Mine came in Beirut too, just a little later. In January 1984 I got peppered with shrapnel fragments that resulted in being evacuated to Landstuhl Army Hospital in Germany via the USS Guam and RAF Akrotiri(?) on Cyprus.
Many years ago a hunting buddy and I went on this farmer's land to hunt ducks and geese. Long story short, the farmer came roaring up in a pickup truck and bailed out with his shotgun yelling and cursing at us for trespassing. We said we didn't want trouble and would leave right then. He said we could leave after we dropped our gear and guns. We told him FU - He raised his shotgun and we raised our shotguns. Mexican Standoff. Continued that way for a while with everyone yelling and cursing and pointing shotguns. Finally we backed up and he backed up and we got the hell out of there.
Later realized that someone could have easily gotten killed that day. Ruined hunting for me for a long time. Glad nobody pulled the trigger that day.
Sitting by the hospital bed when the Dr came in and told us that my fiancé was being diagnosed with MS. I knew nothing about the disease but I sat there and felt our whole future melting away from us, all the things we’d planned that we wouldn’t be able to do, the uncertainty of whether or not we’d be able to have kids, the knowledge that we would always have medical bills. I was 25 and it really changed me, it changed both of us, things will never be the same. We have good days and bad but we just get up each day, put on our boots and fight.
I was ~8 or 9, and after I was depressed for about 2 weeks. Now 20 years later, I'm a drunk who's too smart to keep a job, and an a$$h0le free of charge.
"Social order at the expense of Liberty is hardly a bargain” de Sade "He who'll not reason is a Bigot, he who cannot is a Fool, and he who dares not is a Slave."SirWilliamDrummond
Sitting by the hospital bed when the Dr came in and told us that my fiancé was being diagnosed with MS. I knew nothing about the disease but I sat there and felt our whole future melting away from us, all the things we’d planned that we wouldn’t be able to do, the uncertainty of whether or not we’d be able to have kids, the knowledge that we would always have medical bills. I was 25 and it really changed me, it changed both of us, things will never be the same. We have good days and bad but we just get up each day, put on our boots and fight.
Sitting by the hospital bed when the Dr came in and told us that my fiancé was being diagnosed with MS. I knew nothing about the disease but I sat there and felt our whole future melting away from us, all the things we’d planned that we wouldn’t be able to do, the uncertainty of whether or not we’d be able to have kids, the knowledge that we would always have medical bills. I was 25 and it really changed me, it changed both of us, things will never be the same. We have good days and bad but we just get up each day, put on our boots and fight.
When I had open heart surgery 5 years ago and died on the table twice.Saw the light at the end of the tunnel twice,second time I got real close and heard a voice say not now and woke up 3 days later.DEFINITELY CHANGED MY WHOLE OUT LOOK ON LIFE.I NO LONGER TAKE THE LITTLE THINGS FOR GRANTED.
When I had open heart surgery 5 years ago and died on the table twice.Saw the light at the end of the tunnel twice,second time I got real close and heard a voice say not now and woke up 3 days later.DEFINITELY CHANGED MY WHOLE OUT LOOK ON LIFE.I NO LONGER TAKE THE LITTLE THINGS FOR GRANTED.
Despite people dying and all my own NDEs, mortality has never bothered me, so likely never will, what struck me was the realisation just how short ones actual time here is/how fast it all goes ..and ones irrelevance. Awareness, attitude and wisdom are what matter to me, hence I don't take ones temporal existence too seriously and have the mindset of looking forward to the eventual transition with humble acceptance.
-Bulletproof and Waterproof don't mean Idiotproof.
I've had a few close calls growing up, and lost some loved ones along the way.
But for me, that moment was a few years back. My wife and I just got the last kid out of the house and into college. We were ready to kick some azz, get ahead on retirement, and enjoy life.
Then, she had numbness in her extremities that would not go away.
The neurologist did some test told us it didn't look good, and ordered an MRI. In his professional, experienced opinion, it was no doubt, MS.
We lived in despair for a MONTH, getting the MRI done, and waiting for the next appointment. As we finally sat there in his office expecting the worst, we found out it was spinal stenosis. Still a serious diagnosis, but cured by cervical fusion surgery 3 weeks later, and now my wife is back to 100%.
I remember 3 things from that experience:
1) Someone in the MRI lab knew within an hour of that scan that my wife didn't have MS, and it took us 4 weeks to get that news, and 2) That was the first real health threat to OUR partnership. It made me realize how special our love is, and made me even more fiercely protective of my wife, which I did not think was possible. 3) Our time is limited... a bad diagnosis, traffic accident, brain bleed, freak incident, or act of God can end it all any time.
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Last edited by duck911; 01/16/18.
The DIPCHIT ADD, after a morning of drinking:
You despair, repeatedly, constantly! daily basis? A despair ninny. Sack up, despire ninny.
[quote=Starman what struck me was the realisation just how short ones actual time here is/how fast it all goes.[/quote]
Can you believe it? One day your uncles are throwing you on their shoulders or giving you a ride in their Corvette, and in the blink of an eye they're in their 70's or 80's.
Last edited by Fireball2; 01/16/18.
_______________________________________________________ An 8 dollar driveway boy living in a T-111 shack
In the year 1957 I was stationed at the Naval Air Station at Sangley Point in the Philippines. I was hospitalized with a severe case of hepatitus as were others. While there a number of us who were hospitalized also contacted a severe case of asian flu. When I was originally hospitalized I weighed about 165 lbs. I was In a coma for a little over 2 1/2 days, with a fever exceeding 104 degrees. I heard the head nurse saying to the doctor on duty that she had doubts that I would make it. I lifted myself up and said "bullsh!t". They both talked to me and said that my response was a good sign and to keep fighting. When discharged from the hospital I weighed 138 lbs. Was discharged from active duty soon after on a medical.
I've led a pretty good life. And am thankful for a good life since then. With luck I'll have my 82nd birthday in may of this year
I think when I was told I had Hodgkin's disease at 16. That was the first time, I basically had a good sulk alone for about an hour and then started making plans for the treatment. That wrecked my parents' marriage as my Mom dived into the bottle and never climbed back out. Don't know how many times I've come CLOSE to dying since then, some of it was voluntary, some was morons at work, some my own stupidity (thank God for ironworker safety harnesses) and some, random bolts of bad juju. But it's only now sinking in as my parents and older other relatives, and now some lifelong, dear friends, are starting to clock out. You know, the kind of people who you share your favorite secrets with. I'm learning that people DON'T face their mortality, and they leave one hell of a mess behind. I won't do that. I'll come screaming in sideways and smoking, then climb out and hand over the keys -- THEN tip over.
Up hills slow, Down hills fast Tonnage first and Safety last.
