When I was 17 I was a very different person, as I'm sure most of us were. Weekends were spent drinking and generally having fun with my best friend at the time, Simon. We were just two likely lads about town, out for a laugh and a bit of fun - our eyes always on the lookout for the ladies, like most typical teenagers. Our pride and joy was our hair, me dark brown and his almost blonde, but both immaculately styled into rockabilly quiffs. Oh how I miss my hair.
Not me
We worked together and come Friday afternoon we would clock off and go to his house, crank up the volume on his record player and get ourselves ready for one of our regular weekends filled with fun. We used to go to our nearest big city, Birmingham UK, and hit the rock and rockabilly nightclubs, dark dingy places full of teenage magic. My mother always worried, she feared we would get into some sort of trouble we couldn't handle but, reluctantly, she let us go on our merry way with a stern warning to behave ourselves.
This one particular weekend we decided against it. For some reason my mum had an idea that trouble would find us. In hindsight this proved to be a premonition. To ease her mind we agreed we would stay local. Our nearest pub had a small nightclub on the back and we were known as THE guys, up for fun and mischief, always on the dancefloor and always chasing girls so off we trotted with money in our pockets, our slicked back hair and leather jackets.
This night there was a rumor that a gang from a nearby town was out looking for trouble. Simon and I never looked for a fight but, if one arose, we would not back down and he in particular was quite vicious when it came to it. Sure enough, come 10 o'clock a mob of teenagers assembled outside trying to get past the security guards. A lot of the other patrons had decided that they would confront them. I thought it was a bad idea and continued supping on my beer. Without warning my friend grabbed my arm and said
'Let's go'
My initial thought was that he had decided to leave from the back door but it soon became apparent he wanted to join 'our lot' at the front of the pub. Like a fool I followed him.
We were getting taunted by the other group and insults were traded. Then suddenly Simon ran at them like the occasional lunatic he was. Before I knew it he was surrounded by at least 25 young men. I looked around me and our lot just stood there, watching.
'Well, aren't we going to do something?' I said in desperation. Blank looks and turned heads.
Something inside me clicked. This was my mate, my best mate - almost a brother. I knew he had my back and brotherhood dictated I had his. Before I knew it I ran at the group surrounding him.
I reached them quicker than I expected and promptly started pulling his assailants off him, kicking him while he lay in the middle of the road, curled up to try to protect himself. One by one they started to scatter until there was one left. He turned around as I grabbed him by the shoulder and he hit me. Ok, this is one on one, I can do this. Simon chased after the pack and my fists started flying. My attacker got in more blows. One to the face, my shoulder and upper arm. God did it hurt! Never had I been punched like that! My blood boiled. This one just wasn't going down. I struck him several more times then, in desperation grabbed his arm and swung him around, ripping his sleeve from his jacket. I will never forget the look on his face - it was fear: here was this maniac who kept getting punched who wouldn't back down, and to top it all he has just ripped my arm out of my coat. He ran.
Simon came running back down the road, slightly bruised and dishevelled. His hair was a mess.
'You see them run G?' he asked as he walked over to me.
'You ok man? You're bleeding from your mouth' The iron taste of blood was thick on my lips.
'Yeah, he got some punches in on my face, I'll be ok'. Simon got closer and put his arm on my shoulder.
'Hey thanks man, I don't know wha....whoa dude, you're bleeding!'
He took his hand from my left shoulder and stared at it in disbelief. It was covered in congealed blood.
'Oh man, you got stabbed!'
It was then the pain started to kick in. They felt like punches, strong ones but punches nonetheless. Panic started to set it.
'Let's get you home'
I was about 500 meters away from my house. I barely remember the walk and it seemed to take forever. Energy was draining from me and I struggled to remain conscious. Propping me up Simon helped me home. As we got nearer I recall him shouting.
'G has been stabbed! Get an ambulance!'
A neighbour who was a nurse came rushing out and immediately took control of the situation. She helped Simon get me to my front door and they both began knocking furiously. My mum's face when she saw me is forever etched in my mind. Usually quite stoic and in full control she became an instant wreck. I was led into the kitchen where I dropped onto a chair.
The neighbour called for towels and immediately checked me over.
'Oh God, he's been stabbed three times!'
She stuffed towels into my left shoulder, my right arm and my face. Oblivion beckoned, my vision shrank to a single point of light down a dark tunnel. This is it I thought calmly I'm gonna die. There were echoes of my mum crying, screaming for someone to do something. The screams seemed to come from the distant. I was falling, deeper and deeper into the abyss.
To this day I believe I had a near death experience. One minute all was dark and the next I was floating above my body, looking down at everyone surrounding my now unconscious form, trying to stop me from dying as they stood in pools of my blood. I saw the nurse tilt my head back. My dead eyes looked back up at me. She blew into my dead mouth once, twice, three times. Suddenly I felt myself rush back into my body, jerk forward and vomit what looked like tar. It was blood.
My journey to the hospital was a blur and I recall little of that night's events, just vague recollections of being stitched up in the shoulder and arm. My face was dressed and left for the next day - the specialist plastic surgeon wasn't on duty. I awoke the next morning in a room all by myself. I was stiff and I hurt like I had never experienced before. I struggled to swing my legs off the bed but managed to shuffle across the room to the basin. I was curious, I needed to know how bad it was. I looked into the mirror above the sink and began to peel back the dressing on my chin. The next thing I recall is two nurses picking me up from the floor, I had feinted. My face looked like that of The Predator, a great big gash from my bottom lip down my chin, open and oozing.
I lost almost half of my blood that night. The wound to my right shoulder was so deep that it missed the top of my lung by millimeters. I spent a good eight weeks in bed recovering, hardly able to move and having all my meals through a straw. The scars are still there, although faded now. It changed my life. I stopped going out, I avoided crowds and I became very introverted. My shoulder still hurt from time to time and there is still a numbness in my face even 30 years later.
Source 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
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having killed myself in a motorcycle accident when I was almost 18,and having an experience of near death,tunnel of light and warm joyous meeting w/(?),and being told it was not my time yet!
I am always interested in others story of near death.
that accident was both a blessing and a curse!
it changed my whole life,in more ways than one. It caused permanent brain damage,and kept me out of the military.
It is also one of the reasons that I believe in something greater than us,even if I can not put it into a single religion ,but rather a pervasive energy...
thanks for sharing
namaste
I have zero religion but became rather spiritual after my experience. Events since have convinced me there is something more
I have some crazy theories!...lol...
:-)
comes from to much reading... dangerous habit , that is!
lol...
hope you have a great day!
:-)
Glad you pulled through it
This post received a 2.0% upvote from @randowhale thanks to @gmuxx! For more information, click here!
Hey man this is just like in the movies, could serve as a movie script, any way you got lucky. I think you should start a writing group.
Thank you for the compliments. There is going to be a writing group soon but I am not qualified to lead it. Follow the wonderful @rhondak - she is a published writer with far better skills
ok, I will check her out
That's a pretty crazy story! no joke getting stabbed like that. Kinda lucky too you didn't get a concussion or knock some teeth out when you passed out looking at your predator face lol Glad you made it, but at least you had a cool nickname "G" :)
Thanks
Yes, very crazy story! Was it like this when you floated out of your body?
wonderful story :)
You write really well, quite talented G
It's hard for me to read a story this long but this time was easy because of all the small details that you find in a Stephen King book .
All is well when it ends well, right ?
How is Simon ?
We lost touch many years ago.
That's pretty crazy. Thanks for sharing. And a good reminder to listen to a be women's intuition, it isn't usually wrong.
Indeed. My mother has had similar premonitions since, I always heed them
Happy that you're still alive my friend. <3
As am I 😁
Sheesh! Crazy story man. My buddies and I also did some really stupid and risky things when we were younger. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing. We shouldn't have been there and it shouldn't have happened.
Thanks for your comments
hey G, sucks bro, I got unlucky like this too, my car was blocking a driveway, i got yelled at, then what I thought was getting punched, so I lifted my arm to block my head, and bad choice, I got stabbed between the ribs, punctured my lung and missed my heart.
got a mighty scar for it but all turned out ok ^_^
Oh geez, glad you are ok.
I bet you have an awesome battle scar :D
Jebus mate, glad you got out of it with your life, I know what it's like to be abused like this, the scars never heal. D;
Indeed. Some part of me is still that 17 year old scared kid
Stay strong and soldier on.
Fight the good fight.
You might have lost that particular battle, but you are still fighting the war.
Much respect for this.
Thank you
WOW what a horrible thing to have happen to you. My goodness--that one gave me chills. Half your blood volume. . .definitely flirting with the Reaper, there. Thank God you lived through it to tell the story!
Thank you. The outward scars have long healed, those inside not so much.
Oh, chills for days. Indeed.
Your story inspired me Muxxy. Thank you for sharing you very eye opening experience and brush with death - 3 stabs oh man you're one lucky dude.
#PraiseSomethingGreaterThatsNotReligionThatYoureStillHere
A riveting read...a real corker as you Brits say.
I have some tears in my eyes from the emotions I felt for you as I read the final lines... "It changed my life. I stopped going out, I avoided crowds and I became very introverted." I so wish this wasn't so...you kinda did lose your life that night...I'm sorry.
Thank you for your comments.
In a way, yes I did. But I strongly believe things happen for a reason and maybe it had to happen to shape the man I now am
As do I...didn't mean to imply...just sharing the fact your story brought up deep emotion in this reader. That is a time tested mark for true art...is it not? ~smiles fer miles~
~may all hatred cease...let there be peace~
Thank you very much for saying so.
Scary story man but very well written! Keep up the good work. I'll keep your back here at steemit. 😉
Thanks dude
i also having an experience of accident when i was 20 and i really fought with death
Glad you got through it
Wow, that's quite a story G; you're a lucky guy!
That kinda crap is precisely why I never go out on New Years. A friend of mine had a similar incident; almost died. Scary shit.
peace brother
Thank you
Holy crap dude, you had one heck of a close call. You definitely lucked out in more way then one that night, even if some bad luck started it. I'm glad to hear your recovery went fairly well. Thank you so much for sharing your story!!!
A night to remember for sure
Thank you
Wow, this is quite the story! Sounds like you are lucky indeed to live and tell the story.