afraid to die?

[RobH4413]

Originally Posted by GhettoDogAllStars

I guess I have been close to my own death, but I don't really consider the experiences significant. I have been in a few serious car accidents, and I got Spinal Meningitis when I was younger.

Spinal Meningitis can be fatal, depending on the form of the illness. They do tests, and for a few days you don't know if you have the incurable type, or the other. For about a week I was paralyzed from the neck down. I couldn't eat or drink anything, and I remember having to be carried to the bathroom. It must have been a terrible experience for my family. I wasn't scared, but I was young, and I don't think anyone ever explained the gravity of the situation to me.

The one time I have been truly scared of death was when my 1-year old niece fell into the pool and drowned. I was awoken by my brother who told me to get up quickly. In a daze, I stumbled outside to find my sister holding her daughter lifeless in her arms, while crying and screaming hysterically. She was blue, wet, and very cold -- it was Christmas eve. I performed CPR on her, and she started to breathe again. It was the most irregular and unnatural breathing I have ever heard. Moments later, the ambulance arrived, and scooped her up and took her to the hospital. She recovered, and to this day there are no affects, but I will never forget that day. It was, by far, the scariest day of my life.

That's an amazing story, I'm glad she's okay. I'm really sorry you had to go through that, but I think it's an incredibly story you two will be able to share. I'm sure you guys have a special connection as it is, and this further emboldened your relationship.

A similar story happened with my three year old cousin, (I wasn't there) but I remember being roused by my hysterical sister saying John had drowned. Unfortunately he wasn't as lucky as your niece, and to this day it's been hard to find any kind of answers from that incident. Of all the trauma I've ever been through (and it's been a substantial amount) that has hit me the hardest.

It's so cliche, but I continually doubted that a God would let something like this happen. It just didn't make sense... but neither does life.

That incident kind of re-defined my life. It was the point in time that I realized that everyone, no matter the case, will be affected by tragedy at some point in time. There will not be a happily ever after story... and our personal ability to roll with those punches help define the kind of people we become, and help those looking up to us understand this same concept.