Have you ever found a life threatening condition and how did you respond to it?

I once found cancer on the street. I didn’t want it so I left it where I found it.

Daily.
Every day a threat.
That’s life.
That’s the point.

I didn’t tell anyone. I lied to my coworkers. I hid it from my best friend. I didn’t even tell my mother. I told coworkers I was visiting my mom while I was actually having surgery. They still don’t know. Talk about being in the closet. I was only truly honest anonymously.
Not asking for support forced me to quickly just get on with life. I truly believe my recovery was much quicker because of it.

I had a misdiagnosis of MS 10 years ago and admit I did not handle it all that well as I was already in a depressed state from 2 months of agonizing pain. I greatly admire people who handle gracefully life changing events like that.

For all those I know who have faced these things I just offer my time to help them have some “normal” time where they can hopefully get a break from the hell they are facing.

@tinyfaery Good move. I left mine in a hospital biohazard bucket.

A couple of times. The first two times, though, I had no idea I was in danger of dying til years later (I almost bled to death when I was 4, and went through thyroid storm at 15), so those don’t count.

Later, during my third pregnancy, my doctors finally drove home the point that there was a very real risk that I might die (kidney disease + pregnancy = bad). Apparently, they’d tried to tell me how dangerous it was before, but I never quite got the idea that it might actually kill me. I freaked out pretty badly once I realized how serious it was. Not so much for me, but the fact that I might A) have to deliver baby # 3 way too early in order to save my life or B) die and leave my two young children without a mother tore me up like crazy. I remember walking all around our town with my then-husband, alternating between falling to pieces and making contingency plans for worst case scenarios. At the same time, we had to come to grips with the idea that if I survived, I’d never be able to have another child, and that was kind of heartbreaking in its own way. After the initial freak-out, having planned for the worst, we carried on hoping for the best. Thank goodness, I was able to hang on to baby # 3 until 3 or 4 weeks before my due date, and we both came through it okay.

@Adirondackwannabe I’m glad you’re okay, too!

I, personally, have not faced a life threatening experience or diagnosis, but I watched my Father die for years. He did it gracefully. I don’t know how he did it, but he did. If I was in his situation, I don’t know how I would have the mindset to tackle the disease they way he did. The support I gave was to keep life as normal as possible. To do things and to talk to him like nothing was wrong. Of course, some things were adapted to his condition, but all in all, we tried to keep it normal.

There were many conditions during my life that made me think I could get breast cancer. When I did, it was kind of, an “Oh, OK. lets take care of it.” The doctor had found it so early that I and other doctors couldn’t feel it until they knew exactly where it was. They did a lumpectomy; I had radiation; and that was that. I know it may come back, but I’m not upset at the possibility. You have to die of something.

In terms of my health; no, I have never faced a life threatening condition. I am like a vintage Timex watch. I take a licking and keep on ticking; but some day it will catch up with me, I know that.

I have though, been in life threatening circumstances and then, I basically shut down; I kind of disassociated. That’s kind of what I’ve got on this one, @Adirondackwannabe; that’s pretty much what I’ve got for you here.

But adore you, so I wanted to answer your question. LOL. I think the Jack and Gingers have gotten to me. :-) Don’t take me too seriously tonight.)

No I haven’t, i’ll cross that bridge if it ever crops up.

@augustlan How did you almost bleed to death when you were 4? What happened?

@Dutchess_III I (*supposedly?) have Von Willebrand disease, but nobody knew it until I had my tonsils out at 4. Still in the hospital, I coughed too hard and ripped out the stitches, and nearly bled to death. The docs then tested my family members and all the women had it. (*I was never officially tested, it was just assumed.)

The one time I came close to dying, I didn’t know at the time how close of a shave it was. I didn’t really understand it at all the whole time I was in the hospital, and I was a total brat. I whined about how I wanted to go home when I should have just been thanking my doctors and nurses for my life.

Wasn’t till I got home and read the goddamn wikipedia article on septic shock and saw the mortality rates that I finally reacted in an appropriate way. My response was to not waste a single instant of my summer. I had learned the value of time.