How close to death have you been, close shaves/lucky escapes
Discussion
I was reading the news just now, with my new bionic eye, and saw the video of the amphibious tour bus that sank in Liverpool's Albert Dock yesterday.
Quite a few people were half in, half out (of the open windows) as if waiting for the yellow boat to slowly slowly sink, when it suddenly half rolled on its side and took a quick nose dive under water.
If a boat was sinking, slowly or quickly, I'd be off it as fast as possible. Luckily, everyone survived. No one trapped inside.
I'm not sure I came close to death, but a yacht I was cruising on capsized once. I was three, and was swum to and deposited on a sandbank during a rising tide, by my mother, who then swam off to seek help.
I have no fear of the waters of the world (except unexpected sharting) but a terrible fear of drowning. Apparently I cried as she swam off for help, left in the company of strangers on this sandbank, out at sea.
They say drowning is a peaceful way to go, after the first lungful of water. Presumably by those who were brought back to life.
The scene from the abyss where the bloke has to breathe pink liquid (oxygen) into his lungs once his helmet filled up was chilling.
No fear of water. Immense fear of drowning. Possible but improbable near death experience (great white water, too).
No broken bones (just a toe) or huge blood loss or venomous bites to report. But I do have an abnormal fear of snakes. And worms, if you chase me with one, I will run away like a girl
Quite a few people were half in, half out (of the open windows) as if waiting for the yellow boat to slowly slowly sink, when it suddenly half rolled on its side and took a quick nose dive under water.
If a boat was sinking, slowly or quickly, I'd be off it as fast as possible. Luckily, everyone survived. No one trapped inside.
I'm not sure I came close to death, but a yacht I was cruising on capsized once. I was three, and was swum to and deposited on a sandbank during a rising tide, by my mother, who then swam off to seek help.
I have no fear of the waters of the world (except unexpected sharting) but a terrible fear of drowning. Apparently I cried as she swam off for help, left in the company of strangers on this sandbank, out at sea.
They say drowning is a peaceful way to go, after the first lungful of water. Presumably by those who were brought back to life.
The scene from the abyss where the bloke has to breathe pink liquid (oxygen) into his lungs once his helmet filled up was chilling.
No fear of water. Immense fear of drowning. Possible but improbable near death experience (great white water, too).
No broken bones (just a toe) or huge blood loss or venomous bites to report. But I do have an abnormal fear of snakes. And worms, if you chase me with one, I will run away like a girl
Not me, but my brother was very close to death once.
He was being driven by a friend of his, it was around 3am and bro was asleep in the passenger seat. The next thing he knows is an enormous bang. It seems his friend had fallen asleep and crossed into oncoming traffic, just as a truck came the other way. The impact sliced the car down the middle, with the drivers side being totally mashed and the passengers side pretty much unmarked.
His friend was instantly killed, brother got away with cuts, bruises and a sore back. Oh, and occasionally he has nightmares where he can hear his friend screaming, which he reckons was the last sound he ever made. A sobering experience. This was about 20 years ago and he's still a vry bad passenger. Pure chance saved him.
He was being driven by a friend of his, it was around 3am and bro was asleep in the passenger seat. The next thing he knows is an enormous bang. It seems his friend had fallen asleep and crossed into oncoming traffic, just as a truck came the other way. The impact sliced the car down the middle, with the drivers side being totally mashed and the passengers side pretty much unmarked.
His friend was instantly killed, brother got away with cuts, bruises and a sore back. Oh, and occasionally he has nightmares where he can hear his friend screaming, which he reckons was the last sound he ever made. A sobering experience. This was about 20 years ago and he's still a vry bad passenger. Pure chance saved him.
Fozziebear said:
I've been RPG'd twice, both landed 7 ft ish away and vehicle took most of the blast, got shot at a couple of times, one round passed close to my melon. Never had any holes in me or saw a bright light, must be lucky 
I think most of us will struggle to top having been RPG'd once, let alone twice.Except me. I was RPGd dozens of times. On the PS3
So you're a politician, a gamer or in the army, then
Was a passenger in a truck when the driver feel asleep at the wheel, we rolled, finished up on our side, sliding along the ground, 20 feet down an embankment, stopped 3 feet from a concrete wall. Plod said, if we left the motorway a nano second later, we both would have been dead.
Also had atrial fibrillation ( heart basicly beating in the wrong sequence ) a couple of years back, was put under and heart restarted, so technically......
Also had atrial fibrillation ( heart basicly beating in the wrong sequence ) a couple of years back, was put under and heart restarted, so technically......
I was preety close when I was born, 39 years ago, I was born January, when it shoud have been April, which to survive even today is touch and go. I had multiple issues, Hep C, septicaemia, pneumatosis intestinalis and major liver issues - which even today I have to be careful with, basically meaning i can't drink too much.
Martin
Martin
Edited by mph999 on Sunday 16th June 23:29
I took up paragliding twenty years ago. A few months after finishing my licence I went on a trip to Annecy. A few of the old heads expressed reservations, me being wet behind the ears in a big environment - powerful thermic conditions etc. I was having none of it & couldn't wait to get going.
Day 1, we got to take off late-ish & had a pleasant float around in the weak conditions boating around in buoyant restitution (warm air radiated by the ground) conditions.
Day 2 & it's stonking. The pilots in front of us at launch are specking out at around 2000 ft above launch - get it right & it's a big distance cross country day. I with my huge three hours of flight experience launch & float around for five minutes or so before hooking a thermal. I start climbing at around 3m/second. It increases to 5m/second, a strong ride.
Just like the birds & as I've been taught, I'm circling in the rising air, feeling for the strongest lift when I hear a flapping sound. I look up to see the front of the glider come belting toward me at a rate of knots. I've flown out of the thermal into the sinking air surrounding it.
The glider falls beneath me perfectly formed as if I'm doing a loop the loop. I begin to fall towards it, if I fall into it I'll be gift wrapped with no chance of throwing my reserve & I'll certainly hit the deck at 100+ mph. In slow motion, I watch the glider approach, the leading edge hits the front of my helmet, snapping my head backwards but crucially it slips by.
The wing pulls taut on the lines with a bang & reopens miraculously in a straight line. It surges forward trying to fly, I whack on the brakes to damp the surge & it flies way as if nothing had ever happened.
I immediately s
t my pants & pull in the wing tip lines to force it to descend & land ten minutes later with purple fingers from holding the lines in.
Not the closest story, but it was close as I ever want to get to the exit. Also, true story.
Day 1, we got to take off late-ish & had a pleasant float around in the weak conditions boating around in buoyant restitution (warm air radiated by the ground) conditions.
Day 2 & it's stonking. The pilots in front of us at launch are specking out at around 2000 ft above launch - get it right & it's a big distance cross country day. I with my huge three hours of flight experience launch & float around for five minutes or so before hooking a thermal. I start climbing at around 3m/second. It increases to 5m/second, a strong ride.
Just like the birds & as I've been taught, I'm circling in the rising air, feeling for the strongest lift when I hear a flapping sound. I look up to see the front of the glider come belting toward me at a rate of knots. I've flown out of the thermal into the sinking air surrounding it.
The glider falls beneath me perfectly formed as if I'm doing a loop the loop. I begin to fall towards it, if I fall into it I'll be gift wrapped with no chance of throwing my reserve & I'll certainly hit the deck at 100+ mph. In slow motion, I watch the glider approach, the leading edge hits the front of my helmet, snapping my head backwards but crucially it slips by.
The wing pulls taut on the lines with a bang & reopens miraculously in a straight line. It surges forward trying to fly, I whack on the brakes to damp the surge & it flies way as if nothing had ever happened.
I immediately s
t my pants & pull in the wing tip lines to force it to descend & land ten minutes later with purple fingers from holding the lines in.Not the closest story, but it was close as I ever want to get to the exit. Also, true story.
Edited by Justin Cyder on Monday 17th June 00:01
Several times – all my own stupid fault. As a kid I used to like tinkering with things. Received huge shocks and should have been electrocuted at least three times as I recall. Then I used the lawnmower petrol to get a fire going. Flame ran up the stream to the 2 gallon can. Was in such a panic about what Dad might say I patted the flames out with my hands rather than fling the can away. No idea to this day why it didn’t explode. Can’t have been enough air in the can I guess. Didn’t even get burned. Much later, SCUBA diving. Thought I’d push my luck and ran out of air at about 90 feet. Looooong way up….. Been jump started on the table during an operation on my heart too (OK, so that one wasn’t my fault).
Gassing Station | The Lounge | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff