What's your [extreme] story?

2014-10-23T14:28:24-04:00

Ever felt extremely cold/hot? Starving/dehydrated/sleep deprived? Got shot, tore up limb, got bit by snake? Thought you were going to die? How did you overcome?

I'd like to hear your extreme story, the one that's stitched in your mind forever, that keeps you and everyone around wondering how in the world you're still alive.

***Please forgive if I inadvertently trigger some unwelcome demons or unpleasant emotions, for that was not my intent. Please seek help immediately from anyone here on Rallypoint or call Military1 source 24/7 if you must.

I guess I'll start. In my 10 years I only sailed the 7 shores; heard all about ship life, yet never stepped foot on one. Yet.

Spring, 2011. I was at Bangor Naval Sub Base as a Master at Arms 2nd class assigned to supervise guard force composed of Sailors and Marines.

The battalion CO made a poorly calculated move to shift over half of our company force to another company due to lack of good communication, leaving our company with 6-on-6-off watches for close to week and a half.

Of course those became 8-on-4-off with guard mounts and watch turnovers, ouch! By day 5 I was in a complete zombie mode along with the rest of my squad.

Driving to and from home became treacherous, especially in Washington's eternal morning fog. Still don't know how I made it because 2 of my fellow sailors ended up in serious accidents.

Since then I made a note to self: Self, never again complain about lack of sleep.

Response by PO2 Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 23 at 2014 3:11 PM

2014-10-23T15:11:10-04:00

I have a couple of motorcycle crashes that fit the bill. Both were very similar and neither were my fault. I'll share the first one.

I was coming home after a long, busy day on USS John Paul Jones. It was approximately 1730. I was riding my 1998 Honda CB750 Nighthawk which I'd owned for about 9 months. I got onto the I-5 N intending to transition to the I-15. There was moderate traffic, about what you'd expect to see as rush hour is winding down. While on the I-15 onramp, which is two lanes, I came up behind a small car in the right lane. I switched over into the left lane, accelerating slightly to pass him. I was traveling just under 70 MPH, and about even with the rear wheels of the car, when the driver decided to change lanes. He didn't see me, didn't know I was there. Nor did he use a turn signal.

I saw him, and tried to cut further left into the lane, but wasn't quick enough. His rear end clipped my front wheel, knocking it to the left. I struggled to regain control, but ultimately lost the fight and went down on my left side. The bike slid out in front of me and I began to slide along the freeway at nearly 70 MPH, collecting some nasty road rash along the way. As my body began to slow from the slide, I starting worrying I might get hit from behind, so as soon as I lost enough speed, I set my feet down, and kind of "ran" out the last of the slide to a stop. Standing now in the center of the far left lane, I turned around to see a car rushing towards me, the driver very obviously grinding into his brakes. I started to dodge to my right (up onto the shoulder, out of traffic), but just as I did, the man in the car veered that direction, so I ran forward down the lane till he was past me, then over to the left out of traffic. Ultimately, there were a total of 4 vehicles behind me involved in crashes stemming from trying to dodge me, and thankfully, they were all successful in avoiding my body sliding down the road.

The driver who originally hit me stopped. He claimed he had a suit hanging in the back window, so he couldn't see me, and his turn signals were broken on his car, which he did not have insured.

I walked away from that crash with some road rash down my left side that took a couple months to heal and left some interesting scars.

The moral of the story is this: Even if you are or think you are the best motorcycle rider around, there are always idiotic poor drivers that can change your life in a second. I got very lucky crashing from 70 MPH and walking away with only road rash. I attribute part of that luck to the fact that I was in full PPE.

So to all you motorcycle riders reading this, wear your gear all the time, and stay alert, and drive defensively because you can't control anyone else, but you can control yourself. For the rest of you, when you're out on the road, be cautious, and give a 2nd glance in your blind spot, cause even with bright colors and reflective vests (which i was wearing), we motorcyclists and hard to spot. You might think you're just changing lanes, but you could be changing someone's life for the worse.
/soapbox

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 13 at 2017 10:45 PM

2017-08-13T22:45:20-04:00

Not extreme compared to others, but two instances come to mind for me.
1) I was a hospital chaplain, my units were the Psychiatric Ward, Orthopedics, Pulmonary, and the Emergency Department (a Level II Trauma Center). Hospital is the place to go for 10 counties around us, and the main city is ~25,000 ppl. July 4th. 2 drownings in the lake (one from an immigrant family with poor English), 4 car wrecks (1 being motorcycle), a 2-month old where the parents were separated and low-income was dead from SIDS (that alone will tear even the most hardened ER nurses up), and a bus-wreck/mass-casualty with 24 teenagers (none seriously hurt, but you can't assume when it rolls in). That's on top of the normal full ER. And with just one chaplain to respond to each of those Codes (yes, it's required). So, that was kinda busy.
2) Antarctica. At least it was summer there. 200mph winds, white-out blizzards, -34 degrees F (yes 60 below freezing), the windchill factor was so low the ship's instruments couldn't read it. While crushing ice, it was like living in a 6.0 earthquake for 2+ weeks. But the ship's hull was designed to crush ice, not sail through water, so sailing the Southern Ocean with its circumpolar weather systems was...well, we got a 50 degree list once. 30 degree rolls were normal. No internet, the satellites are below the line of declination, we're too far south, so the social support system is only what's on board (unless there's an emergency, then McMurdo can relay AMCROSS). Water Conservation for 92% of the time, between the ship's systems being old and broken and the Antarctic Treaty's environmental clauses.

Again, not extreme compared to others. But those were some psychological/spiritual/physical/emotional extremes for me personally.