Close Escapes!

[Milims]

Don't know if I've just led a very sheltered life or simply been damned lucky!
The nearest I've come is having a throat infection that closed my throat and my ex husband dragged me out of the bath, (we were married at the time or that would have taken some explaining!) struggling to breath. I ended up in casualty - apparently on my way out - but my feet were hot in my boots and I got cross and started to try and take them off. Apparently that was enough to get me going again!

[Carltonian Man]

Crashed an out of control paramotor and landed in a field next to a busy motorway. Just before impact I flew through an open gateway then ploughed a 30 foot furrow with my chest, coming to rest against a barbed wire fence (the other side of which was a road then trees...big trees). Tracing back along the furrow, sticking out the ground inches to the left was a bottle broken off at the neck and inches to the right a sheet of rusty tin.
Also, buried a motor bike into the side of a transit van, bounced off into the path of a bus and ended up completely underneath it (went between the wheels). I was knocked unconscious and only found out about the bus part later because my mate was a passenger on it.

Edit to say on both occasions I only suffered bruising and sprains

[Thomzo]

Boy have I led a boring life. No close shaves but a few bomb scares. I did hear a bomb go off when I was living in London in the 70's. I was very young at the time and was at home with my parents - we lived in a flat just off Trafalgar Square. Suddenly we heard a muffled 'boom' sound. My dad looked up from his paper and just said "sounded like a bomb" and went back to reading his paper. He had lived through two world wars mind.

A few days later there was a bomb scare in our block of flats. Turned out to be a false alarm.

Then there was a bomb scare in the road outside our house when I lived in Warminster. Turned out to be someone's sandwiches.

I was also evacuated from the old shopping centre in Bath because of a bomb scare in a shop. Another false alarm.

Lastly, we were evacuated from the office when I worked in the building over the train station in Swindon - there was supposed to be a bomb on a train. Another false alarm.

I'm never going to complain if someone's vigilance results in a false alarm. Better that than the other way around.

Zoe

[contadina]

I've had several near-drowning incidents, but I was born in the caul (born inside of the entire amniotic sac), which legends suggests brings the bearer good luck and protects that person from death by drowning. Cauls used to be bottled and sold to sailors for this reason. It's a nice superstition, but I'm pretty sure that being born in white gloop is not what protected me from the following

First aged three, I was pushed into a pond by an older sister, after I told her I could swim. By the time she walked across a field to get my dad I was floating lifeless on the top. I was duly pumped out and lived to tell the tale.

Many years later diving in Tobago I got carried away by a strong current, only to find my breathing apparatus wasn't working properly. I panicked when I couldn't see anyone else, so didn't use my auxiliary, but luckily the dive instructor managed to reach me, give me air and a slow ascent.

Then in Malta, a cab driver had a mild collision driving like a loon, as he was late to get me to an important interview. I hadn't realised I was injured until I arrived at Mr Malta's lush office and tried to take notes; but my hands were too shaky, so I couldn't. I then noticed a trail of blood all over Mr Malta's lush carpet. After a whisky to calm my nerves and some leg patching up, I managed an interview of sorts. The next day I decided to recuperate at the beach, but foolishly decided to follow loads of locals crossing the sea to a rocky island. Unfortunately, my leg wasn't up to the task so I got carried under. Fortunately, I was rescued by a passing banana boat

Other childhood scares for my poor parents include driving a digger truck down a steep hill into a tree, climbing and falling off a three-story roof, being dared to edge round an old ruin over a sheer drop (I slipped but was saved by some rusty nails ).

An uncle has outdone me in the lucky stakes, however, either that, or he's a bomb magnet. He had polio as a child so spent much of his childhood in hospital. When the hospital was bombed everyone moved to a shelter, only he couldn't be moved at the time. A direct hit to the hospital, missed him but made a crater in his ward. Many years later, he was on a bus outside the Horse and Groom pub in Guildford when the bomb went off, but survived with nothing but a few cuts from broken glass.

[bill1953]

Amazing we are all still here!

[big brew ejit]

Has anyone had any close escapes? These are some of mine. The list is not exhaustive as they say

1, Near drowning twice Aged 8 and 17

2. Stabbed aged 15

3. Explosion aged 15 (lost a bit of an eye but the lucky thing was the shrapnel that missed my jugular vein by 3/8ths inch)

4. Serious poisoning aged 9

5. Car crash aged 30

6. Poured bucket of water onto blazing pan of fat aged 11 (kitchen burned down)

7. Fell three metres into pit of acid (landed on concrete ledge) aged 19

8. Fell ten metres down cliff aged 47

9. Escaped when crane driver dropped car on me in a scrapyard aged 38

10. Gassed with sulphur dioxide aged 19

11; Nearly drowned in concrete when shuttering collapsed aged 19

12.Nearly decapitated by excavator.aged 18

13. Attacked by a bull aged 32 (me not the bull)

14. Almost forgot .....nearly hit by a train aged 22 (no I wasn't trespassing!)

You should be called 2Catz with a list like that.

Having lived in London and using a bicycle for work I have been hit by cars half a dozen times or so and being struck twice as a pedestrian, one of those my fault. No serious injuries which is quite surprising.

A few years back some thugs tried to break into the house I was living in at the time. When I made noise to scare them off they hid and threw a mighty big stone through the window giving me 26 stitches as a result.
Through the blood pouring down my face I saw them look at me then turn and run. I was very peeved off but was resilient enough not to pull the trigger on the legally held firearm I had pointing at them.
Thought I would have trouble trying to talk my way out of that one!
Mind you as I have to young daughters now can't say I would possess same resilience.

[wabbit955]

fell down a cliff was only 3 and had to be air rescured but had no injuries at all

house burnt down when i was 10 we got out just before the stairs colasped

fat fryer went up in place of work and was stuck in corner of kitchen not beening able to get passed it ending up having jumping over the counter

knocked off my moter bike and done 3 head over hills in the middle lane on the A13 in rush hour ended up crossed leged in middle of road

[Millymollymandy]

6. Poured bucket of water onto blazing pan of fat aged 11 (kitchen burned down)

I did that too in a friend's kitchen aged about 13. Oops.

Got knocked down and run over by a pony and had horsehoe shaped bruises on my back.

That's about it, thank goodness!

[wigan pixie]

Lorry took off the top of my friends mini in an accident, we both got out unscathed.
We were next in line to go on the pepsi max big one in Blackpool when 2 carriages collided.
The valve on a truck's air tank flew off and skimmed the side of my head, I actually had friction burn on the side of my head near my eye from it. Scared me half to death that did, far too close for comfort.

[the.fee.fairy]

nearly drowned when i was about 5. I got stuck in a swimming pool and could not make it the 5m to the edge. Dad had to jump in fully clothed to rescue me!

Had a car accident when i was about 3 or 4. luckily, i was sleeping and just got a black eye and a greenstick fracture on my wrist. Fracture was undiagnosed for a week until Mum took me back to the docs. All fixed now

[bill1953]

I was going to answer with a long list starting with the boys brigade, through paper rounds, helping on milk rounds, coal rounds and even markets. Through the Falklands, Ireland and all sorts of daft pursuits like that. Although sounding reasonably normal, They all had their moments! Then I remembered, last summer in my quiet town, I was almost killed by a rampaging bull in the street (not common), almost run over by a dirty great horse and cart with more than a tonne of sand on the back and almost killed due to brakes ‘serviced’ by the local garage. It’s all about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Great subject by the way.

My 'bull event' happened when I broke down on a country road. No mobiles then but I knew there was a pub nearby. I took a short cut across a field and in the dark saw some bullocks with little budding horns standing in the way. A few claps and 'whoas' sent them scampering. Then I became aware of a rumbling sound behind me. I looked around and saw that their big brother had arrived and his horns were more advanced in the budding stage. I tried the claps, whoas and even a yaaah. He replied with a sharp butt of the head to my chest which sent me backward at a fast rate of knots and onto the ground. He lowered his head and appeared to be going to give his younger siblings a lesson in the science, practise and technique of goring humans. I managed to reach up and grab his horns with one hand on each. Never knew they were warm at the base. This seemed to annoy him a little and he tossed his head, snorted and slobbered dragging me about the field. I had thought he might be a cow but know I had a good view and could see he was very much a bull albeit a young one. He took to putting his hooves on my legs and it was lucky the ground was soft because although it was painful the ground absorbed some of the weight. It did occur to me that a misplaced hoof would render my own bits into a hadnful of mincemeat. I decided on drastic action and let go and hit him as hard as I could on the nose. He pranced off and regrouped a few yards away pawing the earth his siblings gleefully awaiting the coupe de gras. Luckily he had dragged me right to the fence and I was able to roll under the barbed wire and plop into the mud filled ditch and get tangled in the piece of wire there that the farmer had left for such occasions. I extracated myself and staggered painfully to the pub. I walked in and picked up the public phone knodding to the regulars who stared at me. When I looked down I see several hoof marks on my trousers. I finished my call, walked out and noticed the silent pub had burst into animated conversation again. One bruises sternum, three cracked ribs, three huge hoof shaped bruises on my thighs, numerous scratches and cuts was a small price to pay I suppose.

[MuddyWitch]

You know when a doctor says 'You were lucky...' you probably weren't!

In my case it was that the steel toe-capped boot of my ex-husband had merely left me deaf in my right ear, not dead! A few millimeters over & he would quite literally have kicked my brains out!

Oh & I 'died' twice as a child whilst having astma attacks & needed heart massage.

MW

[bill1953]

You know when a doctor says 'You were lucky...' you probably weren't!

In my case it was that the steel toe-capped boot of my ex-husband had merely left me deaf in my right ear, not dead! A few millimeters over & he would quite literally have kicked my brains out!

Oh & I 'died' twice as a child whilst having astma attacks & needed heart massage.

MW

You certainly weren't lucky to meet a person like that. But you are lucky to be rid of him

[cideristhefuture]

Mine sweeping 6 bottles of larger from the bar of one of the roughest clubs in Glasgow.

Not something I had done before or again.... My glaswegian friend was very concerned for our health!

[trinder]

First aged three, I was pushed into a pond by an older sister, after I told her I could swim. By the time she walked across a field to get my dad I was floating lifeless on the top. I was duly pumped out and lived to tell the tale.

Many years later diving in Tobago I got carried away by a strong current, only to find my breathing apparatus wasn't working properly. I panicked when I couldn't see anyone else, so didn't use my auxiliary, but luckily the dive instructor managed to reach me, give me air and a slow ascent.

OMG
someone stole your life and turned it into a series. "Cloudstreet" well just the dying part only in water that is " say slowly " wadderr"