I got into a car accident when I was 16 and as it was happening and the car was spinning around, I remember thinking to myself, “there’s no way this is actually happening right now.” It was absolutely terrifying but luckily no one was hurt even though the car had a lot of damage.

Have you ever had an experience like that?

These AskReddit users have and they shared their stories.

1. We need to talk.

“I got a message one day from a stranger that said “there’s something we need to talk about that is important to both of us”.

I made some time for a call shortly thereafter, and the stranger called me.

“Hi. You don’t know me, but I think it’s important that you know that my husband is sleeping with your wife. I know this, because he left his Facebook logged into our computer at home, and I see everything they have been chatting about for months.”

BOOM. Life upended. I was good to my wife. Really good. Then my life exploded. Children were involved, and families destroyed on all sides. That was the start of the worst year of my life. Over the next 6 months, I lost 40 pounds of weight and probably shortened my life by 10 years due to stress.

Bonus points: it turns out that in my appointed position with the local government, I had given the guy an award the year before for his service to children.

Good news: it’s all good now. It was bound to happen, as I learned later she was a serial cheater before me, so it’s not like it wasn’t going to happen at some point. I am with a great person now, and family life is great.”

2. What a story.

“I was in Rio, my mother had just given some money to a homeless dude. Few after that a wild burglar appears. Holding a knife against her chest, she gave him her purse and he run away.

The homeless dude then stood up and said something like “she’s a nice woman, do not steal from her”. They started arguing and the purse came flying, sommersaults and all, back to her arms.”

3. He didn’t make it.

“Taking a phone call from my twin from the hospital to say her husband didn’t make it – (after she’d found him unresponsive in VF and had done CPR on him while waiting for paramedics … ).

All the time her kids were at my house (I was looking after them) but she didn’t want me to tell them as she wanted to tell them herself. Hardest day of my life, a million times harder for her. Some days I still can’t believe he’s gone.”

4. A close call.

“I was swimming at a lake last summer. My sister has 7 kids so I was helping her keep an eye on them. A little boy was bouncing up and down beside me. I thought the kids next to him were with him. Then I realized they swam away and he was by himself. But he wasn’t play jumping. He was trying to stay above water. After 4 seconds of him going under and seeing that he actually wasn’t tall enough to be in the 4 foot water, I reached over and grabbed him. Kid almost drowned. Turns out he was about 3 years old.

He puked up a bunch of water all over me and I held that strangers kid in a hug so tight. The parents were 20 feet away with their backs turned. It took me a good 10 minutes to find them after standing there in the lake screaming for them and asking random people if that was their kid. Could not stop shaking with the realization this kid could’ve died and I just saved him. I had to leave after that and haven’t been back to that lake since.”

5. I won…

“When my lawyer called me to tell me I won custody of my three kids, then an hour later my Ex calls looking for her child support check and I got to tell her I won.”

6. Mixed emotions.

“The day my daughter was born my sister showed up unexpectedly at the hospital. I assumed she was dropping by to see the baby.

Nope, My dad was literally next door in the heart ward. This was a huge place and it was totally by chance. There were double doors between the baby and heart ward and he was on the other side with complications for heart failure.

The emotions were so strong and conflicting I had to turn them off and I’m not sure they ever really came back.”

7. A big deal.

“Checking a regular guest out of my hotel when I realized he was having a stroke. Mumbling, repeating himself, couldn’t even sign his name. Called 911 so an ambulance could get him to a hospital. The moment it really hit was the next day when his wife called and said I saved his life. Like dude, I work at a hotel. This was not something I ever expected to hear.

Or when I was 12 and sang with the National Children’s Choir at Carnegie Hall in NYC. Even that young I knew this was a big deal.”

8. Bad news.

“Hearing I have cancer 2 days after my 28th birthday. Couldn’t stop thinking, “I am too young for cancer!””

9. Heartbreaking.

“I was in the hospital for my dad after he got into a fender bender. Everything was going fine (he only had a sore neck and some minor scratches) up until the doctor came in, shut the curtain behind her and told him “we found some spots on your lungs when we scanned you”. Completely unexpected and heartbreaking.”

10. Saying goodbye.

“Waking up to find messages from my friend saying he couldn’t take it any more and he was saying goodbye.

I’ve never tried to call someone so quickly in my life and during the whole thing was just “this can’t be happening right now” as it was the first time I’d ever experienced anything like this let alone the fact there was no warning.

He’s okay now but please if you are going through anything talk to someone about it, and my DM’s are always open to anyone that wants to speak.

Please everyone take care of your friends and family, even strangers because that might just be what helps someone even if you never know.”

11. Lucky to be here.

“When I woke up with my head lodged in between the car seat and the wall of the car after being hit by a drunk driver. I was asleep in the very back of my Toyota Sienna while my mom was driving and I wasn’t wearing a seat belt during the time of the accident.

Luckily for me, I managed to get away with just a scar to my forehead EVEN THOUGH I was flung across the car after being struck. I’m still flabbergasted I got away with just the scar…”

12. A big push.

“Diagnosed with an incurable cancer at 33. I was given 2 months to live. One year later almost and I’m still kicking it. As sick as I was, I’m glad I’m standing here being the bad ass I am. My prognosis is much better now. I won’t beat this, but it’s really given me a push to live life and love big.”

13. A double whammy.

“That would probably be having a conference call with my boss and HR telling me I was one of 50 people being laid off due to restructuring, while my (now ex-) wife was in the other room packing her things to move out of the house.”

14. Beware of the canal.

“I live in an apartment with a balcony overlooking a canal. One evening my partner and I were out on the balcony having a smoke, there was nobody around except for a drunk guy stumbling down the path along the canal. My partner commented that he’d fall in if he wasn’t careful, and sure enough, he did. We immediately called an ambulance and my partner ran outside to look for help – the guy was twice our size and if we’d tried to help by ourselves, we all would have drowned.

Emergency services arrived in less than ten minutes and pulled him out. He lived. Still gives me shivers to think about what would have happened if we hadn’t been outside.”

15. Flying through the air.

“Head on collision with my motorcycle and a sewage drain. I had 1 second to decide to super man off the front.

The I cant believe this is happening right now moment came when I was mid air.”

Have a story like this? Brave enough to share it? We want you to tell it!

Do that in the comments if you’re comfortable. No pressure.