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The Scariest Moment of My Life: A Brush with Fear

Table of contents, the setting, the encounter, the unseen threat, the fight or flight instinct, the aftermath.

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The scariest moment of my life, sometimes you realize how lucky you got..

In my eighteen years of life, lots of things have startled me.

Whether it was a cheesy scary movie at five, a haunted house at seven, or the crippling fear of rejection at fourteen, my life had been evenly sprinkled with spicy bits of fear. However, most of these things were mundane and harmless. A scary movie or an uninterested person isn’t going to kill you, after all. But, as I recall all the scariest moments in my life, one sticks out in a way that brutally reminds me of how precious life is.

When I was eleven years old, my parents had a pretty messy divorce which resulted in my dad moving out. It was a confusing time for everyone, but my mom had no intention of keeping me away from my dad and wanted me to be around him.

So, every weekend or so, I would stop over his house for about a few hours. My dad wasn’t exactly sober enough to do anything constructive with me, so I ended up being bored a lot of the time. I realized a friend of mine from elementary school lived very nearby, so I would take the short walk to visit her. That’s when she told me about the neighbors.

“Watch out for the people next door to me,” she told me sternly. “They’re really weird. My friend told me that they killed somebody once.”

My eyes lit up the way any inquisitive 11-year-old’s eyes would when hearing a juicy urban legend.

“Really?” I said excitedly. “That’s so crazy!”

My friend nodded. “Yeah, but seriously, you better watch out. They drive around super late at night and they’re really sketchy.”

I nodded back, filled with revulsion and excitement that someone so interesting lived nearby. When I left to walk home, I took special note of the house next door. It was white and small and unassuming, with a big white truck sitting innocuously in the driveway tucked behind the house’s right wall. The lawn was trimmed, and a dog barked in the backyard.

I remember telling my dad about it, but he brushed it off. Dad isn’t really one to believe rumors, and he’s certainly a people-pleaser. He told me that he never heard of anyone in our town being prosecuted for murder, let alone in this neighborhood. Being more liable to listen to my dad, I agreed with him. But, the thought of something so terrifying stuck in my mind.

Months after my friend had first told me about her neighbors, I got my first skateboard. My mom had won it in a raffle at her job, and it was a big beautiful longboard beast. After fearfully gripping the car for a few weeks as I learned to balance on it, I soon got the hang of using it and wanted to skate further and further distances. So, one day, my dad and I took a walk.

We walked down the isolated street and up the hill it was paved over. When the street connected to the highway, we turned back and I jumped on my board. My dad urged me to be careful, but I insisted I would be fine. I sped further and further away until I realized I had arrived at the crest of the hill.

My heart pounding with excitement, I pushed off and sped down the hill. My dad’s figure became smaller and smaller until even his yells for me to slow down were overtaken by my joyous laughter.

Eventually, I reached the end of the hill and my board slowed down. I realized I was right by my friend’s house, and I smiled. Maybe I could see them and show them my cool new skateboard. Suddenly, a big white truck tore out of the little white house’s driveway.

I coasted my board into the grass and grabbed it, deciding it was a good time to wait for my dad to catch up. I fully expected the car to pass me, so I was caught by surprise when I heard a chirpy “Hey there, kid!” coming from the car that had slowly stopped.

I shot my head up. Two greasy looking men were staring at me. One looked young, maybe in his twenties, the other looked older than my father. They were both smiling big toothy yellow grins. One of them waved, their hand stained with soot and dirt. “That’s a really cool board!” they said, not dropping their grin.

“Thanks,” I said, more confused than scared. Adults never usually talked to me, especially strangers. “It’s new.” Despite not fearing them, I took an instinctive step back.

“Can we-” one started, when the other suddenly slapped him on the leg. The man looked through the windshield, immediately hit the gas, and sped off. There was my dad, running towards me and panting. I started to question why he was running, but he immediately began lecturing me on the dangers of strangers and asking me why I would ever talk to someone in a car.

At first, I didn’t see the big deal, but when I got home, I realized how stupid I had been. They were everything a Stranger Danger video would tell you to run away from screaming. I was shaken up and nearly cried every time I saw a white truck pass through our neighborhood, but thankfully I was okay. I told my mom about it, and she too gave me a lecture. But after that, that was the end of it.

My dad moved to a new house about a year later. It was a lovely home that we shared with the house owner and her older son. It was nestled back into the woods and was one of only a couple other homes. It was really only half a mile from my dad’s old house, so not much changed other than the address. I was much closer to my friend’s house, to my delight. But, I was also close to her neighbor’s house, too.

This was around the time I got into creepypasta. The horrifying little stories kept me awake all night but excited me like no other form of media. I would pass my boring days at dad’s house reading the stories, scaring myself so bad I couldn’t go into certain parts of the house alone. It was so much fun.

One of the staples of creepypasta is the infamous Slenderman, the tall faceless being that, if seen, would track you down until it got the chance to eat you alive. For whatever reason, I wanted to find it. Much in the same way people try to find Bigfoot or aliens, my quest was to find the Slenderman. I wanted to become his ally so I would never have to fear him again.

So, I looked up all I could on him to see what I would have to do. While some of the “manuals” on how to summon him involved salt, chanting, and chicken sacrifice, I decided to go the much tamer route and find him in his natural habitat. The woods. And luckily for me, there was a trail across the street that could lead me deep into the forest.

So, I grabbed a bottle of water and set out.

At dad’s house, I gained a lot of early independence. When your dad is drunk as a skunk all the time, it’s easy to slip out of the house. I tossed him a vague goodbye as he vegged out on the couch and set off. The second I reached the trail, I knew I had come at just the right time. The sun was setting, casting lilac and burgundy light into the fading blue sky. Perfect.

I walked down the trail cautiously. I was playing music in one ear to relax, but the other was sharply tuned to pick up any foreign noise. Soon, the entrance to the trail became shrouded in trees and growing darkness, and I was alone.

I scanned the infinite amount of trunks, searching for a snippet of a white face or a black suit in the sea of green leaves and bushes. My heart was thumping in my chest, but I pressed on. Thankfully, I had been walking on these trails before. My dad loved nature and exercise, and he took me out into the woods on bright warm days.

The bitter sting of winter wind did not affect my memory of the right twists and turns to take to get back to the road. However, as the sun dipped lower and lower and my fear grew at every snap of a twig or leaf, my woefully small common sense screamed that it was time to go back home. I turned around, ready to walk back the way I came.

I saw a man on the trail.

Now, these were public trails. It often had a couple cars parked around it in the daytime during hunting season. But, this was no hunter. No orange vest, no camouflage, nothing. Just a dirty white shirt and shorts. He wasn’t even walking the trail, he was just stopped in the middle of the dirt path, staring at me. I was frozen in horrible burning fright.

Suddenly, a bang. A hunter from a dozen yards off shot his gun. Like the starting shot in a race, I turned and ran. I cut through the woods, crashing through thickets and bushes and spiderwebs, running on pure adrenaline. Thankfully, I was very close to the road. I ran through someone's backyard and onto the main road, only yards from the entrance to my neighborhood. I ran all the way home and never looked back.

My dad moved house again only a few months later, settling down in a development miles away.

I’ve never told anyone about my evening in the woods. I have no idea who the man was –– if he was one of my friend’s neighbors or just a dude who spooked me on the trail. I debated with myself about the culprit, but I’ll never know for sure. I just know that whoever it was, they were not friendly.

No one stops dead in the middle of a trail like that. No one.

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25 beatles lyrics: your go-to guide for every situation, the best lines from the fab four.

For as long as I can remember, I have been listening to The Beatles. Every year, my mom would appropriately blast “Birthday” on anyone’s birthday. I knew all of the words to “Back In The U.S.S.R” by the time I was 5 (Even though I had no idea what or where the U.S.S.R was). I grew up with John, Paul, George, and Ringo instead Justin, JC, Joey, Chris and Lance (I had to google N*SYNC to remember their names). The highlight of my short life was Paul McCartney in concert twice. I’m not someone to “fangirl” but those days I fangirled hard. The music of The Beatles has gotten me through everything. Their songs have brought me more joy, peace, and comfort. I can listen to them in any situation and find what I need. Here are the best lyrics from The Beatles for every and any occasion.

And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make

The End- Abbey Road, 1969

The sun is up, the sky is blue, it's beautiful and so are you

Dear Prudence- The White Album, 1968

Love is old, love is new, love is all, love is you

Because- Abbey Road, 1969

There's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be

All You Need Is Love, 1967

Life is very short, and there's no time for fussing and fighting, my friend

We Can Work It Out- Rubber Soul, 1965

He say, "I know you, you know me", One thing I can tell you is you got to be free

Come Together- Abbey Road, 1969

Oh please, say to me, You'll let me be your man. And please say to me, You'll let me hold your hand

I Wanna Hold Your Hand- Meet The Beatles!, 1964

It was twenty years ago today, Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play. They've been going in and out of style, but they're guaranteed to raise a smile

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band-1967

Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see

Strawberry Fields Forever- Magical Mystery Tour, 1967

Can you hear me? When it rains and shine, it's just a state of mind

Rain- Paperback Writer "B" side, 1966

Little darling, it's been long cold lonely winter. Little darling, it feels like years since it' s been here. Here comes the sun, Here comes the sun, and I say it's alright

Here Comes The Sun- Abbey Road, 1969

We danced through the night and we held each other tight, and before too long I fell in love with her. Now, I'll never dance with another when I saw her standing there

Saw Her Standing There- Please Please Me, 1963

I love you, I love you, I love you, that's all I want to say

Michelle- Rubber Soul, 1965

You say you want a revolution. Well you know, we all want to change the world

Revolution- The Beatles, 1968

All the lonely people, where do they all come from. All the lonely people, where do they all belong

Eleanor Rigby- Revolver, 1966

Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends

With A Little Help From My Friends- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967

Hey Jude, don't make it bad. Take a sad song and make it better

Hey Jude, 1968

Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away. Now it looks as though they're here to stay. Oh, I believe in yesterday

Yesterday- Help!, 1965

And when the brokenhearted people, living in the world agree, there will be an answer, let it be.

Let It Be- Let It Be, 1970

And anytime you feel the pain, Hey Jude, refrain. Don't carry the world upon your shoulders

I'll give you all i got to give if you say you'll love me too. i may not have a lot to give but what i got i'll give to you. i don't care too much for money. money can't buy me love.

Can't Buy Me Love- A Hard Day's Night, 1964

All you need is love, love is all you need

All You Need Is Love- Magical Mystery Tour, 1967

Whisper words of wisdom, let it be

Blackbird singing in the dead of night, take these broken wings and learn to fly. all your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise.

Blackbird- The White Album, 1968

Though I know I'll never lose affection, for people and things that went before. I know I'll often stop and think about them. In my life, I love you more

In My Life- Rubber Soul, 1965

While these are my 25 favorites, there are quite literally 1000s that could have been included. The Beatles' body of work is massive and there is something for everyone. If you have been living under a rock and haven't discovered the Fab Four, you have to get musically educated. Stream them on Spotify, find them on iTunes or even buy a CD or record (Yes, those still exist!). I would suggest starting with 1, which is a collection of most of their #1 songs, or the 1968 White Album. Give them chance and you'll never look back.

14 Invisible Activities: Unleash Your Inner Ghost!

Obviously the best superpower..

The best superpower ever? Being invisible of course. Imagine just being able to go from seen to unseen on a dime. Who wouldn't want to have the opportunity to be invisible? Superman and Batman have nothing on being invisible with their superhero abilities. Here are some things that you could do while being invisible, because being invisible can benefit your social life too.

1. "Haunt" your friends.

Follow them into their house and cause a ruckus.

2. Sneak into movie theaters.

Going to the cinema alone is good for your mental health , says science

Considering that the monthly cost of subscribing to a media-streaming service like Netflix is oft...

Free movies...what else to I have to say?

3. Sneak into the pantry and grab a snack without judgment.

Late night snacks all you want? Duh.

4. Reenact "Hollow Man" and play Kevin Bacon.

America's favorite son? And feel what it's like to be in a MTV Movie Award nominated film? Sign me up.

5. Wear a mask and pretend to be a floating head.

Just another way to spook your friends in case you wanted to.

6. Hold objects so they'll "float."

"Oh no! A floating jar of peanut butter."

7. Win every game of hide-and-seek.

Just stand out in the open and you'll win.

8. Eat some food as people will watch it disappear.

Even everyday activities can be funny.

9. Go around pantsing your friends.

Even pranks can be done; not everything can be good.

10. Not have perfect attendance.

You'll say here, but they won't see you...

11. Avoid anyone you don't want to see.

Whether it's an ex or someone you hate, just use your invisibility to slip out of the situation.

12. Avoid responsibilities.

Chores? Invisible. People asking about social life? Invisible. Family being rude? Boom, invisible.

13. Be an expert on ding-dong-ditch.

Never get caught and have the adrenaline rush? I'm down.

14. Brag about being invisible.

Be the envy of the town.

But don't, I repeat, don't go in a locker room. Don't be a pervert with your power. No one likes a Peeping Tom.

Good luck, folks.

19 Lessons I'll Never Forget from Growing Up In a Small Town

There have been many lessons learned..

Small towns certainly have their pros and cons. Many people who grow up in small towns find themselves counting the days until they get to escape their roots and plant new ones in bigger, "better" places. And that's fine. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought those same thoughts before too. We all have, but they say it's important to remember where you came from. When I think about where I come from, I can't help having an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for my roots. Being from a small town has taught me so many important lessons that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

1. The importance of traditions.

Sometimes traditions seem like a silly thing, but the fact of it is that it's part of who you are. You grew up this way and, more than likely, so did your parents. It is something that is part of your family history and that is more important than anything.

2. How to be thankful for family and friends.

No matter how many times they get on your nerves or make you mad, they are the ones who will always be there and you should never take that for granted.

3. How to give back.

When tragedy strikes in a small town, everyone feels obligated to help out because, whether directly or indirectly, it affects you too. It is easy in a bigger city to be able to disconnect from certain problems. But in a small town those problems affect everyone.

4. What the word "community" really means.

Along the same lines as #3, everyone is always ready and willing to lend a helping hand when you need one in a small town and to me that is the true meaning of community. It's working together to build a better atmosphere, being there to raise each other up, build each other up, and pick each other up when someone is in need. A small town community is full of endless support whether it be after a tragedy or at a hometown sports game. Everyone shows up to show their support.

5. That it isn't about the destination, but the journey.

People say this to others all the time, but it takes on a whole new meaning in a small town. It is true that life is about the journey, but when you're from a small town, you know it's about the journey because the journey probably takes longer than you spend at the destination. Everything is so far away that it is totally normal to spend a couple hours in the car on your way to some form of entertainment. And most of the time, you're gonna have as many, if not more, memories and laughs on the journey than at the destination.

6. The consequences of making bad choices.

Word travels fast in a small town, so don't think you're gonna get away with anything. In fact, your parents probably know what you did before you even have a chance to get home and tell them. And forget about being scared of what your teacher, principle, or other authority figure is going to do, you're more afraid of what your parents are gonna do when you get home.

7. To trust people, until you have a reason not to.

Everyone deserves a chance. Most people don't have ill-intentions and you can't live your life guarding against every one else just because a few people in your life have betrayed your trust.

8. To be welcoming and accepting of everyone.

While small towns are not always extremely diverse, they do contain people with a lot of different stories, struggle, and backgrounds. In a small town, it is pretty hard to exclude anyone because of who they are or what they come from because there aren't many people to choose from. A small town teaches you that just because someone isn't the same as you, doesn't mean you can't be great friends.

9. How to be my own, individual person.

In a small town, you learn that it's okay to be who you are and do your own thing. You learn that confidence isn't how beautiful you are or how much money you have, it's who you are on the inside.

10. How to work for what I want.

Nothing comes easy in life. They always say "gardens don't grow overnight" and if you're from a small town you know this both figuratively and literally. You certainly know gardens don't grow overnight because you've worked in a garden or two. But you also know that to get to the place you want to be in life it takes work and effort. It doesn't just happen because you want it to.

11. How to be great at giving directions.

If you're from a small town, you know that you will probably only meet a handful of people in your life who ACTUALLY know where your town is. And forget about the people who accidentally enter into your town because of google maps. You've gotten really good at giving them directions right back to the interstate.

12. How to be humble .

My small town has definitely taught me how to be humble. It isn't always about you, and anyone who grows up in a small town knows that. Everyone gets their moment in the spotlight, and since there's so few of us, we're probably best friends with everyone so we are as excited when they get their moment of fame as we are when we get ours.

13. To be well-rounded.

Going to a small town high school definitely made me well-rounded. There isn't enough kids in the school to fill up all the clubs and sports teams individually so be ready to be a part of them all.

14. How to be great at conflict resolution.

In a small town, good luck holding a grudge. In a bigger city you can just avoid a person you don't like or who you've had problems with. But not in a small town. You better resolve the issue fast because you're bound to see them at least 5 times a week.

15. The beauty of getting outside and exploring.

One of my favorite things about growing up in a rural area was being able to go outside and go exploring and not have to worry about being in danger. There is nothing more exciting then finding a new place somewhere in town or in the woods and just spending time there enjoying the natural beauty around you.

16. To be prepared for anything.

You never know what may happen. If you get a flat tire, you better know how to change it yourself because you never know if you will be able to get ahold of someone else to come fix it. Mechanics might be too busy , or more than likely you won't even have enough cell service to call one.

17. That you don't always have to do it alone.

It's okay to ask for help. One thing I realized when I moved away from my town for college, was how much my town has taught me that I could ask for help is I needed it. I got into a couple situations outside of my town where I couldn't find anyone to help me and found myself thinking, if I was in my town there would be tons of people ready to help me. And even though I couldn't find anyone to help, you better believe I wasn't afraid to ask.

18. How to be creative.

When you're at least an hour away from normal forms of entertainment such as movie theaters and malls, you learn to get real creative in entertaining yourself. Whether it be a night looking at the stars in the bed of a pickup truck or having a movie marathon in a blanket fort at home, you know how to make your own good time.

19. To brush off gossip.

It's all about knowing the person you are and not letting others influence your opinion of yourself. In small towns, there is plenty of gossip. But as long as you know who you really are, it will always blow over.

Grateful Beyond Words: A Letter to My Inspiration

I have never been so thankful to know you..

I can't say "thank you" enough to express how grateful I am for you coming into my life. You have made such a huge impact on my life. I would not be the person I am today without you and I know that you will keep inspiring me to become an even better version of myself.

You have taught me that you don't always have to strong. You are allowed to break down as long as you pick yourself back up and keep moving forward. When life had you at your worst moments, you allowed your friends to be there for you and to help you. You let them in and they helped pick you up. Even in your darkest hour you showed so much strength. I know that you don't believe in yourself as much as you should but you are unbelievably strong and capable of anything you set your mind to.

Your passion to make a difference in the world is unbelievable. You put your heart and soul into your endeavors and surpass any personal goal you could have set. Watching you do what you love and watching you make a difference in the lives of others is an incredible experience. The way your face lights up when you finally realize what you have accomplished is breathtaking and I hope that one day I can have just as much passion you have.

SEE MORE: A Letter To My Best Friend On Her Birthday

The love you have for your family is outstanding. Watching you interact with loved ones just makes me smile . You are so comfortable and you are yourself. I see the way you smile when you are around family and I wish I could see you smile like this everyday. You love with all your heart and this quality is something I wished I possessed.

You inspire me to be the best version of myself. I look up to you. I feel that more people should strive to have the strength and passion that you exemplify in everyday life.You may be stubborn at points but when you really need help you let others in, which shows strength in itself. I have never been more proud to know someone and to call someone my role model. You have taught me so many things and I want to thank you. Thank you for inspiring me in life. Thank you for making me want to be a better person.

Waitlisted for a College Class? Here's What to Do!

Dealing with the inevitable realities of college life..

Course registration at college can be a big hassle and is almost never talked about. Classes you want to take fill up before you get a chance to register. You might change your mind about a class you want to take and must struggle to find another class to fit in the same time period. You also have to make sure no classes clash by time. Like I said, it's a big hassle.

This semester, I was waitlisted for two classes. Most people in this situation, especially first years, freak out because they don't know what to do. Here is what you should do when this happens.

Don't freak out

This is a rule you should continue to follow no matter what you do in life, but is especially helpful in this situation.

Email the professor

Around this time, professors are getting flooded with requests from students wanting to get into full classes. This doesn't mean you shouldn't burden them with your email; it means they are expecting interested students to email them. Send a short, concise message telling them that you are interested in the class and ask if there would be any chance for you to get in.

Attend the first class

Often, the advice professors will give you when they reply to your email is to attend the first class. The first class isn't the most important class in terms of what will be taught. However, attending the first class means you are serious about taking the course and aren't going to give up on it.

Keep attending class

Every student is in the same position as you are. They registered for more classes than they want to take and are "shopping." For the first couple of weeks, you can drop or add classes as you please, which means that classes that were once full will have spaces. If you keep attending class and keep up with assignments, odds are that you will have priority. Professors give preference to people who need the class for a major and then from higher to lower class year (senior to freshman).

Have a backup plan

For two weeks, or until I find out whether I get into my waitlisted class, I will be attending more than the usual number of classes. This is so that if I don't get into my waitlisted class, I won't have a credit shortage and I won't have to fall back in my backup class. Chances are that enough people will drop the class, especially if it is very difficult like computer science, and you will have a chance. In popular classes like art and psychology, odds are you probably won't get in, so prepare for that.

Remember that everything works out at the end

Life is full of surprises. So what if you didn't get into the class you wanted? Your life obviously has something else in store for you. It's your job to make sure you make the best out of what you have.

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Home — Essay Samples — Life — Personal Experience — Best Moment Of My Life

Best Moment of My Life

• Categories: Personal Experience Self Reflection

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Published: Jun 6, 2024

Words: 906 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read

Table of contents

The unexpected journey, a moment of connection, the ripple effect, reflections and future aspirations.

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• The scariest moment of my life

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knowing your own body

Photo section, video example of the bone marrow biopsy - not mine.

Back home and more

Timeline - UPDATE IN Aug 7, 2012.

Timeline - update in aug 10, 2012., timeline - update in aug 14, 2012., timeline - update in aug 16, 2012..

Timeline - UPDATE IN Aug 21, 2012.

Timeline - update in sep 4, 2012..

Timeline - UPDATE IN Sep 10, 2012.

Timeline - update in sep 19, 2012., timeline - update in oct 2, 2012..

Timeline - UPDATE IN Oct 16, 2012.

Timeline - UPDATE IN Oct 21, 2012.

Timeline - UPDATE IN Oct 23, 2012.

Timeline - update in oct 29, 2012., timeline - update in nov 15, 2012., timeline - update in dec 13, 2012., timeline - update in dec 21, 2012..

Timeline - UPDATE IN Mar 16, 2013.

Timeline - update in apr 3, 2013..

More news about my condition.

As some of you already know, I went to the hospital to start the second fase of my treatment, the part called “consolidation”, which will be done in 4 rounds of chemo, each one of them works this way:

Day 1 – Chemo on the vain for 3 hours; [March21 st ]

Day 2 – Rest;

Day 3 - Chemo on the vain for 3 hours; [March23 rd ]

Day 4 – Rest;

Day 5 - Chemo on the vain for 3 hours. [March25 th ]

Note: The dose I am taking now is 18 times stronger than the first round! Wow…But only of the white stuff called Araçatyn (AKA “Ara-C” here), not the toxic killing motherfuxxxx red stuff named by me “Strawberry juice”, that is a killer dudes…And the dose of Ara-C runs in just 3 hours, 8 times faster. Mannnn this is crazy! :P

First round already done (see dates above). After that all I have to do is to wait for the bone marrow to wake up, just like the first stage of chemo, and go home to a month of rest before the next round.

From March 20 th to March 26 th  I did the first round of consolidation and went home, never felt nothing more then a light headache, that was it. And this was on the first dose, first day only. Never felt sick and not even one vomit. Perfect. Easy.

But, as expected, the blood cells count went down and after a week at home I came back to the hospital at April 1 st  to be admitted again with only 8.000 of platelets. Normal, expected, not a problem. So I am here since then, and I had a platelets transfusion on April 1 st , yesterday and I’ll have another one today in a few hours.

All I have to do is to wait for the bone marrow behaviour to know if I’ll go home tomorrow or not, because so far, everything went down but not all the way down. Just platelets. So I still have imune system and all that working at aprox 60% of normal. Good enough to go home and even do some exercises. :^)

After the first platelets transfusion my number went up to 22.000;

After the second platelets transfusion my number went up to 30.000.

That was the result of the last blood test done at 1:00am today. So, this is pretty acurate so far.

Once more, my response to the treatment so far was perfect, my bone marrow appear to be completely healthy, no blast cells on my blood or bone marrow for 55 days now!!! Hell yeah!!! The tests (myelogram) not even detect any signs of a sick bone marrow…Of course, I am as happy as Ican be…

If anything new happens in the next days, I’ll let you guys know.

Cheers and again thanks for all good vibes,

High mountains and low oxygen levels for us all,

Timeline - UPDATE IN Apr 24, 2013.

After mylast update, I had to be admitted again for one more platelets transfusion, for three days (between april 11 th and april 13 th ), and then I came home for good. Now I am recuperating from the last chemo and already with the next round on my door step, next week. Tomorrow I’ll see my hematologist and she’s gonna ask for my health insurance the authorization to the set of chemo and here I go again, another 8 to 10 days in the hospital while all my friends go to mountains. That’s a pain in the ass, but, what can I do?

So far so good.  I reached 69,5kg. Good.

Cheersfolks

Timeline - UPDATE IN Apr 26, 2013.

Timeline - UPDATE IN May 9, 2013.

As some most of you already know, I went to the hospital to start the third fase of my treatment, the part called “consolidation”, which will be done in 4 rounds of chemo, and this was my second round, done this way:

Day 1 - Admitted to the hospital [April 30th]

Day 2 – Chemo on the vain for 3 hours; [May 1 st ]

>8 hours rest

Day 3 – Rest;

Day 4 - Chemo on the vain for 3 hours; [May 3 rd ]

>10 hours rest

Day 5 – Rest;

Day 6 - Chemo on the vain for 3 hours. [May 5 th ]

Timeline - UPDATE IN May 12, 2013.

Timeline - UPDATE IN May 31, 2013.

Timeline - UPDATE IN June 19, 2013.

Right now I'm back in the hospital for the fourth fase of my treatment, the part called “consolidation”, which will be done in 4 rounds of chemo, and this was my third round, done this way:

Day 1 - Admitted to the hospital [June 11st]

Day 2 – Chemo on the vain for 3 hours; [June 12th]

Day 4 - Chemo on the vain for 3 hours; [June 14th]

Day 6 - Chemo on the vain for 3 hours. [June 16th]

Timeline - UPDATE IN Aug 17, 2013.

Came back in the hospital for the last fase of my treatment, the part called “consolidation”, which was done in 4 rounds of chemo, and this was my fourth and last round, done this way:

Day 1 - Admitted to the hospital [Aug 3rd]

Day 2 - Rest, tests ( tenth myelogram)

Day 3 – Chemo on the vain for 3 hours; [Aug 5th]

>9 hours rest

Day 5 - Chemo on the vain for 3 hours; [Aug 7th]

Day 6 – Rest;

Day 7 - Chemo on the vain for 3 hours. [Aug 9th]

Timeline - UPDATE IN NOV 17, 2013.

View The scariest moment of my life Image Gallery - 29 Images

Marcsoltan - Aug 1, 2012 12:07 pm - Voted 10/10

Dear friend Paulo, I couldn't put it better than Roberto, but at least I can second him. I would like to give you 100x10 for all that you are, your character, your will power, your smile and your mind. Thank you for sharing your story, I know that it must have taken a lot of courage. We are all keeping our fingers crossed for you. Best of luck mi amigo, Marc

PAROFES - Aug 3, 2012 6:25 am - Hasn't voted

Dear Marc, Actually it doesnt take nothing of courage. My life is an open book, I don't have secrets from nobody. And besides, I think that the more people know about this, the more is the positive vibrations for me. :^) Thank you for the kind words my friend Paulo

KoenVl - Aug 1, 2012 1:05 pm - Voted 10/10

... you all the best of luck Paulo, and a hopefully speedy recovery! As it's been said above, and as others will probably say as well, it shows a lot courage to share this story on SP. Courage one has to have to overcome situations like the one your facing now. Earlier today I was going trough the 'jump' album of you on SP, and when looking at you on many of those photo's with a smile from ear to ear, it looks clear to me, this person has the courage and will to live to overcome this (which I really hope (even though I don't know you in person (unfortunatly I think))! Best of luck! Koen

PAROFES - Aug 3, 2012 6:29 am - Hasn't voted

Well Koen as I said to Marc one doesn't need courage to share this, but to fight with it, oh yes. And I have what it takes, believe me. I am facing this as high mountain, a very steep high mountain around 8000m, and I have to overcome. Not very difficult for us I guess hehehe About the jumps, to jump is fun, gives us plenty of fun photos, and I like to spread the joy! hehehe but remember, on this album, both of them, there is jumping photos from several spers, not just me. Cheers buddy! Paulo

Alberto Rampini - Aug 1, 2012 1:26 pm - Voted 10/10

encorauge you also if...you don't need that!!! You're really a strong man and like Rob i'm wishing you "in bocca al lupo"!!! alberto

PAROFES - Aug 3, 2012 6:32 am - Hasn't voted

Thanks Alberto! First of all I have to find out what I have, then I'll start punching the disease on the face and see what happens ahahahaha Ciao, Paulo

Silvia Mazzani - Aug 3, 2012 9:26 am - Voted 10/10

My dear friend Paulo, a very great man said: "The highest mountain we must climb is inside us"... his name is Walter Bonatti. I wish your mountain will be low, very low and easy, very easy! All the best for you. silvia

PAROFES - Aug 3, 2012 9:56 am - Hasn't voted

Well then it wouldn't be fun! :) Just kidding hehehe Thanks Silvia for the positive thoughts. Ciao, Paulo

Inday - Aug 3, 2012 2:07 pm - Voted 10/10

Parofes, I'm devastated to hear about this. Those few weeks in Ecuador I spent with you are a fond highlight in my climbing career, special not for the mountains but because of the partners. I will be thinking of you a lot over the coming days as I await your update.

PAROFES - Aug 4, 2012 5:30 am - Hasn't voted

Thanks very much for your words buddy! Climbs with you in Ecuador were very fun. Even more, I made a new friend! Well a vegetarian one but no one is perfect right? ahahahahahah (I could not miss the chance of a joke!) As soon as I get new answers this will be updated. Cheers man Paulo

MoapaPk - Aug 5, 2012 10:18 am - Voted 10/10

Hope for the best.

PAROFES - Aug 6, 2012 7:19 am - Hasn't voted

Thanks man, you don't have to hope, it will be! :)

markhallam - Aug 5, 2012 10:21 am - Voted 10/10

I am so sorry to learn of your illness. I know little about CML - it isn't my field - but I do know there have been huge advances in treatment - and here's hoping you will be back on the big ones again before too long. Very best wishes Paulo Mark

PAROFES - Aug 6, 2012 7:23 am - Hasn't voted

Yeah Mark, this was a real kick in the nuts, but it hasn't been so bad actually. Despite the abdominal pain and the pimples, shortness of breath, nothing else is going on. I know it is a blood disorder, but which one, I think only Doctors can figure that out... You're right, I'll be back on my feet in no time! Cheers Paulo

Stu Brandel - Aug 5, 2012 10:33 am - Voted 10/10

Your attitude is inspirational. May God Bless!

PAROFES - Aug 6, 2012 7:26 am - Hasn't voted

Hey man! Good to see you here. Thanks a lot, I'm sure I'll be okay soon. Cheers!

sharperblue - Aug 5, 2012 12:32 pm - Hasn't voted

Attitude is everything; you're young and strong, and you're going to make it

PAROFES - Aug 6, 2012 7:27 am - Hasn't voted

I guess you're right! :)

andreeacorodeanu - Aug 18, 2012 8:56 am - Voted 10/10

Yes same from me! Take care, my best wishes, hope to hear soon that you are ok :)!!!!!!!

PAROFES - Aug 19, 2012 6:59 am - Hasn't voted

Thanks Andrea, glad to read your words! Cheers Parofes

Children refers to the set of objects that logically fall under a given object. For example, the Aconcagua mountain page is a child of the 'Aconcagua Group' and the 'Seven Summits.' The Aconcagua mountain itself has many routes, photos, and trip reports as children.

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20 People Describe The Most Terrifying Moment Of Their Life

• https://thoughtcatalog.com/?p=770970

1. Watching as a nice nurse tried more and more desperately (and in vain) to find my unborn son’s heartbeat at 32 weeks.

“Watching as a nice nurse tried more and more desperately (and in vain) to find my unborn son’s heartbeat at 32 weeks.”

— Jackson_Grey

2. Two days ago I saw my little brother try (and succeed) in hanging himself.

“Two days ago I saw my little brother try (and succeed) in hanging himself. Luckily I got there in time and my mom was able to bring him back to life. See it play out every time I close my eyes.”

— smokeythedon

3. Listening to someone’s last breaths is the most horrific sound I’ve ever heard.

“Witnessing my grandparents dying. People always say ‘I heard their last breath’ as if it were some gentle sigh or something. Not even fucking close. Listening to someone’s last breaths is the most horrific sound I’ve ever heard. Just thinking of it again gives me shivers.”

— KinovaDaring

4. They poured gasoline over themselves and set themselves on fire.

“I work in mental health, particularly with people who have extensive suicidal ideation and multiple psychiatric hospitalizations. Despite working with this population for close to 10 years, I have only had one client successfully commit suicide.

They poured gasoline over themselves and set themselves on fire.

There are no words for how extremely terrifying that is to see. The worst part was they didn’t immediately die. I will hear them say ‘that wasn’t what I wanted’ for the rest of my life.”

— koolaidsweet

5. Bits of eye, brain, and teeth went flying out in a pinkish cloud.

“My roommate and I were playing Battlefield 2 when his brother walked into the room, pulled out a handgun, and shot himself in the face. It went in his mouth and slid up along his jawline and out his eye. Bits of eye, brain, and teeth went flying out in a pinkish cloud and he fell back against the wall, still very much alive.

We secured the weapon and applied pressure on his face until the paramedics showed up.

The worst part is he lived. I no longer live in the city that happened, so I don’t ever see him, but I’ve been told he’s permanently retarded now.”

— altaltaltpornaccount

6. It was one of the many times my mother tried to kill my father.

“I think one of the worst was when father came downstairs one morning with his face covered in blood. My mother was a tad…off. She placed sewing needles into the bottom of his pillow so while he slept he slowly compressed onto them without waking. When confronted my mother just laughed and said, ‘oh so that is where all my needles went!’ It was one of the many times she tried to kill my father.”

— mmicecream

7. The chainsaw went straight up into his head.

“I was watching this as an interested neighbor.

Tree fell in my neighbor’s yard down a steep hill. It was a huge tree 5 ft wide x 70 feet tall;

Crane was pulling up on a piece of it while a grunt worker was chainsawing the piece being pulled by the crane to separate it.

The crane cable tension was tight on the piece he was cutting so when the worker cut through enough of it the cable ripped half of it up the hill and the worker’s chainsaw went straight up into his head.

I’ll never forget him trying to walk a few steps and pull it out before he fell over dead with the saw still humming away.”

— Stowaway_throwaway_1

8. There was…a lot of blood pretty much everywhere.

“School shooting at my high school. I was fine but when the police evacuated us out of the school they kinda walked us right through the area where it started. There was…a lot of blood pretty much everywhere. They hadn’t moved one of the bodies out either and had covered him up with a blanket but we knew. Man, that shit sucked. That image of the school sticks with me and it’s been almost 20 years now.”

— ihadtomakeanewacct

9. My mother grabs her by the throat and picks her up and presses her against my window.

“So my mother sister and I lived in a small apartment. An important thing to note is that my mother was a psychiatrist (she lost her license for attempting to kill a patient) so she had a very large collection of pain killers, psychedelics and more. So it was my sister’s 13th birthday party and my mother decided to down an entire bottle of cough syrup, enough vodka to kill most people, and probably something else. It gets to be about 11 at night and my sister started making plans for her and her friends to sleep in the living room. At this point my mother starts trying to hit on some of her friends and demands to sleep right next to them. My sister says no and gets slapped across the face so hard I could hear it clear through my bedroom door. Next thing I know my sister has grabbed the phone telling me to call the cops and my father while she starts barricading my door with her body. ‘I will burn this whole house down if I have to’ gets screamed at us as my mother breaks my door with a large knife in her hand. All I had time to do was tell the cops we needed police at our address before she points the knife at me all tells me to give her the phone. My sister then grabs the phone screaming for help as my mother grabs her by the throat and picks her up and presses her against my window. Lucky for us the police station was about a 5 min walk from our home so the cops were there after about 10 min of our little bedroom standoff, as soon as we saw the cops lights out the window my mom dropped my sister and sealed herself off in her room. I have never been able to forget the look in her eyes as she pointed the knife at me, it still gives me nightmares years later.

I would say we got a happy ending but my dad was about the same as my mom so my sister and I got split up and we both ended up homeless. I found some very good friends I now call family to take me in, but my sister was not so lucky. I have not seen her in about a year now because her husband is abusing her even though she says he is perfect.

TLDR: Drugs are bad, and don’t try to kill or even threaten your kids. Thank you for taking the time to read all this.”

— FizWiget1

10. I opened my eyes to see nothing but darkness and could hear nothing. At least dying didn’t hurt, I thought.

“1996, aged 19, I went on an Inter-Rail trip round Europe with my then boyfriend. Best trip ever, and cost peanuts compared to what I spend on holidays now with my two rugrats.

Anyway, we were on the Greek Island of Corfu (some ferry routes fell under the Inter-Rail system) and hired little 50cc mopeds for a couple of days so we could see the island. It was nighttime – about 11.30pm, the sky was very dark due to clouds and we were heading back to our hostel via a very steep, very bendy mountain road which had cliff drops at the side. Scary enough, but then a truck comes tearing up around a blind bend at us, on the wrong side of the road – his lights were on full beam and dazzled me totally. I tried to pull over so he didn’t hit me, but skidded and went straight off the cliff edge at about 30mph.

I have a very strong memory of the sensation of flying and falling, whilst my heart beat so loudly in my ears it was deafening. I remember I held my breath the entire time this was happening, but my bf said I was actually screaming at that point. Then it’s as if I blacked out of fell asleep because what seemed like centuries or eons later, I opened my eyes to see nothing but darkness and could hear nothing. At least dying didn’t hurt, I thought. Then, instantly, Oh, I’m still thinking! That’s not what I expected, I thought everything would just stop. Maybe it will in a minute. Maybe this is it and I’m about to go. So I waited… and waited… That was the scariest moment ever for me in my whole life. Just waiting to see what came next, knowing it was inevitable and I could do nothing to change it.

Just then I heard distant yelling in another language and also noticed tiny specks of white light in the ceiling/sky above me.And then I realise I can see stars and streetlights by the shore, and the truck driver plus some other guys are yelling in Greek. My boyfriend is screaming my name. I’m alive, and I am hanging almost upside down, caught by my backpack straps in a tree which is growing out of the cliff side.

it took a long time for them to get down and rescue me and the moped shop was very pissed off about the loss of their moped. I have been on one since but only briefly! my family have never been told this story as they’d probably lock my now 40 year old self up in the cellar, even now, just so I could never do anything as stupid again.”

— scribble23

11. I could smell the smoke from the fire. I could smell the metal. I could smell the blood.

“Driving across the country on government travel. In the panhandle of Florida heading west on the interstate. It’s been raining off and on so I’m taking my time and trying to be safe.

Eventually I see traffic starting to slow ahead. As I get closer I see bodies and cars scattered on the east bound lanes.

First I see a big dude without a shirt laying in the middle of the road. Someone is doing CPR on him. He’s clearly dead.

Then I see a vehicle fully engulfed in flames.

Then I see another vehicle upside down. There’s people trying to flip it. Someone is stuck inside. I pull over and get out. An ambulance rolls up. I identify myself and jump in the back to grab some gloves.

I go to the first person I can find. It’s a guy. He’s in and out of consciousness. His foot and leg are wayyyy broken. He has large knots on his head. I just hold c spine and make sure he doesn’t get up every time he comes to.

I see a kid in the grass in front of me who seems fine. A lady tells me the kids mother is on the other side of the interstate and seems in bad shape. There’s nothing I can do. I just stay with my guy until I’m relieved by paramedics.

It was raining. I could smell the smoke from the fire. I could smell the metal. I could smell the blood. Multiple people died.

I’ve dealt with some bad stuff with work… but the fact that I was traveling across country and not expecting or thinking of it…it got to me.”

— lethrwawy

12. The way he was breathing was the most disturbing thing I had ever seen.

“I once witnessed the aftermath of a bar fight. One small drunk guy kept pushing a large sober guy for no apparent reason. Large guy knocked him out with one punch but from what I heard it was a vicious punch. I found the man laying between two pool tables, he had hit his head pretty bad when he fell back, it was bleeding. He was completely out, wouldn’t respond to any of my attempts to wake him up as we waited on the ambulance. The way he was breathing was the most disturbing thing I had ever seen. His body was on survival mode to keep his lungs pumping air. It was hard forceful breathing. Blood pouring from his mouth because several of his teeth had been knocked out. When EMS finally came and took him away I couldn’t even look at him any longer, just to see someone in such a helpless state. The poor man even pissed himself. I found out later he had to be life-flighted to a larger hospital because he had bleeding on the brain. But he has apparently recovered and still up to his old ways. I never want to see someone like that ever again.”

— wisefoolhere

13. I had to come face to face with the scene where my brother committed suicide.

“Scariest moment is when I had to come face to face with the scene where my brother committed suicide.

Growing up I have always had trust issues so whenever a relative passed away I was like ‘meh’ because I never allowed myself to become attached. However this doesn’t apply to my immediate family. They have my absolute trust and love.

My brother committed suicide by drowning himself in the local lake and when my family was notified it has already been 4-5 hours. Yet when I arrive there I was so scared and shaken up that I had to confirm several times that it wasn’t a nightmare. Logic flew out the window as I proceeded to ask an officer ‘what are the chances of my brother being alive?’ Knowing that it’s been hours since he jumped. I was 25 at the time too. I had to suck everything up and comfort my parents with false hope by saying this is probably BS.

I will never forget that moment, where all logic just flew out the window.”

— DambitDummy

14. The thoughts you have when you think you are going to get shot are quite odd.

“I was in a bank robbery six years ago. I still remember the horrible feeling of realizing that it was not a joke and was actually happening. Two men with guns inside, shouting ‘Don’t look! Don’t move!’ I remember feeling completely panicked and helpless. I have never felt so helpless actually. I felt like time completely stopped while it was going on. It felt like I was standing there forever hoping no one got hurt. I remember I could taste a metallic taste in my mouth. And the thoughts you have when you think you are going to get shot are quite odd. I still occasionally will have terrible nightmares about being trapped somewhere with someone with a gun.”

— Greenrabbits85

15. I have never in my life been so scared. Never have I ever thought I was about to be murdered.

“Victim of a severe road rage incident. I am a small 26 years old woman in a Mazda 3.

At roughly 7am in the winter on mountain county back roads, a giant ford 350 decides I’m going to slow. He starts accelerating, first like he’s going to ram me, then at the last moment passes me illegally on a turn. He gets in front of me, and then slams on his breaks. I slam on mine and narrowly miss hitting him. We are sitting there for a minute, when he starts revving his engine. He goes into reverse and tries hitting my car. I’m screaming and go into reverse. We are now both driving down the mountain in reverse. I use my Bluetooth to call 911. They can’t make anything out I’m saying because I’m screaming. After about 100 yards of driving backwards he stops. I stop. (Idk why) I start talking to the 911 operator. The man gets out of his car with a weapon and starts running towards me. I scream again. In the distance a car is coming and the man runs back into his truck and flees.

I have never in my life been so scared. Never have I ever thought I was about to be murdered. It is not a feeling you can forget, but it’s hard to explain. I was crying and shaking uncontrollably for the next six hours. I do not drive that road anymore.”

— whereisthetvchanger

16. I witnessed the Boston Marathon bombing.

“Was volunteering at a race and was in the middle of handing cups of Gatorade to thousands of exhausted runners who have just finished and are all shuffling past me. I’m facing them, to give them the little cups, so I’m looking back down the race course at the finish line about 50 ft from me. Massive BOOM suddenly and I see this huge poof of smoke.  Everybody  jumps, it was LOUD,  everybody  turns and looks—all the hundreds of faces that a second ago had been facing me are all now swiveled the other way. The puff of smoke goes rolling up the side of a church. Very eerie second of silence as everyone’s watching the puff of smoke and there’s this weird distant high-pitched sound (everyone’s thinking ‘could that possibly have been… a …’), then suddenly BOOM, 2nd one (‘….bomb?’) and then the weird distant sound resolves into a wave of distant screams, like, bloodcurdling, desperate screams. The screams take this couple seconds to sort of… hit peak volume, like, they sorta ramp up, and there is this tone to those screams, this pitch and raggedness of sheer terror that like—tripped some seriously weird alarm bells in my head, and  every single one  of those thousands of exhausted runners, who had all been barely able to walk seconds before, just all launch forward, almost levitating, and go SPRINTING past me. The look of that entire crowd just launching into motion in synchrony, all the 100’s of faces whipping toward me again and every single person pushing off into this sprint—I will never forget that. The volunteers around me run too, everybody runs (except me & another volunteer), except the cops. These cops who had been standing nearby chitchatting are like  instinctively instantly  running TOWARD the booms. I have never seen a huge crowd flee in panic before, let alone a crowd that had been so exhausted before. And I have never seen cops in the moment of crisis run toward danger before.

A second later a wheelchair comes bolting toward us, this cluster of people around it and this white-faced volunteer pushing it and there’s a guy in it who I think is sitting with his legs folded under him, and he’s holding these 2 red sticks out in front of him for some reason. He goes all the way past me before I realize the 2 red sticks are his tibias; he is not sitting with his legs folded under him; his legs have been blasted off. He was the 1st of 26 people w legs blasted off, & then 100s of others with chunks of flesh gouged out, eyes missing etc. This was 4 yrs ago in Boston.”

— NorthernSparrow

17. I walk out of my bedroom to see what is going on only to see mom collapse on the floor holding my infant brother.

“This fucked me up so badly that I can’t even remember how old I was. I know I was in elementary school and it was before Grade 4. I have more memories from pre-k than I do from between k-4. This is the most vivid one.

Waking up to my mother screaming hysterically. I walk out of my bedroom to see what is going on only to see her collapse on the floor holding my infant brother. He had passed of SIDS sometime during the night. Dad got the other brother up, tossed us both into the car, mom got in alternating between sobbing and attempting CPR as dad raced us to the nearest fire station.”

— BlooMacAndCheese

18. The night before, a homeless man had been shot and then burned to death underneath that bridge.

“The most bone-chilling moment I’ve ever had was when I was pretty young. I was with a youth group on a mission trip. Each day we would do different tasks around the city we were in. This year’s trip was to San Antonio.

We were cleaning up a street and bridge area when we found some very disturbing things. It started with a bag full of used needles. That seemed relativity normal for the location. It stepped up when we found a dead dog with a pentagram carved into its side. Under the bridge tucked at the top we found some burned sandals. That’s when the cops came by.

Turns out the night before, a homeless man had been shot and then burned to death underneath that bridge.”

— bobafett8192

19. Before raping me the first time, he choked me until I was on the verge of passing out.

“My rape. My rapist was someone I trusted, a former professor of mine. Before raping me the first time, he choked me until I was on the verge of passing out. As I was taking what I thought might be my last breaths and trying to stay calm, tears involuntarily started falling out of my eyes. When he saw that, he started cackling evilly, let go of my neck, and got this totally inhuman look in his eyes. He told me he’d killed someone once, and went on to describe the details. He also told me, ‘I like it when you’re scared. I could’ve killed you.’ He went on to brutally beat and rape me that night, and two other times before I got the courage to report it to the police and the legal system. That was three years ago, and although my PTSD has become much, MUCH more manageable, that is the moment that I still have nightmares about. Just that look in his eyes, and the cackle. I’ll never forget that.”

20. I remember thinking I don’t want to die, looking up at the ceiling and everything turning white.

“I had emergency brain surgery when I was 8, I was born with an abnormally large arachnoid cyst on my left temporal lobe that no one knew about until.. I was playing basketball in my driveway and the ball rebounded hard and was moving away from me. I tried decided to try and reenact a Dennis Rodman dive to try save it from going off the driveway. I ended up diving head-first into my dad’s truck bumper. Over the course of two weeks I was slowly dying. My dad noticed something was amiss and took me to the doctor. They did an MRI and found the cyst for the first time. It was inactive until I had hit my head very hard on the bumper, then it started wrapping around my brain stem and pulling it out. I get rushed to the hospital in an ambulance with my dad in the passenger’s seat on the way there. The EMT couldn’t find my veins so he ended up piercing my arms on both sides repeatedly, attempting to find them (creating my fear of needles). The hospital says I am going to go into surgery on later in the week on Friday (it was Monday when I arrived). That same night, I get woken up at 1 a.m. and I am already in the middle of a hallway being rushed down to surgery. I ask what’s going on and the nurse tells me (at 8 years old) that I am going to die if I don’t go into surgery now. I start freaking out and calling for my dad. He responds with ‘don’t worry son, you’re going to be fine,’ but the tone in his voice was wrong and obviously holding down tears. I look up at the ceiling and someone puts the gas mask over my mouth and nose. I remember thinking I don’t want to die, looking up at the ceiling and everything turning white. Then, almost seamlessly, I am being propelled out into space at a speed I can’t comprehend. Everything around me looked like I was out in the middle of the universe without being on a planet. Stars and light everywhere with a noticeable amount of deep purple cascading through it all. I notice I am approaching a rock. This rock had a triangle bottom and a flat surface with stone steps on it. Then I noticed someone at the bottom of the steps and something at the top. Then I WAS the person at the bottom of the steps. I started looking around and freaking out. I hear some sort of vibration and then try and focus on it. I realize that the something at the top of the stairs was trying to talk to me. I looked up and couldn’t even see it, it was so bright white that I had to look away from the pain of trying to see it. Then it asks me ‘do you want to go back?’ After that question I got overwhelmed with intense images of my dad back at the hospital breaking down and losing his shit because I died. Of him trying to move forward in life after losing me. I felt all the pain I was going to incur on my dad if I died. I started begging this thing to send me back. It replied with ‘okay but this is your last shot,’ and then I woke up in the hospital. I was surrounded by my family. No one could ever explain to me what happened. I was forced to realize we all, including my parents and grandparents whom I idolized, have no idea what is going on in the world or why we are here. Nothing has come close, in terms of fear, to being alone with an entity that very clearly had power over me. I have a wide variety of issues that stemmed both from the cyst and that experience but that is for another time. That was almost 20 years ago now and I am grateful to just be alive and spend time with my dad and family.”

Lorenzo Jensen III

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26 Vacation Horror Stories That'll Definitely Make You Break A Sweat

"My girlfriend and I needed therapy when we got home."

BuzzFeed Staff

Reddit user u/ujin- asked the community: "What was the scariest moment you've had on vacation?" The thread quickly filled with tales of travels gone very, very wrong. Here's what people shared:

1. "on our way to the new orleans airport at like 4:00 a.m., the vehicle next to us on the highway shot at us for no reason. the bullet went through the windshield and rearview mirror, lodging in the roof right between me and my wife's heads.".

— u/Guerilla555

2. "My uncle decided to mess around on a trail in Yellowstone near some hot pools. He was walking backward on the trail and FELL OFF right onto the crust near the hot pools. By sheer luck, he didn't fall through. It was horrifying. I thought we were witnessing a man die."

— u/alizabs91

3. "On a three-week tour of Thailand with my Muay Thai instructors, we happened to be in Krabi during December 2004. We took an early boat ride for about two hours to a little uninhabited island called Bamboo Island to snorkel and hang out on the beach. We noticed a weird feeling in the water, like something was stinging, and got out after a while. Then we noticed, 'Wow, that is a bizarre loud wave coming in.' Our next thought was, 'Wow, that big wave just keeps coming. I wonder if that's related to how all the water receded a few minutes ago, making the shoreline a thousand feet wider?' Then we climbed the highest point on the island and sat there for about 12 hours, watching the next two tsunami waves come in and leave, all while wondering if the highest point would be high enough to avoid the water."

"The pre-smartphone days were rough; we had no idea what was happening. After being rescued by the Thai Coast Guard and getting back to the mainland 12-15 hours later, we found out that thousands of people died. It was a shock. Overall, it was the scariest vacation moment I've had and the scariest day of my life."

— u/Azagsloth

4. "I was snorkeling with my wife and son. My wife was free-swimming, so she went ahead of us while my son and I gently paddled over to the main snorkeling area. She was probably about 50 yards away, and everyone else in the area was about 30 yards away. I was swimming and suddenly felt something start pushing me into the water. I recovered and realized my son, who's 17 and bigger than I am, was holding onto me. He took water into his snorkel and started panicking, so he grabbed me. I was trying to tread water, hold up another full-grown man, and figure out how I was supposed to get somewhere safe where we could stand or get to shore."

"I started dipping in and out of the water because my arms and legs started getting tired, and I was treading for my son's life. Finally, I got the other snorkelers' attention and called for help, and a group of them came over. Someone with a paddleboard got my son, and then I floated and paddled as much as possible while a dude there pulled me toward a boat. I almost passed out from exhaustion when I got on the little boat. I legitimately thought both my son and I were goners. The thing is, we're both good swimmers. If he hadn't been panicking, he could have swam to shore, which wasn't far away, or expelled the water from his snorkel and continued swimming. And since he was pulling me down, I was panicking and not thinking straight enough to tell him what to do. It was one of the scariest experiences of my life."

— u/SweetCosmicPope

5. "We lost my baby brother at Seaside Heights Boardwalk. My family went wild for about an hour. We finally found him sitting outside a saloon surrounded by bikers and their chicks. He had a bowl of popcorn and a tall soda. They were all facing the boardwalk and watching people go by, waiting to see if he recognized anyone looking for him."

— u/Rosanna44

6. "When I was 12, my dad took me to the Grand Canyon. He had bad arthritis and couldn't walk well, so I asked if he wanted to walk down a trail. He said he'd stay put, but I could go. I walked down the trail, like a switchback, only a little ways. Then I turned to see if I could see my dad and was waving to try to get his attention. I kept waving and backing up and waving, then turned, and my back heel was right at the edge of the Grand Canyon. I was not the smartest kid."

— u/DueEntertainer0

7. "I was on an overnight bus from Delhi to Dharmsala. (I am female and was 26 at the time). We stopped at a gas station at night to use a restroom. I was the last in line, and when I came out, the bus was taking off and headed back onto the highway. I sprinted after it, repeatedly screaming, 'No!' at the top of my lungs. Someone must have heard or seen me, and the bus stopped. I truly do not know what I would have done had I been left behind."

8. "we were on our honeymoon and flying into the toronto airport. we were about to land to make a connecting flight overseas when we heard grinding under the plane. this repeated a couple of times, and then the pilot, calm as can be, clicked on the intercom and said, 'we seem to be having a little trouble with the landing gear. everyone, please take your seats and buckle your seatbelts. we're going to delay our approach. please bear with us.' one of the flight attendants rushed towards the cockpit. the seatbelt light went on, and i looked at my husband, who hates to fly. he just gave me a look of pure dread and terror, not saying a word. i knew this trip was my idea, so this was all my fault.".

"There was more grinding, and the plane tilted as we started to circle. The pilot returned to the intercom and said, 'All flight attendants to their seats, please.' More grinding. Then, the pilot said, 'Everyone, we have the landing gear down and engaged. We will be landing shortly. Thank you for your patience.' The whole plane cheered when we landed."

— u/darkest_irish_lass

9. "My in-law's family overloaded a golf cart shuttle, and as it was climbing a hill, it tipped, falling 10 or so feet down the embankment. My father-in-law was underneath it with his mother and two other people, including the 20-year-old driver, still in the cart. If it weren't for him holding it up, his 70-year-old mother would have been crushed as well, and the cart would have continued falling into the lake 20-30 feet below. He had some nasty bruises, but everyone was okay overall."

— u/Conquistador-Hanor

10. "We were tent camping in a state park, and a large tree limb fell in the middle of the night in the campsite next to ours. It fell directly across where a tent would go if we had picked that site, which we almost did. It scared the living crap out of us when we heard the 'boom' sound that woke us up at 3:00 a.m."

— u/cofclabman

11. "It was the last day of our trip to San Diego, and my friend and I called an Uber for brunch. A car pulled up that didn't match the app description at all. The car was the wrong model and had the wrong license plate . The driver yelled my name, acting super casual like, 'It's your Uber! Come on in!' My phone rang, and it was the actual Uber driver I requested. He was confused about why I hadn't gotten in the car yet. I tell him I didn't see his car, and he says, 'Uber hasn't updated my car model or license plate yet,' but the person in the car clearly wasn't even on the phone! He was looking straight at me!"

"I told the person on the phone I was canceling, and the next thing I know, the driver in the car yelled at me through the window to get in. He even got out of the car at this point. My friend and I ran back into the hotel lobby. We explained the situation to the front desk, and thankfully, the staff jumped into action. We also reported it to Uber. I am grateful we were close enough to the hotel to run away. If we weren't, I don't know what would have happened."

— u/Moon2078

12. "I was 13 on vacation overseas with my mom. We woke up at 5:00 a.m. due to jet lag, and the morning was beautiful, so we decided to go for a swim. We are used to a very calm sea (technically, a bay), so we didn't think swimming was a big deal when there were no lifeguards. As a result, we got caught in a rip current without knowing what it was. My mom was a very weak swimmer, so she told me to swim to the shore and call for help. But the shore was empty, so I knew she just wanted me to leave her and save myself. I grabbed her by the hand and swam as hard as I could. Luckily, we were close to the shore, and my desperate 'sprint' got us to a place where we could stand. We returned to our room and felt incredibly sleepy, so we went to sleep and woke up 10 hours later. When we looked out the hotel window, we noticed the red flags on the beach, and no one was swimming."

— u/Sleepy_Glacier

13. "It was the mid-'70s, and we were in Casper, Wyoming, on a family vacation. I was about 12 years old. My dad had a bad habit of driving until it was dark before trying to find a hotel for the night. This put us in some very shady hotels over the years. This particular night, the hotel was an old, two-story brick building that looked more like a jail than a hotel. There was one bathroom on each floor. When my dad asked for a room for two adults and four children, the clerk laughed. We were put in a room with one bed and given an extra mattress to throw on the floor. About halfway through the night, a commotion woke us all up. We heard people shouting and furniture banging around. Then there were three gunshots followed by silence and then the sound of footsteps running down the hallway and out the door. I've never seen my parents pack a car faster in all of my life."

— u/Sparky3200

14. "My appendix ruptured while on vacation in England. Full perforation. I was on a school trip, and my classmates had to continue their trip, so I was left behind. It happened on my second day in England, and I spent 13 days alone in the hospital before getting out. Then, I had two days left before I flew home. I was puking my guts out and crapping my brains out. Tubes down my throat, oxygen in my nose, catheter down my pipe. I was 15, and my parents didn’t have passports, so I had to handle it myself. I had one amazing nurse (we are still friends with to this day, 19 years later), and that alone made the whole ordeal worthwhile."

— u/PigeonFace

15. "Remember that 2018 Hawaii Ballistic Missile false alarm? That. I was visiting my brother and sister-in-law, and my girlfriend and I thought we were going to die. We called our loved ones to say goodbye and cried in the closet, taking shelter, waiting for our imminent doom. The funny thing is we were supposed to have left days prior, but I decided we should stay an extra three days since the seven-day flight round trip ticket was the same as the 10-day one. It took 45 minutes or so for the correction to go out. Everyone in public looked like they went on with their day just fine. We remained shell-shocked the whole day, and my girlfriend and I needed therapy when we got home."

16. "i went vacationing in mexico with my family when i was 9. i lost my parents in a marketplace in cancun and tried to tell a guy i was trying to find my family. he told me he'd find me a new one mere moments before my father arrived.".

— u/DoorstepCult

17. "I got food poisoning while in Japan . I was with a tour group on a bus with no bathroom when the diarrhea struck. I had to wait until we arrived at our stop, which was five agonizing minutes away. When we finally got out, I had to scramble to find a store that A) had a bathroom and B) wasn't busy to avoid the embarrassment of crapping my brains out. And it's not like anyone spoke English, which made it harder. It took 10 minutes of me searching, all while holding in impending diarrhea before I finally found one. 10 minutes is an eternity when you're holding in liquid poop. I was drenched in sweat from the effort of holding it in and the fear that I might crap myself in public, in a foreign country."

— u/ipissnapalm

18. "I got bitten on the neck by a cheeky monkey in a park in Vietnam. I did not have a rabies vaccination and had to rush to the nearest hospital to get the shot. It was scary as hell. I was traveling solo."

— u/Honey-bee542

19. "I arrived at the airport in my long-distance girlfriend's country. I was traveling alone , and she was coming to pick me up. As I was leaving the airport, people aggressively tried to offer me rides (cabs, Uber, unlicensed, etc.), which I obviously declined. Then, one guy called out to me by name and said he was sent to pick me up. I called my girlfriend to ask about it. She freaked out and told me to return to the airport immediately until she arrived to get me. So, I guess I almost got kidnapped or something? I have no logical explanation as to how they knew my name."

— u/unsoldburrito

20. "We were on our way back from a small trip. My mom had texted that my kiddo was sick, so we were doing our best to get home fast. It was about a three-hour drive on all back roads with few places to pass. We got stuck behind two semis. My partner kept insisting I go past them, but something told me not to. He pushed it for about five minutes, but I just would not. Something in me said no. Suddenly, the first semi stopped to turn, and the semi behind it had to slam the brakes and swerve to stop in time. You could see the smoke coming off the tires. If I had tried to pass, we would have been hit. I fully believe we would have died. It was a silent ride home."

— u/Megnuggets

21. "While studying abroad in New Zealand, I took a solo trip to the South Island. I was supposed to go with a few friends, but they canceled at the last minute. This was my first solo trip ever, and I booked a few hostels along the way. There was a French man who I immediately noticed upon arriving at my hostel in Queenstown. I remember him saying something odd to me. Then, after a day at the hostel, he moved into my room. He then spent an entire afternoon in the room staring at me while I watched YouTube in my bed. Later, when I went to grab dinner in town, I spotted him off in the distance as if he had followed me."

"Later that night, when I finished showering, he was waiting in the room and again wouldn't stop staring. I told him off and had a worker at the hostel change me to a private room. I gathered my stuff and booked it out of there the next day. I was 20, and it was my first solo travel experience. It sucked."

— u/shimmysticks

22. "I was in one of the ruined temples of Cambodia and got lost from my group, and I ended up in a restricted section by mistake. I photographed a dead end with roots coming down the wall. Looking at the photo later, I noticed an infamously venomous snake in the corner, staring at me in a defensive position."

— u/placeholderNull

23. "Driving in Maui, I noticed a dump truck headed toward me, getting closer and closer to the lane line. I kept watch, and we passed each other with no incident. I looked in my rearview 10 seconds later, and it collided head-on with a car behind me in our lane."

— u/jwangy84

24. "I was about 11 years old while on vacation at the beach with my family. I was swimming in the ocean and got stuck in a rip current, which pulled me decently far out from the shore. My father came out to save me. As we were both succumbing to exhaustion and starting to drown, someone on a surfboard floated over and had us hold onto the board until lifeguards made it out to us. As we were catching our breath on the shore, we looked around for the surfboard person, but they were nowhere to be found."

— u/k_marts

25. "I got sun poisoning as a kid, became delirious, slept walk (which I have no history of doing), opened the hotel doorway, and knocked on what I thought was my parent's bedroom. A guy answered and told me I had the wrong room. Luckily, I somehow found my way back to my room, went to the bathroom, and went to bed. I remember it all, so I don't know if it was sleepwalking or only happened as a result of my sun poisoning. Who knows. It's terrifying to think about what could've happened, especially as a kid."

— u/AlternativeGreen6400

26. And: "I was 7 years old on my first European trip, and we were in Brussels. My dad and I were waiting for the subway, and when it arrived, it was crowded, so my dad decided not to get in, but I decided I could get in between people, given my small size. I remember turning around to realize my dad was not on the train with me, and the doors closed as he reached to pull me out. Panic. Tears. My dad yelled at me, 'Get off in the next station.' That brief ride to the next station was the longest wait of my life. Luckily, a man saw the whole situation and got off the train with me, and we both sat on a bench waiting for the next train, not even being able to speak the same language. My dad finally arrived on the next train, but that was a horrible and traumatic experience. Thank god for good samaritans; it could have been awful."

— u/zevoruko

I'm shaken up! These are wild. Have you ever had a vacation go wrong? What did you experience? Tell us in the comments or submit anonymously using this form .

Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.

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A Conversation With President Zelensky

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Five years ago, a TV personality and comedian, Volodymyr Zelensky, won the presidency in Ukraine in a landslide victory. When Russia launched a full-scale invasion of the country three years later, he faced the biggest challenge of his presidency and of his life. Despite initial success beating back one of the world’s largest armies, the tide has turned against him.

Andrew E. Kramer, the Kyiv bureau chief for The Times, sat down with Mr. Zelensky to discuss the war, and how it might end.

On today’s episode

Andrew E. Kramer , the Kyiv bureau chief for The New York Times.

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