Have you ever saved a life?

foxinsox · 18-06-2013 07:43AM

Long long ago, before many of you were born ( 1972 ish), I was standing on a slipway of a harbour trying to get used to the freezing sea before I got in.

I saw a white floaty thing beside me in the water, I don't know what made me grab it and haul it out of the water.. but it was a nappy with a baby attached.. the nappy had made the baby's bum float but forced his/her head underwater! I just remember the mother grabbing the baby and screaming..

So yeah, I reckon I saved a baby! :-)

LLU · 18-06-2013 08:07AM

I give blood regularly. :cool:

Trev De rev · 18-06-2013 08:07AM

Sprouts wrote: »

June bank holiday monday 2006, ladies marathon day outside the Barge pub on the canal. Hot day everyone out drinking, a homeless man fell into the canal, nobody was doing anything so I jumped in and got him to the side where a good guy was able to pull him out, the most shocking thing about that day was the idiots with their camera phones getting a video of the thing instead of helping.

People just don't care about homeless people. He could have been someones brother, father, uncle, friend, neighbor, work mate just falling on bad times. Could happen 2 anyone. Fair play 2 u.

mattjack · 18-06-2013 08:20AM

I revived a man in town with CPR recently.Chest compressions and mouth to mouth.
If you save someones life , you own them , right ?

af_thefragile · 18-06-2013 08:23AM

mattjack wrote: »

I revived a man in town with CPR recently.Chest compressions and mouth to mouth.
If you save someones life , you own them , right ?

Nope, the government owns you all...

black & white · 18-06-2013 09:32AM

Several years as a Samaritans volunteer so I hope I've saved a few.

Badly Drunk Boy · 18-06-2013 03:02PM

Way back in the 70's (well, it would have been 1979), I possibly saved my sister's life. I was 6 and she was a baby, asleep in her cot. I think I was going to bed so before I went into my room, I looked in to see her sleeping but somehow, she had smashed her head through one of the wooden bars at the head of the cot (or maybe it was at the foot of the cot) and her head was halfway out of the hole she had made.

She was lying face down so the jagged wooden bar that remained, was about two inches from the lower part of the back of her head, meaning that if she raised her head quickly, she could have impaled herself. I legged it downstairs to tell my parents who carefully removed her from danger.

About 8 years later, I accidently broke her arm on the first day of the summer holidays but at least she was still alive for that to happen.

Hoop66 · 18-06-2013 03:21PM

Early 70s, living in foreign climes. Going to down to the pool, me(7), mum & sister (3). Sister gets over-excited, forgets she hasn't got armbands on, runs down the path and flings herself into the pool.

It took a few seconds for my mum to clock before screaming "go and get her out"! I ran down, dived in and supported my sister til my mum got down the poolside and pulled her out. My sister was swimming without armbands by the end of the day.

So, yes I have saved someone's life, but only because my mum made me.

donegal_road · 18-06-2013 05:31PM

pulled three people from a burning car in 1994. It landed on its roof down an embankment, the driver had fallen asleep at the wheel. There was 1 passenger killed.

astonaidan · 18-06-2013 11:09PM

Was in a car crash with my friend, we went into a river and he got knocked out, I pulled him out before he drowned.
I consider that my big achievement in life so far

Ave Sodalis · 18-06-2013 11:48PM

Talked several people out of suicide throughout the years, from close friends to complete strangers. It didn't really feel like saving them though and wouldn't have even thought of them until I read other suicide savers here, for some reason but I guess I did.

Awesomeness · 19-06-2013 05:12AM

Saw a girl getting kicked in the face 3 times by her boyfriend while lying on the ground outside a niteclub in China. Tried to talk him into stopping at first but after he took a few swings at me I knocked him out. Picked her up and put her in a taxi going to hospital with her friends.

Not sure if he would have killed her but her face was pretty messed up at that stage and no sign of him stopping.

Made the mistake of going back into Club though to say bye to friends and left an hour later to run into the same guy and 5 of his mates. A bottle across the face and a good kicking later I have been left with a Harry potter looking scar across my forehead and a bit of one on my nose.

Wouldnt change what I did for a minute though

Sunnyisland · 19-06-2013 07:30AM

I saved two different people on two separate occasions from drowning.

Dancor · 19-06-2013 08:08AM

scudzilla wrote: »

Saved a dogs life, was in work last year during winter in Google, behind us is the docks next to DART station, a guy from the Dart station came running out and behind our building, was out having a smoke myself so wandered round to see what was going on.

A dog was in the water and had been for some while, he looked like he was about to give up, took my jacket off and leaned over as far as i could, just about managed to grab him and pull him out. If i hadn't got close i reckon i'd have gone in cos i like dogs.

Little fcuker just ran off and didn't say thanks!!

Wierdest part was the next night, more or less at exactly the same time was out havin a smoke, across the road was the dog walking along, he ran over, got all excited and happy wit me and ran off, never seen him before that night and never seen him since

Am I the only one who enjoyed this story over all the people being saved? I love dogs.

pebbles21 · 19-06-2013 08:29AM

Was in Ibiza when the 2002 world cup was on.After the German game and a load of drink.we went back to the hotel pool
One drunken irish lad thought it would be hilarious to start throwing people in thd pool
After throwing a few in,he grabs my wife to throw her in but at the same time she doesnt let him go and drags him in too
All of a sudden there is a commotion in the pool and yer man is struggling in the water,hes holding on to my wife but she kicks him away,At this point i can see him in diffuculty and panicking under the water
I jumped in with my clothes on,turned him around and safely brought him up to thd surface near the rails where someone took him off me.he was in shock for 3 days and never went out again throughout the holiday.
About 5 years later a bloke comes up to me in a pub puts a pint on my table and says "thats from my mate over there..you should left that c**t at the bottom of that pool that day"
He came over and handed me a pic of me saving him that a German tourist had given him ...its attached

Ericaa · 19-06-2013 10:30AM

I've donated breast milk if that counts!

MadYaker · 19-06-2013 10:40AM

I saved somebody who didn't want to be saved.

When I was about 15 I was out on a boat on a river with my dad and a few others. We saw a man in the water way out from the bank who looked like he was in serious trouble. So we went over to him and dragged him into our boat. As soon as we had him in he lunges for the railing and tries to jump out again screaming like a mad yoke. So my dad and the others were holding him down while I drive and he was struggling and shouting like crazy. We found out afterwards that he had jumped in off a bridge was trying to kill himself. Eventually we got to the bank where the gardai and an ambulance were waiting after somebody had seen the man in the water and called them. As soon as we got him on the bank he was carted off in the ambulance. It was a surreal experience that I'll never forget, to this day I'm really not sure if we did the right thing or not. I've never really talked to my dad about it.

ArnoldJRimmer · 19-06-2013 11:17AM

Caught a runaway pram that was hurtling down an escalator, Untouchables style. I just remember a woman screaming, turning round to see why, and quick as a flash, I legged it after the pram. I dont think I ever ran that fast in my life due to sheer panic, and caught it just before the bottom where it was about to hurtle into a wall.

The mother never thanked or acknowledged me, but fair enough, she got an awful shock

robman60 · 19-06-2013 12:29PM

Was on a bus back in TY when a girl a few seats up fell out of her seat. No one else seemed to do anything but I got her in the recovery position and she regained consciousness. Never found out exactly what happened her, but neither she nor her friends were very thankful but they were pretty shocked I suppose. I doubt she would have died, but who knows I suppose.

Family story:
This would probably go back as far as the 1920s. An infant nephew of my grand aunt was sleeping in a cot in the kitchen. She'd temporarily left and when she returned she saw a pig walking out the front door. She saw his legs flailing in the pig's mouth so she grabbed a brush and smacked the pig with it until it dropped him, unscathed.

Several years later she heard burglars in her house during the night and crept to the kitchen to find the now adult nephew rooting in the cupboards. She took a fire iron and smacked him out the door yelling "I should have let the feckin' sow have ya"!

50SofG · 19-06-2013 01:17PM

sitting at a pool on holidays many years ago, a four years old girl got out of pool took armband off headed of, came back few minutes later and just jump in deep end, i was a bit hung over to be honest but noboby seam to see her so i dived in and took her out,
this was my niece and amazingly so she thanked me at her 21st birthday, i didn't think she'd remember:)

spotted to kids at the another time at the beach heading very far on a lydo and it looked damgerous to me i was in the sea at the time, couldn't see an adult with them and sure enough they fell off, it took me awhile to swim out to them but i got them back, if i'm not mistake thw mam gave them a slap for it, she was oblivious to it all.

20-06-2013 09:39AM

Amazing how many of the stories on threads like this involve drowing more than any other. Seems we as a species have a habit of falling into water

I myself made the stupid - but it was not in me to do nothing at the time - choice of stepping into a fight in Cork City where one guy pulled a knife. Up until that point I had a "not my fight" attitude to the event but once a knife was pulled - especially as the guy it was pulled on was already losing the fight to the point he would have been unable to defend himself or even turn tail and run away - I stepped in.

No idea if the guy in question was angry enough to actually use the tool - or whether he was doing it for show - but I was not going to spectate and find out. He certainly made to use it on me when I stepped between them though which was both his first and last mistake of the evening.

So quite possible I saved a life there. Guess no way to ever know.

50SofG · 20-06-2013 09:47AM

Deleted User wrote: »

Amazing how many of the stories on threads like this involve drowing more than any other. Seems we as a species have a habit of falling into water

I myself made the stupid - but it was not in me to do nothing at the time - choice of stepping into a fight in Cork City where one guy pulled a knife. Up until that point I had a "not my fight" attitude to the event but once a knife was pulled - especially as the guy it was pulled on was already losing the fight to the point he would have been unable to defend himself or even turn tail and run away - I stepped in.

No idea if the guy in question was angry enough to actually use the tool - or whether he was doing it for show - but I was not going to spectate and find out. He certainly made to use it on me when I stepped between them though which was both his first and last mistake of the evening.

So quite possible I saved a life there. Guess no way to ever know.

brave man,

i was on a bus going home this big ugly lad just punch a younger handsome lad for know reason,(reckon he was just jealous of him) i jumped up and stood in front of the ugly beast of a guy, looked him in the eye and said "i don't think so mate" he just got of the bus.
i **** myself then, instint is great but stupid at the same time.

20-06-2013 09:56AM

Yea you do wonder in retrospect whether it was the right thing to do. At the time I could not NOT do it. It simply would not have been me. So I rather expect I would do it again. I ended up not even talking to the guy I "saved" either in the mill of arriving Guards and people milling around the "loser" of the fight to see if he was ok - I just ended up wandering off.

As some people say - good deeds of this sort are like pissing yourself in dark pants. It gives you a warm feeling but usually no one notices.

Ficheall · 20-06-2013 09:57AM

Deleted User wrote: »

Amazing how many of the stories on threads like this involve drowing more than any other. Seems we as a species have a habit of falling into water

It's difficult to save someone's life when they've been run over by a bus.

puddinboxxx · 20-06-2013 09:59AM

i was driving through a small town one day and theree was a kid on the path on my left bouncing his football and whatever way he hit the edge of the kerb the ball bounced straight out in front of me and without even thinkin the kid went straight out on the road for it..I swerved to the right and missed the child by about 6 inches and an oncoming car by about 12 inches..looked in the rearview mirror to see the mother standing there with her hands over her eyes..had to pull in for a few mins..cooulnt drive anymore with the shakes

Ms Happy · 20-06-2013 10:25AM

I saved a toddler from drowning in a swimming pool in Lanzarote when I was about 9/10, I couldn't swim myself at the time but loved the water.

I was in the shallow (maybe 3/4ft deep) end looking under the water with my goggles on when I saw a small child under the water looking lifeless. I remember loads of kids being in the pool but couldn't see an adult so I took a deep breath went under the water took a few steps forward and grabbed the kid. The child had a nappy on so I guess it soaked up the water dragging the child down.

I remember clear as day coming up from under the water, still no adults in the pool to be seen and called out for my Dad, I must have screamed cause everyone looked around and the mother of the kid jumped into the pool grabbed the kid off me and nearly pushed me away - at this time thankfully the kid was roaring and there wasn't a bother on him/her. The mother never acknowledged me and tbh I think she thought I was trying to drown her kid!!

I think I got more of a fright being pushed by her than grabbing the kid! The parents brought me for ice cream and told me they were very proud...

It might not be as heroic as some of the stories here but that's my story

discus · 20-06-2013 12:44PM

I've been saved 3 times.

When I was about 4/5 years old, I was at Portmarnock Swimming Pool, and ran out unseen by my dad into the swimming area and jumped into the deep end. The lesson hadn't started, so no one was by the pool. Somehow, some adult happened to have seen it happen through a window, ran in and dived in to get me. Legend.

Few years later, same place. They had an ultra long bouncy castle on the water. Tried swimming under it, the whole length, and got caught between the poolside and the inflatable castle. Some older lad who was with me dragged me free and for about 10m to the far side. Another guy who did something that went unnoticed.

And finally, was choking on a gobstopper coming back from Mass. 10 seconds of blocked windpipe. My mate (we were 12) did the Heimlich and got it clear. I remember seeing white and then coming to my senses. I'll never forget that one, that was pure panic.

Ms Happy · 03-07-2013 03:57PM

Well have you?

Freddy Smelly · 03-07-2013 04:10PM

i stopped a woman in galway from choking on her own tongue after she had an epileptic seizure near the spanish arch a few years ago. two gaumless gardai stood looking at her turning blue while i performed first aid. i stayed talking to her until the ambulance arrived and took over.

Rented Mule · 03-07-2013 04:19PM

I was a lifeguard on Lake Michigan for many years in the 80s and 90s. I was involved in multiple jumps over the years, but never more than during triathlons. We would pull more people out on the day of the triathlons than the rest of the year combined.

I was also on a lot of body recovery lines in unguarded areas.

Have you ever saved a life?

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