Ask Lemmy

A couple years ago I was moving my dad cross country back to the city where our family lives because my stepmom was separating from him after a couple years of his heavy alcoholism. When I got there he had been drinking again so I had to call my uncle to fly over last minute so he could drive the uhaul and I could drive my dad’s car with him in it.

Just past Louisville on the way to Indianapolis he said he was feeling funny and seeing light. I was a little concerned and I don’t remember what I said, I just remember him saying “okay, I trust you.” A minute later he looked at the corner of the car, said “oh my water,” while reaching for a cup that wasn’t there, and his seizure started. I don’t remember exactly why I didn’t immediately pull over to the shoulder, instead I sped up to get ahead of my uncle and take the next exit. My dad was already secured in place by his seatbelt, but it seemed like he choking on something, so I had to bang his chest with my fist a couple times while yelling “breathe dammit!” That worked, but he wasn’t conscious.

I pulled over, got in a travel center parking lot right next to the exit, felt lucky because I saw the uhaul pulling in behind me, and ran around to get at him. He started to come to and I dredged up my one first aid class from high school to check his memory/mental state. He could answer my general questions about the current year, president, etc. but then he looked around and asked why his dog and my uncle were there as they got out of the now parked uhaul. It appeared that his memory of the past couple days was messed up. I called my stepmom and she said that sort of thing had happened before.

I guess he hadn’t gone to a hospital after his withdrawal seizures in the past so we decided to continue to Indianapolis, monitor him, and go to a hospital there if something more happened. I was very disconcerted by his lack of memory for the last couple days, but like half an hour later he referred to something recent and after asking his recollection had returned at least to some degree.

There weren’t any other health issues beyond him feeling like shit, so we were able to make it the rest of the way home the next day after crashing at a hotel.

You really want to know?

I died, flatlining one winter morning. Family did first responder, emergency services resuscitated. Hospital, recovery and so on.

And while it might be seen as a wonder I'm alive again we all got out worse from that experience in several ways - nobody cares. Your capacity for work is OK? Well off you go then!

Yesterday I came home to a completely chewed up AirPod Pro that my dog had gotten hold of. All the parts looked to be there except the silicone tip, but I panicked and took him to the vet with the pieces anyway. Turns out the battery was fully intact in the debris I found. So it ended up not being an emergency but it was really scary nonetheless. My fault for not noticing I only had one with me.

broke my fucking ankle at the Dead Baby Downhill Afterparty falling off the side of like a 10 or 15 foot bridge lol

had to go to the hospital. that was a week ago. still here

I pulled into an intersection, with the light, when a car that was screened from me by a row of stopped cars ran the light and t-boned me at around 50 mph. The rolled two full times. It only quit rolling then because it bounced off the side of a van that was sitting on the other side of the intersection. It settled upright. I remember watching the world rotate in front of me and I remember my head bouncing off what would have been pavement if not for the curtain airbag blocking the shattered side window.

The outside of the car was completely shredded, but the passenger compartment was intact. Between that, and a full set of airbags, both I and my passenger came through it unhurt. Not even so much as a headache. The car was a 2016 Subaru Outback. I replaced it with a 2018 Subaru Outback. A couple years later my passenger replaced her car with a 2020 Subaru Outback. I don't expect either of us will buy anything but Subaru for the rest of our lives.

The funny part of the incident was the immediate aftermath. We live in a very friendly large town where a lot of people walk. The car had barely stopped when we were surrounded by a crowd of people offering help. I had a nurse on my side and my passenger had a doctor on hers. They talked us through a basic evaluation. Less than two minutes after the impact, paramedics arrived in an ambulance and took over. (I wouldn't have known the timing, except that the nurse had checked and mentioned it.) After more thorough evaluations we were released.

The guy who hit us did have some injuries, but none of them turned out to be too serious. He had a lot of bruises, a few cuts from broken glass, and a stiff neck. He was horrified at what he had done and took full responsibility when the police got our statements. Apparently he got distracted trying to find his turned and missed the light changing.

No one else was hurt. The light had been changing when it happened and everyone had, amazingly, stayed where they were. The van we bounced off of had some minor damage on the side we hit, but it was still perfectly drivable.

It was the worst situation I've ever seen that resolved so well.

Few years back, storm caused a house fire (started at the meter). But I was near by right when it started, so ran and grabbed one of the fire extinguishers and put out the fire. Had fire dept come and double check for was out. Called insurance to get that ball rolling. Called the electric company too to notify them.

This is nothing compared to what people in active warzones go through on a daily basis, but I got spooked a few years ago when I got an alert on my phone that North Korea had fired a missile toward us.

My kids were terrified. So was I. They asked me if we were going to die. I said I didn't know.

So just now, as it happens, I was out for a walk and suddenly G'rlanshchs the Insatiable started eating the Sun! Luckily I knew how do deal with it and started slaughtering some sheep in a nearby field. For nearly an hour I butchered them by the dozen, crudely slashing with my penknife and shrieking platitudes as loud as I could while G'rlanshchs continued to devour until finally he abated, satisfied with my offering, and regurgitated his meal. The fucking ungrateful farmer, meanwhile, just shouted at me and for some reason kept trying to tell me about his shitty Mitsubishi.