There have been plenty of times when people should have died but somehow miraculously survived . And it’s no more apparent than at the hospital. I can’t even imagine some of the cases that might arrive at the ER and, after the intervention there, move on to intensive care units.
So when I stumbled upon a Reddit thread that asked , “Doctors and Nurses of Reddit, what’s your ‘he shouldn’t have survived’ story?” I was really intrigued. Let’s go over these stories of survival now.
RELATED STORIES
Note: Some of these stories go into graphic detail and aren’t for the faint of heart.
This Crazy Story – Part I
“Doing my internship in a local hospital. There are multiple stories about unlikely survival/outcomes, about people who – in my opinion – are immortal beings that like to spite god. Several cases have burned themselves into my brain, but there’s one that takes the cake.”
“A 31 y/o man was shot, then dropped at the local ER by the same guys who shot him. In total, he had 10 gunshot wounds across his thorax, abdomen, pelvis and legs. The bullets went through almost every single organ , and also broke a femur and a tibia. Needless to say, he was in hypovolemic shock and needed emergency surgery and blood transfusions.”
“Look, I cannot tell you how much care has gone into his case. He spent 3 months in the ICU – and he’s now at the Surgery floor of the hospital. So far, he’s had 25+ surgical interventions (and counting) from three different teams and over 50 bags of blood. At one point, one of the teams realized they couldn’t completely close his abdomen after one particular surgery, and decided to leave his abdomen open; and several surgeries later, he developed what we call ‘hostile abdomen’ (the abdominal wall is scarred and everything inside is topped up with fibrous adherences/tissue, to the point that going in for yet another surgery is a hellish experience).”
This Crazy Story – Part II
“He’s also had multiple infections, both nosocomial and from his own digestive tract (one bullet entered through the abdomen, pierced his rectum and exited through one of his buttcheeks, and during the healing process, the wound became a fistula that continuously dripped pus and mucus riddled with bacteria in and out of the abdominal cavity), to the point he fell into septic shock twice . Regular antibiotics weren’t doing their job no more, so Infectology had to be called in regularly as he needed – and still needs – one hell of an antibiotic cocktail.”
“Although he’s still not completely out of the woods, at least the surgeons were able to successfully close his abdomen, his infection is currently under control, and his legs are finally healing properly. If you ask me, he’ll probably live (if the local gangs don’t invade the hospital and kill him before he’s discharged, because it almost happened with him a month into his stay).”
OMG! That’s one crazy story!!!
This Anomaly
“We had a guy come into ER because he was feeling ‘kind of dizzy and out of breath.’ They ordered a standard array of labs, and when we (the lab) drew his blood, we noticed that his blood seemed really thin and watery. That was because he had A [expletive] 2.7 HEMOGLOBIN.”
“For those of you who know hemoglobin values, I swear on my mother I am telling the truth that this man was both walking and conscious when he came in. He even argued about being admitted overnight. We couldn’t even get his sample to run at first. We had to [expletive] with the sensors for it to register. For those of you who don’t know hemoglobin values, it’s basically measuring ‘how much blood is in your blood,’ and therefore how much oxygen is capable of being carried throughout your body. Normal hemoglobin is roughly 12-16 or so, depending on age and gender. Below 10 is where they start considering the possibility of transfusion, and below 8 is considered ‘critical.’ A 2.7 should be dead.”
“Edit 1: Since a lot of people have asked, the ultimate cause was severe alcoholism. His liver and pancreas were starting to shut down, so long-term alcoholic anemia coupled with poor diet lead to his hgb dropping slowly enough that his body was able to adjust. He survived and was transferred to another facility after transfusing a few units, but probably won’t live another ten years because of the damage already done.”
Wow!
This SPAM Story – Part I
“Finally my time to shine. Hematologist here (i deal with leukemias/lymphomas, unexplained anemia, that kind of stuff).
“My favorite story to tell is of a patient – gonna call him Mr. X. Well Mr. X is a 38-year-old patient who presented with swollen abdomen, extreme fatigue, peripheral edema, and multiple enlarged lymph nodes. To paint a mental image, imagine a huge purple potato with toothpicks for limbs and inflated gloves for hands – wasn’t looking human at all. After a lymph node biopsy, the diagnosis came: Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (HL). Now, HL is one of the few curable diseases if treated correctly: 6 to 8 rounds of chemotherapy, however, the subtype was rather aggressive and with poor prognosis so his chances were grim, to say the least. One course of chemo is about a month, but seeing his status not improving after 2 weeks (half a round of chemo) he wanted to be discharged to ‘die in his bed in his home.’ so he calls his friend to pick him up and off they go.”
This SPAM Story – Part II
“One month later, a healthy-looking man (fit, groomed) approaches me and tells me he’d like to continue the chemotherapy because he’s feeling great. I had no idea who I was talking to until he introduced himself as Mr. X. My jaw dropped to the floor and I sort of rushed to schedule his next rounds of chemo. I asked him what changed his mind about staying and he tells me that on the way home, after about an hour on the road he got a weird appetite so he asked his friend to pick up about a dozen cans of spam (the European equivalent at least) and he just devoured them on the way home. Seeing that, his friend told him when they got home: ‘well, X, if you can cram that [expletive] in your stomach I’m pretty sure you can take at least two more rounds of chemo.'”
“So there he was – the living proof that spam changes lives. So at the end of chemo (8 rounds), he had what we call a ‘Complete response (CR)’ – a CR that lasts to this day (5 years later), pretty much equivalent to ‘cured’ in his case.
Okay, the man got saved by SPAM. SPAM, people! And now I’ve seen it all, haha.
This Miracle Survival
“Neither a nurse nor a doctor, but an EMT-B working for a county 911 system. I was a crew of two, and both of us were EMT-Bs. We received a call for a 40-something male having difficulty breathing and some chest pain. Once we arrived on the scene and walked into the door to his kitchen, he was sitting in a tripod position at the kitchen table about 15 feet from us. He was audibly wheezing and said it was really hard for him to breathe. Assisted him onto the stretcher and into the ambulance. Gave the patient O2 and placed him on a 12-lead, BP cuff, and Pulse Ox; transmitted it to the nearby hospital and radioed dispatch to try and have a paramedic unit meet us en route.”
“Wasn’t able to, so we made it to the hospital in about 5 to 10 minutes. When we transferred him from our stretcher to the hospital bed, he went into cardiac arrest. After the first round of CPR and cardiac drugs, they were able to sustain a pulse. After a few hours of running other calls, we were at the same hospital and the doctor said that the patient had a Pulmonary Embolism, Widowmaker STEMI, and Stroke, on top of him coding. As far as I know, he survived.”
That’s amazing to hear, right?
This ‘Boy Who Lived’
“Young man (early 20s), electrician, working on the roof of a three-level new home build. His boss didn’t supply harnessing & he fell onto a concrete pad below. Broke every bone in his face, both wrists & one forearm. I didn’t meet him until three days later in the orthopedic ward where the nurses were calling him ‘the boy who lived’ (one of the HP movies had not long come out). Honestly, he should not have survived but he did by some miracle. His young wife was equal parts terrified & furious.”
That man is indeed lucky to be alive.
This Skydiving Mishap
“Also not a nurse or doctor, but a couple of months ago I had a serious skydiving accident in which neither my primary nor reserve parachute opened properly: The reserve wasn’t even open halfway.”
“Ended up with a shattered femur, open book pelvis, burst fracture on my back, and some broken ribs. I will not be skydiving again, but I will be able to walk. My wife is a flight nurse and her fellow co-workers saved my life on the helicopter.”
What an incredible story, huh?
This Victim Of An Attack
“A lady attended ED with her throat slit. She was unfortunately a domestic abuse victim and a vile man had cut her throat with a very large, sharp, and jagged-edged knife. The wound was so horrific and deep, it still baffles everyone how she survived. But not only did she survive, but she was also conscious the entire time! Thanks to the quick actions of the paramedics, they were able to protect the airway and place a tracheostomy. Unfortunately, she has been left with life-changing injuries, unable to eat and fed via peg, and left completely unable to talk.”
Oh, that is both shocking and sad.
This Reversal Of Fortune
“Had a STEMI patient dead on the Cath lab table who was defibrillated 48 times, we said we will do one more then call it. 49th shock then Sinus rhythm. Dude was playing golf 2 months later.”
I can’t believe they tried that hard and it worked for this man.
This COVID Success Story – Part I
“I was a Phlebotomist during Covid. I watched 6ish people die in one single weekend in my ICU mornings. I was friendly with some. There was one guy left. I can still see his face. For 2 months I drew his blood and his wife (Non-ICU Covid) for a month. I watched him get intubated, extubated, and reintubated. I remember telling his wife whatever I could that wouldn’t upset her. Oh, his blood pressure was almost normal today! Oh, his blood was so easy to draw today! The blood thinners seem to be helping lately. Just not a lie but not an affirmation. I’d talk to him while he was out and tell him about his wife, how nice and wonderful she was, and how he had to keep going ’cause she really missed him.”
This COVID Success Story – Part II
“Everyone thought he would die like the rest. He coded twice at least during my shift. And he was only extubated for a few days because he was just really struggling. One day I come in after a weekend off and he’s not there. I panicked and was told he was moved to the first floor. Which was on my way for morning routine. I never had a quicker more efficient day at work. I was determined to be the one to get to his room. He was sat up in bed chatting with me after two weeks. I told him about his wife and anything he asked and I was legally allowed to tell him. He walked out of the hospital on his own. I have some similar stories from Covid but we all were like ‘holy [expletive] I can’t believe he [expletive] lived.”
Miracles do happen. Am I right?
This Bicycle Accident
“Not a doctor or nurse but my dad. In May of 2019, he got hit by a train on his bicycle; the police report said it was going 80mph. When we got to the hospital on the first day the doctors basically told us to prepare for his death. His blood pressure was dropping like crazy but they cut a hole in his stomach and that seemed to stabilize things for the first night.”
“He woke up a few weeks later and had broken all his ribs on the right, some on the left, both collar bones, his right arm, collapsed both lungs, and had a traumatic brain injury. After he woke up in the ICU he was acting pretty crazy. The drs told us he would never return to his job or regain the level of intelligence he had pre-accident.”
“Eventually he left the ICU, went to a general ward, and then 2 rehabs. He left the 2nd rehab early. By Aug 2019 he went back to his job as a VP. His speech was still slightly impaired at this time. In Dec 2019 he bought a new bike. As of today, he seems completely normal. Long shot, but if you were one of the first responders for this accident I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Whatever you did on that first day probably ensured that he got to live.”
I have to say, it’s incredible he’s pretty much back to normal now.
This Christmas Miracle
“My wife, 47 years old in great shape (walking 7 miles a day), complained of stomach cramps.
Diverticulitis had narrowed her colon, so her poop was nothing more than a thin ribbon. She didn’t discuss this with her PCP (Primary Care Physician).”
“Two days before Christmas, she came home and said she thought she had the flu and just wanted to sleep. When she was changing, I noticed her swollen belly. Her normal washboard stomach looked five months pregnant. I took her to the ER as ‘that isn’t right.’
“ER backed up with major holidays and ‘possible flu’ gets the bottom of the triage list. The nurse kept asking, ‘how many months pregnant?’ She had a full hysterectomy, so that was not possible. Explained ‘rapid change to her belly.'”
“Fourteen hours pass, finally get her X-rays. Radiologist notes ‘full of air.’ Ruptured colon and she just says, ‘doesn’t feel well.’ Fully septic, the ascending colon was removed, and an ileostomy was fitted. Sepsis shut down everything, and her heart kept pumping. She coded numerous times in recovery. One tough lady, and crazy 24 hours with her after surgery.
“Hospital folks would tell her she was the Christmas miracle. Still amazed she is still with me 17 years later. For the longest time, she kept asking her surgeon, ‘what is typical recovery time’ and he deferred the question. She had an additional seven surgeries, so we got to know her surgeon, and he finally admitted, ‘you’re the only one who survived a total septic shutdown.’
Was she one in a million or more?
This Misdiagnosis
“My mom’s bowel perforated from misdiagnosed Crohn’s (they said it was ulcerative colitis so they didn’t look closely enough at the small intestine). She was already in the hospital and they finally let her eat again after a week or so of being NPO and on TPN. Everything went to hell shortly after. Only reason she survived through the surgery was because she was already in the hospital when it happened. Still, she was given a 60% chance after already surviving the surgery. Lots of near misses for several years but she got her stoma reversed a year after the surgery (and promptly had a heart attack post-op while still in the hospital, but also survived that). It’s crazy what we can survive sometimes. You saved her.”
She’s one lucky lady, huh?
This Severe Anemia
“Patient here. Last year I walked into the Dr’s for a checkup and found that I had pretty much no red blood cells. Dr kept me in the room for an hour asking me questions and kept wondering how I’d managed to walk to the office alone much less how I was standing in front of her and not collapsed on the floor. Apparently, I’d had SEVERE anemia for about 5ish years and was just living with it. Coincidently, the year prior my dog was in a similar place. We went to the vet bc she was bleeding everywhere and come to find out her white blood cell count was literally zero. Idk how either of us is alive right now but I’m damn sure we’re both happy to still be here.”
These two are partners in crime.
This Flesh-Eating Disease Survival Story
“First-time poster, bare with me if my storytelling isn’t the best. Wound care director – nurse – specializing in wounds for 6 years now. Two wild wound stories patients shouldn’t have survived.
“Patient A was a regular lady, little overweight, some mild hypertension, nothing crazy. Smart woman, worked a full-time job, aviation mechanic. Comes into my work with NF – necrotizing fasciitis – flesh-eating bacteria, deadly, gnarly [expletive]. She had a 10% chance of survival. Her peritoneum was exposed completely, it had eaten her skin and soft tissues across her abdomen, all the way across top to bottom, around her flanks, the tops of her thighs, top of her vagina, under her breasts. The wound measured about 70.0cmx120.0cm with a depth of 7.0cm or so in some parts. After many months of wound care, skin grafts, and PT/OT, she walked right out of the facility. Scarred, but completely fine! All of it started by from a bug bite/cut on her stomach after swimming in one of the local lakes in our state.”
OMG, that’s my worst nightmare story.
This Unbelievable Story
“Patient B was a patient suffering from severe mental illness. Her and her mother (also had mental illness issues) were living in a motel. One day patient B up and decided she just ‘wasn’t going to walk anymore.’ She sat in the motel chair for roughly 45 days straight, urinating, defecating, not showering, etc in this chair, literally lived and sat in the same spot.”
“Eventually, motel staff received complaints of foul smells, they called the fire department. Her flesh had rotted off – pressure injury that went necrotic – and was eaten away by maggots in that chair. When they lifted her off her skin had literally liquified into that chair. For obvious reasons patient B and her mom became APS cases, and they actually became some of my favorite patients for many years! By the time patient B got to me, she had had multiple debridement surgeries and she was left with a permanent colostomy and urostomy.”
“Her wound was 20-25cm deep approximately (she was obese, imagine large buttcheeks just gone, down to the bone), I could put my arm halfway up my forearm in her wound and move them side to side, it was easily 60cm wide by 40cm in length, sacral bone exposed bilaterally, with the bottom 3-4 vertebrae exposed too. Both buttcheeks were gone, it was just a very deep hole, muscle and bone at this point. In 1.5 years, her skin grew back beautifully though. What I found amazing was the body’s ability to grow back separate cheeks LOL I know that might sound odd, but from where it was – a massive hole – to two decent cheeks, the body never ceases to amaze me! Wound care man, I got stories for days.”
Wow, this sounds like an unbelievable story.
Oh my goodness.
These are some shocking stories. That’s for sure. These folks should have died somehow, and for some reason, they were able to persevere. It’s pretty incredible to hear all the details and find out they’re still alive today.
Honestly, I don’t know how health care professionals handle things like these. I think I would be scarred for life. Which story of survival shocked you the most?
