Has your life ever been saved?

[Artiz]

Yes. By myself. Oddly enough when my life is in great danger nobody's around...

[RESCUE-K9]

I had only been a firefighter a few months and I was cought some place we should not have been, the building had some light smoke and heat but all at once the whole place started to shake he yelled to run for the wall and just as we got there the roof came in. We were trapped under the debris in a lean to created by the wall he told me to run for. It took about 15 minutes for the rest of the crew to dig us out. We were digging like crazy as well so we sort of meet in the middle and they backed us out the way they came in. So yes someone saved my life

[Ansgar]

Saved by mom and grandma, with an assist from my brother.

When I was five, my older brother was teaching me to ride a bike. I had training wheels on, but his friend thought it would be funny to push my bike over. He succeeded in doing so and in turn introduced the side of my head to Mr. Fire Hydrant. My brother screamed for our mom when he saw blood all over my hands, head and shirt. My grandma was over visiting us. They were, at the time, both RNs, (my grandma worked in the ER and my mom in pediatric ICU) both are now retired. My mom made a pressure dressing (required a second one) and grandma gave my mom instructions while driving us to the hospital. I lost a lot of blood that day (don't know how much, just a lot for a little kid) and if they hadn't been as fast and well-trained as they were, I very well might have died. Also, I later learned that my brother had stayed behind to beat the daylights out of his (suddenly former) friend for hurting his little brother.

What I learned? 1) Even if your sibling is a pain, chances are they'll get your back when it really counts. 2) Medical training is a great thing and you may never know when you'll suddenly need it.

[EmbraceTheHate]

I been lurking for a while and i love this site lots of cool information.

Anyways i was saved about 2 years ago. I was tubing behind a boat with my girlfriend and a few friends. Naturally i had to impress so i told the driver to go as fast as the boat would go cut it and see if i could hang on. Anyways we take off and he nails it they said about 50mph is what the speedo said. He cut it and i was flung over the week at what seemed 100+mph it was amazing until i flew off. I skimmed across the water and caught a pier with my left side. I swam to the boat said i was fine but i think i broke some ribs no big deal. My girl and my buddy get on and we start going. All of a sudden i was getting tunnel vision and could just feel my mind trying to shut down. I told them we need to get back to the dock and maybe call 911. We get back and i can not get outta the boat my body is to weak and everytime i stand i almost pass out. 911 came and 4 firefighters lifted me out and put me on the stretcher. I got in the ambulance where the emts took care of me.

By this time my side was painful i could hardly lay down it was the worse pain ever. I know pain to 1/4 of my torso is tattoo'd. Anyways im reaching out to the emt saying we gotta go man im in serious pain here i need pain med asap. longest ride of my life in that bumpy ass ambulance. Anyways i get to the hospital and he does a ultrasound on my left side. He said o you bruised your spleen heres some pain medicene you should be alright. Being that im a welder i can not have Cat scans because of the metal shavings in my buddy so i have to have et scan? Hell i forget now. So the doc says that isnt necessary i just bruised it go home and take it easy.

So i get home about 10pm my girl goes back to her apartment and my mother stays the night to make sure im ok. THANK GOD! My mother makes me some dinner and i pass out. I wake up about 12am same pain and im getting tunnel vision. This time its bad, i stumble out to the living room wake my mother up tell her to call 911 i think im dying. Ambulance shows up and its the SAME emts from earlier that day. This time they are all squinted eyed from there shift im sure. They take my blood pressure...one emt whispers to the other....they take it again...they both looked confused and take it one more time. My blood pressure was 80 over 40. We get in the ambulance the emt puts all the needles in my arm for surgery he says i need emergency surgery but i will be alright. They wanted to starflight me to a hospital but it was storming like crazy so i had to ride in the ambulance to one of the hospitals then get starflighted for Emergency surgery.

I get to the first hospital they finally do that et scan or whatever and the doc says o i guess you did burst your spleen. There is the small tear and its bleeding out!! Well by this time my mother has came unglued and my girlfriend at the time is in tears thinking thats it for me. They wheel me out to the heli and i get starflighted to a bigger hospital for my surgery. My mother got to ride in the heli with me but my girlfriend had to drive an hour to make it to the hospital. It was maybe a 20 min flight for me. We get to the hospital they take my vitals blood pressure is decent since i had a blood transfusion because i had lost 2 and half liters of blood in my stomach. I also was feeling a lot better and told them i didnt need the surgery LMAO.

So i go under and it seemed like 3 secs i was waken up by the cutest nurse ever. She told me i made it im fine and my mother and girlfriend will be there later tonight. I had a tube down my throat and one up my nose so i couldnt talk i just gave her thumbs up. Im on so much pain medicene that im constantly sleeping plus i was in ICU. A few motocross buddys came and saw me even tho i didnt talk and then my mother, girlfriend, and friend showed up. I was very happy to see them. I also thought the surgery cut thru my tattoo but my girlfriend made sure to tell me he completely missed it.

I was in the hospital for a week and half, when i got out i was bed ridden for 3 weeks since they cut right thru my ab muscles. My sweet girlfriend at the time had to do everything for me including wipe my ass. I was told not to left anything more then 25 pounds until 6 weeks was up. The 4th week i got my staples out and i went back to work the next day. As a welder im dragging leads moving beams and what not. I actually got a hernia and had to have another surgery that next month. live and learn!

If it wasnt for those 2 emts im pretty sure i would be dead. I still want to go to the fire station and thank everyone but its been about 2 years now. This is just a clear example of how precious life is and how it can change your life. When this accident happened i was working for myself and thought i didnt need health insurance. I had to sell all my toys that i worked hard for to pay my bills. Cause i couldnt work. Very eye opening experience.

[Jonadz]

Only because she thinks my prepping and survival obsession is, "cute but not realistic" I know she will never read this so I can say the beautiful woman who met a guy on a very self destructive path and delt with all his crap ( still dealing with yet in smaller doses) saved my life, and by being here I hope to return the favor when "it" becomes realistic! Time for another beer ... Ha...

[cityscout]

Several times....
Blessings of the Gods on all Infantrymen... There is no way I would have been able to do my job with out them.

Jon "Doc" S
2/5 cav Medic 02-06

Much respect back at you brother.

Indubitably, my good sir and/or madam. Medics are the shit, well good ones at least. Plus they always have IV bags if you go drinking with them.

I agree. A good medic is invaluable. A bad medic is only good for investigating suspicious objects in the road. We were lucky. I have worked with several great medics and only one bad one.

[SByrd89]

Only one time that i can remmeber.

Good Friday 2009
A friend of ours got a coumpound fracture taking a big hill on his longboard thursday night, so after church we went to see him at the hospital. After leaving the hospital we decided we would go skate, we went to the hill we always go to when we get the need for speed.

We were there for probably about three hours before anyone left. The girls had decided the would go down to the beach and wander the boardwalk for a little while, and one of our friends had to leave. Before he left i asked him to pull me up the hill with his car so i could build up some real speed by the top of the hill. When we got to the top of the hill my board started to get a little bit of speed wobble, so i puched away from the car since i knew i was gonna go down, and didnt want to get run over by the car. All I remember was losing my balance after that and falling. My best friend said that my head hit the pavement a few inches from the curb. He promptly ran over and put pressure, and cleaned me off a little to see how bad it was, being a trained EMT he knew exactly what to do. (This is only what i have been told happened) After the girls got back and i regained conciousness they quickly drove me to the hospital, and the ER admitted me straight away, I had about a 6 inch gash in my forhead and lost nearly a pint and a half of blood. It would have been more had he not put pressure on it so quick. The doctors said that if my friend hadnt been there and put pressure on the gash i probably would have bled out and wouldnt be here to type this.

3 days in ICU. Ended up with 9 staples and 6 internal stitches, a hairline skull fracture, and 2 subderal hematomas that kept me out of action for about 3 months, no driving, no lifting, no fun at all.

On the good note, it was right after this that my wife who i had been pursuing for about 6 months realised that she felt the same way i did. we started dating a week after i got out of the hospital, and got married in October of 2010.

[Tater Raider]

If you ever meet me IRL I'll share mine with ya, but I'm not comfortable sharing it on here.

[Tank Woman]

I was saved by my ex-husband, best friend and her husband, from a splinter.
I was feeling shivering cold and weak, so I went to the clinic. They told me I had a cold, go home and rest. I don't remember how it came about, but my ex, and besties ended up coming over to spend the night with me to keep an eye out. I went right to bed and slept. I woke up sometime that night almost unable to move and couldn't yell. Luckily the phone was right by my head so I called my mom and mumbled for her to call the house back and tell them to come into the bedroom. They did, and took me to the hospital asap.
I had a very severe case of cellulitis. I was in the hosp for 7 days, and laid up for 6 weeks after.
It turns out a splinter I had gotten in the side of my foot while walking barefoot on a dock did the dirty deed.
Lessons learned:
Something as simple as a splinter can end your life.
Never burn your bridges if you can at all help it.
Care for your friends and they will care for you.
Moms rule.

Edited to add: When you seek medical help tell them EVERYTHING no matter how irrelevant it might seem to you. When I went to the clinic, my foot WAS a little sore and warm to the touch. I didn't even think to mention it.

[greenear123]

I got home from work one Friday feeling weak and wrung out. I crawled into bed and fell asleep. My wife and kids were out at Grammy's for the weekend so I was home alone. I woke up at about 01:30 with shakes and sweats. When I looked in the mirror I noticed a bright red splotch the size of a quarter on my forehead. I called the VA ER and they told me I just had a cold, drink fluids, take 2 aspirin, call your doc on Monday. I chugged a quart of water and passed back out. The next thing I know my wife is shaking me awake on Saturday afternoon. She had been calling me all day and decided to come home early to check on me. She took one look at me, the red splotch now covered my forehead, and drove me to the ER. They took my vitals, masked up and started packing me in ice. My temp was over 106. If I had taken any longer to come in I was risking dain bramage and death. My face swelled up, my eyes almost completely swollen shut. The doc had to "milk" my saliva glands to reduce the swelling. One nurse said that I looked like a demented chip munk my cheeks were so swollen. I spent 3 days in isolation while they tried to figure out what I had. Turns out I had a strep infection in my skin. Yikes. Spent a week in the VA. I finally got home on Christmas Eve.
So my wife saved my life. Thanks Honey!
Lesson learned: Seek help when you can, you might not be able to later on.

[KnightoftheRoc]

Yes, more times than I'm comfortable thinking about. They say the lord watches over drunkards and fools, and when I was a young man, I know I kept a few angels busy.

Had a car accident on a gravel road, and the rear fender fetched up against a tree, but the impact made me bang my head against the door post. I'd had a sore throat, but it was nothing major. The impact broke open an abscess in my throat, and I woke up with a raging fever. My GF applied alcohol baths, and then took me out to the beach for the day (let's take the feverish guy out to sit in the hot sun!). I continued to feel worse. That evening, a friend stopped by, checked me out, and forcibly carried me out to his car and to the ER, despite my protests- I was simply too weak to put up a fight. At the ER, they said my temperature had hit 107.7F- no idea how long it had been that high- one thing's certain, at that rate, there's a real good chance I wouldn't have woke up in the morning, had I stayed home.

Two years before that, alcohol poisoning, army ER staff saved me, I've never been sure just how- they pumped my stomach, stopped the bleeding by pumping ice water into my stomach, and ended up warming up the paddles when my heart stopped. Just before shocking me, CPR started to work. I'd been dead on the table for a little while, from drinking like an idiot, at a mere 17 years of age.

That's just two of the times- I'm around today because other people didn't give up when it got difficult, even tho they could have. What I've learned from it, eventually, is that I'm here for a purpose- what exactly, I'm not sure. So, I try to do what I can for other people, to sort of pay it forward, and to make what they did worth the effort. I've had quite a few close calls, hence my 'angels' comment earlier, but the ones that have brought me closest to death involved my own stupid actions, doing something I shouldn't. Since I've somehow managed to become older, despite my own best efforts, I've tried to become a bit wiser as well. Jury's still out on that one.

[JesterODX]

Twice that I think of it. When I was twelve we lived in Wyoming. I use to climb all over this cliff face. There were trails all up and down it. ButI went on a part of it I didnt know. Going across the top of a slope that was basicly covered with sand. My feet came out from under me and the sand started running off the slope like water and I'm trying to claw my way bak up. I was scarred to say the least. But I grabbed somethign in the sand and stopped sliding. It was the glass insulator that use to be on the top of telephone and telegraph poles. I used it to dig my self back to the top of the slope. I still have that insulator.

And then years back in my youth, I use to be a volunteer fire fighter. We had a big ice storm one year and we were going out to try and get some trees out of the road in the middle of the night. It was our first call of many that night. I got out of the passenger seat of the truck and walked in front of it. Thats when we started hearing popping and cracking all around. Trees were getting ready to come down but I had no idea what direction the noise was coming from. My Lt hollared run. And I did. I ran in the direction I was facing. I heard a crash and looked back to where I was standing and there was a rather large pine tree laying where I had been.

Lessons learned, be careful where you tread. You never know when the bottom will fall out from under you or something big will land on top of you. Be mindful of your surroundings.

[Svothe]

When I was born I had a hole in my heart (The valves that are mean't to seal up when your born didn't) and pneumonia, I was in ICU for 6 weeks and couldn't be held or picked up. All my breathing was done for me by machine and I was incredibly week. I was 2 months old before I was actually allowed out of the hospital to go home. My dad says that when I was in the ICU and they'd put their hands through and let my little tiny baby hands wrap around their fingers my heart rate would double. The doctors and nurses said it was unbelievable how I could have the worst night in weeks but as soon as my mum or dad held my hand all of my life signs would go to that of a normal healthy child.

Not really sure other than that, I've lived a pretty danger free life I suppose. No broken bones or really serious-serious injuries so far. Just hoping it stays that way really. I've saved a few people but I'l save that for another thread.

[Kopf-Jaeger]

I was on patrol years ago when my sector partner and I received a call for a disturbance in a hotel parking lot. As we arrived there were five guys and a girl standing around yelling at one another. Unbeknownst to us, they were all friends and serious criminals. Later we discovered the female alone had like ten photo id's of herself from different states under different names. When we approached them one guy took of on foot as did the female. the other four males immidiately jumped my partner and I. You haven't lived until you are rolling around on asphalt being pummelled and having hands trying to rip your sidearm out of it's holster! Seconds seemed like hours until I saw a white Ford Ranger pick-up truck screech to a halt in the parking lot. A rough looking guy jumped out with a .45 Auto in his hand and ran over to me where he pistol whipped the one suspect in the head with his .45 knocking him senseless (for a second there I thought he may have been a friend of theirs as he didn't look like an LEO). He then helped me get the second cuffed and then we ran over and helped my sector partner apprehend the other two. Turns out he was just a civilian with a CCW permit who chose to do the right thing. My dept ended up issuing him a bravery citation and gave him a plaque as well. I have no doubt given the suspects histories and the fact that they tried to disarm my partner and myself that they intended serious harm to both of us.

[Mad_Maxx]

Fell in the river while playing as a kid, think i was around 5 or six. Would probably have drowned if not for the family dog (german sheperd)

[teachermom44]

I had had a miscarriage and was waiting to pass the baby naturally. I started to bleed and since I had a doctor's appointment anyway so we got everybody dressed . We took the kids to school and by that time I was bleeding HEAVILY, there was blood from my knees to my waist.I made my husband put down a shower curtain and a bathmat for me to sit on. (I wasn't at my best I should've went straight to the ER.) We got to the OB's office and my husband convinced them I needed to be seen. I got the impression they thought I was bleeding just a little. They took one look at me, did vitals and got the OB in there. At that point I was loosing consciencousness and felt really weak, my blood pressure was very very low. I felt like I was dying. The doc had to do a partial emergency D&C right there to slow the bleeding, with no anathesia (sp?) to pull the placenta out. It was very painful. My husband and two little ones were there and the nurses took the little ones out and distracted them. I ended up going to the hospital via ambulance and had surgery to finish the job. So yeah the doctor saved my life. I have no doubt about that.

This is one reason that I'm thankful I'm not planning on more kids. I can't even begin to think what the outcome would've been in a PAW situation.

[olivialowrie]

Yes, once by a friend. If he wasn't there in the woods while we were hunting, I would be dead by now.