Every once in a while, you end up with a gut feeling that could very well save your life, or the life of someone around you. When you get that feeling, you should act on it as quickly as you can.
The people of Reddit who answered the question — "
Every once in a while, you end up with a gut feeling that could very well save your life, or the life of someone around you. When you get that feeling, you should act on it as quickly as you can.
The people of Reddit who answered the question — "
"I had no clue what it was but I just knew was something was wrong with him but I couldn't explain what it was. I kept asking him if he was alright but he kept saying everything was fine."
I think it's pretty easy for most of us to tell when something's going on with a friend, so listen to that feeling!
OP then goes on to talk about how he kept making mistakes, but since OP was moving over New Years, they just told him to get help and didn't see him for a few days.
"Later on we learned that during the days leading up he was suffering from mini strokes and that all of my constant nagging about if he was alright ultimately led to him thinking that maybe there is something wrong with him...
"A doctor later told him that if he had not gone to the ER when he did he would not have woken up if he had gone to sleep that night."
"No one had been home all day, so there were no lights on inside or out... as I’m starting to make my way up the walkway to the front door, I sense someone waiting to meet me there."
Someone, as in an intruder. Scary how it could literally happen to anyone in any neighborhood.
"...then briskly turn around and walk swiftly down the street... make my way to the nearest pay phone, dial the police and tell them I think there’s someone trying to rob the house."
"He follows those and sees they are around the entire house. There was in fact, someone waiting for me to open the door that night."
OP was smart to listen to their gut. Who knows what could've happened if they went into the house and saw the intruder?
"One night I arrive to my shift , and like one hour later I get this call. A man calling for his wife who was choking on food, and who suddenly started to 'feel better' whilst the call, which made him change his mind and say he didn't need an ambulance anymore."
"'Ma'am this is the emergency services, are you sure that you don't need help of any kind?'
No answer.
Everything already seemed pretty suspicious, but the fact that she didn't answer to that question makes it seem like her situation may be dire.
"'Maybe.'
"So I ask: 'Is the guy beside you dangerous?'
"'Yes.'"
"I made her go to safety and then she told me all about how he had been beating her for a long time, how she had no way to get out of this, that she was chocking while eating because of the stress of being beside him..."
To think, if OP hadn't made the decision to stay on the line and talk to the woman, she could've stayed in that abusive relationship for a long time. Thankfully, she had somebody looking out for her.
"One evening my father took me to one side and asked how I'd feel about him asking her to marry him. I got an awful feeling in the pit of my stomach and felt nauseated."
"...and he said 'that's just a feeling, they don't mean anything.' He already had the ring and proposed straight away."
Correct me if I'm wrong, but if a child is uneasy about someone joining their family, their parent should probably listen.
"She abused me, my full sister (my mother's child), and later my half sister (her own child)."
"(She was putting a substance that I'm intolerant to in my food and my father wouldn't believe me and would force me to eat whatever she made, however I couldn't get a doctor alone without her to tell them)."
That in itself is so awful! I hate that they had to go through something like this.
"He accused me of lying for the entire time leading up to that and has never asked me about any of my attempts to get help since."
I wish this story had a happier ending, but I'm glad OP and their sisters were able to get out of that horrible situation.
"He didn't get back to me one day and I noticed his FB hadn't been updated yet. I tried hitting him up a few more times, something didn't feel right."
I feel like we all have that one friend. It's good to check on them when they go dark for a while.
"He lives like an hour away, finally I get someone to go with me to hang out with him, worst case, we'd say we were gonna be in the neighborhood that's why we were hitting him up."
"We showed up and he just started crying immediately and saying that he needed help. We outright intervened in a friends suicide. He was always so active on social media as a way to hide his depression."
See, that in itself is so distressing. People act differently on social media than they do in real life, so you never truly know what they're dealing with.
"He's got issues that I myself have, but would never mention it before, so now we can talk about a lot more things. But overall, he got the help he needed and lives pretty well these days."
It's always important to check on your friends. Sometimes they might seem okay, but that doesn't mean they are. I'm so glad it worked out for OP and their friend!