this how it ends? So be it." type thoughts. I was unconscious for quite a while and dreamt of family a lot, as far as I can recall.
Since then, a few near drownings and a road accident of two, but none that gave that 'near death' experience.

Never had the 'move to the light' type experience though.

Alun

Had a car accident when I was 18 or so driving my very first car, a 1962 Ford Cortina, through Manchester on a dark rainy night. Drove across a traffic light controlled crossroads, and halfway across .... CRASH!!!!! A car had (I had thought) run a red light and slammed into the side of me. Except I didn't actually hear a crash, it was one of those classic things you always see on TV and films, where everything goes very quiet, and in slow-motion, life flashing in front of you and all that and then all of a sudden the car comes to a stop and then all the senses come back with, literally, a huge bang. All I can remember then was a pedestrian coming across to the car, opening the driver's door and saying something along the lines of "My god, they're still alive!". It turned out the car had actually rolled over on to it's roof (afterwards you could see the scrapes on the roof as proof), spun around a few times and then righted itself before crashing into somebody's garden wall. Neither me or my passenger had a seatbelt on (the car didn't have them, it was a long time ago!), and we both escaped without even a scratch which amazes me from this day on.

Later on we discovered that this was only one in a chain of similar accidents at that location and residents had reported the lights as being faulty many times but were ignored. Subsequent investigations proved them right, so it looks like we were both under the impression the lights were green.

ScumLord

I find near death experiences exhilarating. It's like doing a line of free cocaine.

dd972

Death had a near Roy Keane experience once, he's still on tablets for his nerves.

Hector Bellend

I had a near death experience this afternoon when I found out that the redneck manifesto are paying whelans in February.

Heart attack

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Mrs S says travelling in a car driven a man of 73 is a near death experience every time. Personally I think she enjoys the thrill.

mynamejeff

regularly

involving cars and motorbikes mostly

very close to getting knifes working a door a long time ago

almost got caught in a collapsing building as a kid

Rubberlegs

The closest I came to anywhere near death was getting a sherbet lemon sweet lodged in my windpipe when I was about 5. I can still remember the feeling of not being able to breathe, and pointing frantically at my throat as I couldn't speak. My Dad grabbed me, turned me upside down and whacked me into the back and it shot out. I was so upset that he had hit me
As a result I have always been a nervous wreck when my children have eaten hard sweets.

As an adult, I was in a house fire where an oil tank exploded and set fire to the house in the middle of the night. The firemen told us if we hadn't got out so soon we could have been dead from the fumes within ten minutes. On the plus side I got to sit in a fire truck with the firemen in my PJ' s

monkeysnapper

Slightly different I know but a good friend of mine was driving to work one morning and a huge accident happened in front of him , one vehicle was a small van and there was a couple in back going to a job , I think 4 people in total.

All dead in a matter of seconds , he was first on scene and said it changed him instantly His car which at that time was his pride and joy had marks all over it from the shrapnel from the impact .

He got to work after it and seemed OK , we all told him to go home but said he was OK . by end of day it all caught up with him and I drove him home .

I remember it in so much detail from talking to him about it in the days ahead .

People talk about daring people , risking lives . I don't think people appreciate they drive cars on road passing others with a couple of feet separating them with a combined speed of 120 mph daily and people in other cars are prob on phone, texting, drunk. Hung over.

If you really thought about it you'd never leave the house.

Stigura

73Cat wrote: »

On the plus side I got to sit in a fire truck with the firemen in my PJ' s

Why were they wearing your PJ's?!

Rubberlegs

Stigura wrote: »

Why were they wearing your PJ's?!

. Damn good they looked in em too !

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

73Cat wrote: »

. Damn good they looked in em too !

And I suppose you needed the kiss of life before the night was out.

Sam Kade

Graces7 wrote: »

At my age, heading for 80, maybe I should be more in tune, but life is so precious now..

A few weeks ago I was driving home from shopping along our deep rural narrow lanes.
I hate speed and am careful and been driving over 50// love driving...

Came round a blind bend on a single track lane to find myself face to face with a huge oil tanker going at speed as there was a long straight stretch behind him. I mean really close... Can still see it if I close my eyes...

I drive a wee Susuki and had we "met" that would have been the end and so sudden....

He braked but had nowhere to go,

Had I braked?

But instinctively I accelerated and swerved to the left. Missed him by a bare two inches, ploughed through the verge/ditch and back on the road.. Saw the tracks I had made at a later date.... must have been travelling at speed as my little front wheel drive gets stuck very easily

It all seemed unreal yet the thought in my head when I thought it was the end of me was anguish at the thought of my far away family hearing of my death
And the feeling for days that I was on borrowed time and maybe I had been killed and this was some kind of ????

Life is precious and fragile.. Had an emergency health scare a few days ago and the same feelings then.

I thought it was all over at 34, coming back from Ballybunnion to Cork I came round a bend at 60mph in an 89 car no ABS :eek: a cattle lorry straight in front of me at the wrong side of the road, I was actually standing on the brakes and everything went into slow motion. Anyway the fool in the lorry decided to turn left into a gateway which meant his rear bull bar came in contact with my car cutting through the wing and tyre at the drivers side. Anyway we all survived, happy days.

osarusan

Not quite a near death experience, but one that stuck with me and the rest of my family.

As a child I had a habit of dramatically pretending to choke on something, and it alarmed my father on many occasions, with him justifiably getting angry afterwards.

In pure 'boy who cried wolf' fashion, one time I really did choke on a big piece of chicken skin, and and ran to him pointing at my back for him to thump it. He just looked at me and laughed and walked away. My mother raced over a few seconds later and gave me the slap on the the back that dislodged it.

Even after he realised what was going on, he was still laughing to himself.

Sam Kade

So, did anyone have an actual near death experience? I know a man in his 60's at the time dived into a swimming spot to save a young girl and almost drowned himself. Both were saved and he told me after that while he almost drowned that he had a flashback of his life, as far back as recieving his First Communion.

failinis

I get delirious and hallucinate almost every time I get a fever.
So its not a real life/death experience but I get the over whelming sense of dread and hallucinate people are coming to kill us (meaning family or friends etc) nasty.

When I was 8 I choked on a creme egg, I stumbled and it fell down and blocked my whole throat like a plug.
My older siblings were there, and they tried slapping my back, they realised how serious it was when my face was red and started panicking saying "no no back slaps are for babies, you need to do hemlick" and they tried doing that.
I was facing the window, it was dark, street light was on. My brother was trying to do that procedure and I started to feel everything fade, and I remember the panic leaving and I just seen my neighbours bedroom lights on and thinking very clearly "is this the last thing I will see, thats not very nice". :rolleyes:
Woke up vomitting - something worked. I was crying for about 2hours afterwards with a sore throat.
My brother came into bathroom and roared at me to stop crying because my parents were coming home from their meal out and they can't know (the bed room window was open to try and hide the smell of vomit and everything)
And to this day - my parents don't know

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Sam Kade wrote: »

So, did anyone have an actual near death experience? I know a man in his 60's at the time dived into a swimming spot to save a young girl and almost drowned himself. Both were saved and he told me after that while he almost drowned that he had a flashback of his life, as far back as recieving his First Communion.

I have to agree that a close shave in a car, or such, is not a 'near death experience'. I know a couple of people whose hearts stopped and say they had the whole classic near death scenario. Thankfully my scarps never went quite that far.

hairyprincess

I was attacked by a cow. Twice. Same psychotic cow both times. First time my life flashed before my eyes, I saw my kids as I was screaming for help after she hit me.
Second time she had broke loose and came running up the road towards me, I jumped over a fence (to this day I don't know how I did as it was quite high and I'm quite short), I slipped on the wet grass and landed on my back. She came running to the fence as if she was in a Spanish bull run, butted it and fair play to Coillte but they know how to fence, the fence stayed put and away she ran up the road.
Majorly traumatising. Particularly the first time as it was completely unexpected.

cantdecide

In a very literal sense, I narrowly avoided decapitation by milliseconds.

A few years ago, I was riding my motorbike and in a freak accident, a tractor coming from the opposite direction had the boom from its chemical sprayer open out and cleave me off the bike. The only luck I had was that it hit me clean and square across the forearm, shoulder and helmet. The boom opened out and down so fractions of seconds earlier and I would have had the full force of it to the head.

It was a life changing/ affirming moment. The Guards said engineer said that if you re-enacted that accident, nine out of ten times I'd have have ended up dead. The bike was written off.

failinis

Does being born dead count as near, as near as you can be while being revived from it. Had to be revived a few times from the neonatal ward.
Got undiagnoised scarletina (dr brushed it off as I went septic over night).

Very thankful I have none or very few memories of the above. I remember my mum carrying me into hospital with the scarletina and i was crying that I was in pjamas and was that not bad outside of bedtime.
So total unawarness of how sick I have been at times. Many lucky escapes.

Robsweezie

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

Well done on getting to 80 relatively unscathed and still driving to boot. If I make it to 80 with all my faculties in check I'll be well pleased and anything after that is a bonus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fM5sWQlsjQ

Graces7

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

Well done on getting to 80 relatively unscathed and still driving to boot. If I make it to 80 with all my faculties in check I'll be well pleased and anything after that is a bonus.

cantdecide wrote: »

In a very literal sense, I narrowly avoided decapitation by milliseconds.

A few years ago, I was riding my motorbike and in a freak accident, a tractor coming from the opposite direction had the boom from its chemical sprayer open out and cleave me off the bike. The only luck I had was that it hit me clean and square across the forearm, shoulder and helmet. The boom opened out and down so fractions of seconds earlier and I would have had the full force of it to the head.

It was a life changing/ affirming moment. The Guards said engineer said that if you re-enacted that accident, nine out of ten times I'd have have ended up dead. The bike was written off.

Ouch and glad it ended that way. NB I meant in the thread near accidents...Mine was that. Life changing. made everything crystal clear.

bear1

Around 2008 when we had a few weeks of hot weather, myself, the then girlfriend and our dog drove up from Tramore to Sallys Gap to chill out next to nature rather than sit on a crowded beach.
Anyway on the drive up there is a waterfall, can't recall the name of it, and I stopped to let the dog out and take some pictures.
The dog suddenly jumps the fence and runs straight for the large stream which then falls off a very high cliff.
So he is just standing there near enough the edge and refusing to come back - potentially scared.
So I slowly walk over to the stream and get in to get the leash and bring him back.
Except I slipped and the current was so strong that it was throwing me towards the cliff edge.
God knows how but I managed to get traction at the last second and jump back onto the grass at side.
Dog was fine too but I would have 100% been a goner if I had have gone over.
Scary as **** when I think about it.

Galwayguy35

When I was 4 I ran across the road in front of a car and it missed me by inches, of course I thought nothing of it and kept going but it was a neighbour who was driving the car and I'd say the fright he got was unreal.

Never thought of it much until I started driving myself.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

hairyprincess wrote: »

I was attacked by a cow. Twice. Same psychotic cow both times. First time my life flashed before my eyes, I saw my kids as I was screaming for help after she hit me.
Second time she had broke loose and came running up the road towards me, I jumped over a fence (to this day I don't know how I did as it was quite high and I'm quite short), I slipped on the wet grass and landed on my back. She came running to the fence as if she was in a Spanish bull run, butted it and fair play to Coillte but they know how to fence, the fence stayed put and away she ran up the road.
Majorly traumatising. Particularly the first time as it was completely unexpected.

Similarly we had one cow years ago that hated everyone. She saw me from a distance, dropped the head and ran. I don't know where it came from, but I ran like mad, towards the round bales in the corner of the field and in one leap I got up on it, she was right behind me pawing the ground and snorting loudly. My father saw the whole thing - the unpredicable way she just ran, and she was shipped off to the factory.

I don't think I've had any real close calls, even though I've felt like I was dying at the time. I fell off a bale lifter and got caught underneath it, tractor was still being driven dragging me along the ground. I thought I was going to die then but i walked (well 3 months later) away from that with a few broken bones and a dislocation so in the grand scheme of things it was ok

Graces7

Sam Kade wrote: »

I thought it was all over at 34, coming back from Ballybunnion to Cork I came round a bend at 60mph in an 89 car no ABS :eek: a cattle lorry straight in front of me at the wrong side of the road, I was actually standing on the brakes and everything went into slow motion. Anyway the fool in the lorry decided to turn left into a gateway which meant his rear bull bar came in contact with my car cutting through the wing and tyre at the drivers side. Anyway we all survived, happy days.

That is it exactly. So clear and vivid it is even years later

Esel

bear1 wrote: »

Around 2008 when we had a few weeks of hot weather, myself, the then girlfriend and our dog drove up from Tramore to Sallys Gap to chill out next to nature rather than sit on a crowded beach.
Anyway on the drive up there is a waterfall, can't recall the name of it, and I stopped to let the dog out and take some pictures.
The dog suddenly jumps the fence and runs straight for the large stream which then falls off a very high cliff.
So he is just standing there near enough the edge and refusing to come back - potentially scared.
So I slowly walk over to the stream and get in to get the leash and bring him back.
Except I slipped and the current was so strong that it was throwing me towards the cliff edge.
God knows how but I managed to get traction at the last second and jump back onto the grass at side.
Dog was fine too but I would have 100% been a goner if I had have gone over.
Scary as **** when I think about it.

Glenmacnass waterfall.

DrPhilG

Probably the closest I came to death was when I fell asleep at the wheel. I was young and stupid and working too hard with not enough sleep.

I woke up to the sound of my wing mirror exploding from the impact of the articulated lorry coming the other way. Another few inches and I'd have been hit head on and smushed. A very sobering feeling to realise that I could have killed myself and others with my foolishness.

TerrorFirmer

I got pulled underwater one time by some sort of freak current, and no matter how much I struggled I just couldn't seem to move upwards, it was a horrific sensation, the moment where the dread and panic just washes over you and you have this sort of conversation with yourself that says "OK...I am in serious trouble here". Thankfully I managed to get out of it but I feel extremely uncomfortable even thinking about the sensation of fear and helplessness.

bear1

DrPhilG wrote: »

Probably the closest I came to death was when I fell asleep at the wheel. I was young and stupid and working too hard with not enough sleep.

I woke up to the sound of my wing mirror exploding from the impact of the articulated lorry coming the other way. Another few inches and I'd have been hit head on and smushed. A very sobering feeling to realise that I could have killed myself and others with my foolishness.

Happened to me as well.
Fell asleep driving back to Charleroi from frankfurt.
Must have 3am and all of a sudden the car was in the centre ditch part about to smack the safety barrier when I corrected it.
Learnt my lesson that night.

bear1

Esel wrote: »

Glenmacnass waterfall.

Shivers..

picturehangup

After my second baby, I suffered a post-partum haemorrhage. Could feel something pulling me down, down and down further, like I was sinking in quicksand. In my mind, these horrible plants with tentacles were pulling me down even further. Next thing I knew emergency bells were ringing and there was at least 12 medics around my bed hooking me up to lines of all sorts. Felt so sorry for the lady Obstetric Doc, who could not hide the shock registered on her face when she saw how much I had lost. It was on the floor, everywhere. Poor woman was about six months preggers herself.
My question.. I could see no light at the end of the tunnel. Was I going to hell? I am not that bad of a person, prob some kind of hallucination associated with the blood loss, but I certainly felt I was on the way out, and to me, it was a near-death experience. Still terrifies me to think about it.

campo

picturehangup wrote: »

After my second baby, I suffered a post-partum haemorrhage. Could feel something pulling me down, down and down further, like I was sinking in quicksand. In my mind, these horrible plants with tentacles were pulling me down even further. Next thing I knew emergency bells were ringing and there was at least 12 medics around my bed hooking me up to lines of all sorts. Felt so sorry for the lady Obstetric Doc, who could not hide the shock registered on her face when she saw how much I had lost. It was on the floor, everywhere. Poor woman was about six months preggers herself.
My question.. I could see no light at the end of the tunnel. Was I going to hell? I am not that bad of a person, prob some kind of hallucination associated with the blood loss, but I certainly felt I was on the way out, and to me, it was a near-death experience. Still terrifies me to think about it.

No such place but anyway near death experience I told Mrs Campo I be home from pub at 9pm but did not arrive back till 11.30pm once .....now that was hell

uch

I had one when It was about 86, it was when having a 'Few' pints and driving was acceptable, the brother had a Mini, and the women were loving us, so he decided to bring everyone to Johnny Foxes, now the roads at that time were shíte, anyway he piled about 9 people into a Mini and off we went, and me being only a slip of a thing at the time, I had to lie across the Girls sitting in the back, anyway if you remember the old Leopardstown road, we were coming back from Lamb Doyles and met a Bus, the brother decided it was best to go faster, we met the side of the Bus at about 55mph, but my head was lying on that side, the bus took the wing, door and back window off the Mini and when he eventually stopped, me hair was like I was after getting off a motorbike without a helmet

Capt'n Midnight

Nose full of ammonia so breathing reflex stopped for a minute or so, a bit like being winded.
It also meant I couldn't call for help which was worrying.
Weird.

Stovepipe

I crashed a light aircraft (absolutely smashed it to bits) and as it tumbled to the ground, having struck a tree, I thought I was done for. Hit hard, briefly blacked out and came to, sitting in the wreckage. Felt like it took for ever to happen, as I was going through the event. I suffered a compression fracture of my T5 and Doc reckoned I was within a centimetre of paralysis.

Melisandre121

My dad had a seizure once and smacked his head off the concrete ground, he went into a coma after and was out for a while but he said he can't recall how long exactly.

He said he can't remember seeing anything but he felt a sense of pure bliss and happiness and like he could do "anything he wanted". When he awoke he said he was annoyed to be back. I asked did he think maybe there were drugs in his system in the hospital while
he was unconscious but he said they hadn't given him anything.

Maybe there's an explanation, either way I find it interesting!

cerastes

Stovepipe wrote: »

I crashed a light aircraft (absolutely smashed it to bits) and as it tumbled to the ground, having struck a tree, I thought I was done for. Hit hard, briefly blacked out and came to, sitting in the wreckage. Felt like it took for ever to happen, as I was going through the event. I suffered a compression fracture of my T5 and Doc reckoned I was within a centimetre of paralysis.

Had a few near misses in the last few years, Thankfully can't say I've been in an aircraft crash, having similar experiences to other posts, first thing to mind reading this was, well that didn't happen me And, lucky any fuel remaining didn't burn given you were incapacitated due to unconciousness.
Nearly got hit by a car in the snow, think it was 82 I a kid, never told my mother, I think me and the driver shat ourselves, had some close calls with traffic and cycling growing up and as a young adult, was hit once by a car on a hardshoulder(got glanced, so not a full on smack but the car was going fast and I went flying), got hit by a car on my motorbike a few years ago,car drove into me in my lane, still never told my mother! was briefly out cold, some gaps, and a lot of bad pain since. Last year collapsed and was given cpr, more or less told I was dead and I'm lucky to be alive, Dr seemed astonished when I went to the review, my understanding is I came back when defibrillated but only after they tried cpr for a while, can't remember any of it or the lead up to it,

learn_more

I don't think any of the posts so far, cute as they are, match what is considered a Near Death Experience

An I nearly died experience is not quite the same thing.

learn_more

Melisandre121 wrote: »

My dad had a seizure once and smacked his head off the concrete ground, he went into a coma after and was out for a while but he said he can't recall how long exactly.

He said he can't remember seeing anything but he felt a sense of pure bliss and happiness and like he could do "anything he wanted". When he awoke he said he was annoyed to be back. I asked did he think maybe there were drugs in his system in the hospital while
he was unconscious but he said they hadn't given him anything.

Maybe there's an explanation, either way I find it interesting!

My dad used to do long distance driving for a living. He'd just drive a vehicle down to a garage that someone wanted to buy, the drive taking something between 3 to 6 hours depending on.

One day when in transit he said he felt this lovely warm feeling come over him. That's was because he had fallen asleep when driving. Thankfully he woke and nothing happened. Learned his lesson.

Point is , the brain has ways of making you feel things, lovely things; which don't depend on an afterlife or anything superstitious.

Graces7

learn_more wrote: »

I don't think any of the posts so far, cute as they are, match what is considered a Near Death Experience

An I nearly died experience is not quite the same thing.

As the thread starter.. Near death has many forms.One was almost being creamed by a racing tanker. Many others in the thread.

Jerome77

Injecting heroin / cocaine on my own, came close to death many times. Glad to be free of it all now.

FanadMan

When I was a kid and was learning to swim, was in the sea using a lump of polystyrene as a float. Got caught in a current and was pulled further out to sea and towards rocks. I panicked and let go of the float. I remember sinking and choking badly and then nothing. My older brother and aunt who were good strong swimmers spotted me and managed to drag me to shore and clear my lungs.

Was back in the sea a few days later but did finally learn to swim! Was nearly 40 years ago but remember it so clearly.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Graces7 wrote: »

As the thread starter.. Near death has many forms.One was almost being creamed by a racing tanker. Many others in the thread. Also the hyphen makes the difference!

You can't consider a close shave in the car, where no collision took place and nobody was injured in the slightest to be a near-death experience. That's like when one of my children used to cry because she "nearly fell".

Near-death (hyphenated or not) is not near-misses.

Graces7

FanadMan wrote: »

When I was a kid and was learning to swim, was in the sea using a lump of polystyrene as a float. Got caught in a current and was pulled further out to sea and towards rocks. I panicked and let go of the float. I remember sinking and choking badly and then nothing. My older brother and aunt who were good strong swimmers spotted me and managed to drag me to shore and clear my lungs.

Was back in the sea a few days later but did finally learn to swim! Was nearly 40 years ago but remember it so clearly.

Terrifying and you were so lucky.

My first ever panic attack was while swimming in a river. Nearly drowned. Realised later that it was a flashback to my brother drowning a few years earlier; the setting of river and trees and mountains was almost identical.