Have you saved a life?

[Burdo]

I’d imagine many in our online community have saved a life during their lifetime.

I almost died a few times, but was saved by others.

If you have saved someone, I’d encourage you to keep telling that story to others, but also so that you don’t forget, due to modesty, and years gone by.

But today, it happened to me. I saved someone.

On my way home from work, as I was crossing a high traffic and heavy pedestrian street. One street is particularly risky as it goes at an angle, so the vehicles come up behind you, not just from your front, left, and right.

I noticed a young lady jogging, everyone else waited for the traffic to pass, and I noticed a bus going about 15 MPH. Everyone seemed to freeze still on the sidewalk, except for that jogger as she ran into the street in front of that bus.

I was not close to her, but about 10 feet behind her, as I was on the sidewalk, with no time to think and not within grabbing distance, I yelled out to her, Whoa!, Whoa!, Whoa!, Whoa!, Whoa! (pointing towards the bus driver, who then pressed on the brakes).

Guess I must have thought about when I rode a rambunctious horse, IDK.

But thank goodness, my yelling must have gotten her attention, as I then noticed she looked around and about, and finally she looked toward her left, behind her a little, her blind side, she suddenly stopped and then turned back quickly to her right, narrowly avoiding the bus by an inch, and making a face of embarrassed laughter.

[Tim_D_USCCA]

I don’t know if I can think of a time when my actions have saved a life. At best, maybe kept someone from getting hurt.

This definitely shows the importance of situational awareness though. Being in condition yellow made you aware of what was going on so you could alert her. Great Job and thanks for sharing!

[Robert1246]

I think this happens more than we remember. I don’t know how to word it but I will try. When you save someone life it could have been a fight or flight situation or just telling someone not to do something because you know it will kill them. Since no one died it is not a traumatic experience so it seems like no big deal.

[RAYMOND45]

Yeah don’t want to talk about it

[Nathan57]

Don’t know.

[RUGER9]

The only life that I saved outside of my Naval career was when I gave a woman the Hiemlich maneuver in a Dennys back in the late 90s. She was turning blue & banging on her table. The food dislodged with the 1st thrust, thank God.

[Bill170]

Many years ago my company had sent me to Oregon to assist our group up there for a week.
One night I was leaving a pizza place with my dinner to go. At an intersection, I started to cross the street when the light changed. Out of the corner of my eye it appeared someone had flicked a cigarette out of their window. However, my brain mentioned this had dropped under the CENTER of the car so I stopped and looked closer. Under the car a flame was getting larger and rubber pieces were melting. I thought Oh crap!
I walked to the car and saw a lady in the drivers seat. I walked slowly and said in a firm voice something was burning under her car.
She rolled her window down and I calmy but firmly repeated her car was on fire underneath. She quickly jumped out and yelled “My baby is in the backseat!”
I set my dinner down and helped her get her baby out of the carseat.
Then I ran to the nearest convenience store and asked them to call 911. This was before cell phones. I also asked to borrow a fire extinguisher but they said they weren’t allowed to >:(
Her car was starting to really burn at this point. I made sure she was ok on the corner with her baby, the fire department showed up, I picked up my dinner and went back to the hotel to eat…

[Jerzy]

I’m with @RAYMOND45 .
Even my wife doesn’t know… it’s mine and only mine small secret.

[Mike164]

I walked by a motel swimming pool in Cody Wy. and saw a little person under the water and not moving. I jumped in, fully clothed and grabbed the little guy, placed him on the side where other were waiting. They did their thing and the little guy seemed to recover. The Paramedics showed up but by then it was all over with.

[Burdo]

Wow all. Compelling stories. Right place, right time. My adrenaline must have struck me.

On situational awareness, I think only when I began hearing examples within our self-defense communities, that I see it through a different lens now, maybe like slow motion. Do you all know if police officers ever get fatigued from being so alert?

“Word to the wise”, if your life saving event included self-defense, I can understand how your attorney might advise you not to share it publicly.

[Wendell4]

I’ve been in that situation twice. First time was when I saved a young woman from drowning while on vacation in the Bahamas years ago when I was in my late 20s. She had swam out farther than she could swim back and started screaming for help when she started going under. Everyone else just froze and I heard a woman scream “Somebody please help her!”. We were on one of those little private islands where they take the tour groups to and there was no life guard on duty so I immediately dove in the water, swam out to her (she was about a hundred yards out) and towed her back to the beach lifeguard style. Needless to say, I was the hero of the day. She and her friends couldn’t stop thanking me for the rest of the day and the young woman I was with couldn’t stop beaming with pride because she thought her boyfriend was a stud. lol!

The second time I was going to visit a friend and when I turned into his neighborhood, I just happened to look over and noticed a car sitting in a driveway with a hose coming from the tailpipe into the rear window with the engine running. The car was already full of smoke so I couldn’t see if there was someone in it. I told my wife (now ex-wife) that I thought someone was in the car and that we should stop and check to be sure. She told me not to get involved and to just keep driving. Fortunately I ignored her (needless to say, that pissed her off) and stopped anyway. I first called 911 on my cell phone and luckily there was an officer just around the corner. He pulled up just as I was getting out of my truck. I opened the driver’s door and sure enough there was an unconscious man inside. The cop and I dragged the guy out together and I started CPR while he got on the radio. He was breathing by the time the fire dept. showed up and the paramedic told me that had he been in the car another 5 minutes, he wouldn’t have survived. If I had listened to my wife and kept going, this guy would have been successful in his suicide attempt.

[Crockett]

Yes. CPR. But want i want to talk about is the guy that saved my son. Swimming in Lake Michigan my 10 year old son got caught in a rip current. I wasn’t going to get to him in time. A guy nearby stuck his arm out and grabbed him going by. That’s all it took. The guy was alert and just reacted. Didn’t stop to think about. Saved me from losing my oldest son. How do you thank someone for that?

[Sinbad]

I did the Hiemlick once on a family member. Not sure if they would have died without my intervention or not.

[mattm]

Former lifeguard and wsi (water safety instructor)…
Most instances were grabbing kids who got knocked over by a wave while their parents lay like oblivious walruses, faces aimed away from the water…and their kids. Oh yeah, sorry, it’s my job smdh. Happy when we got away from mouth to mouth and into compressed air.Drunks barfing as they come to…faaaan tastic. My best moments were teaching the little ones how to be relaxed in the water, and seeing how proud and happy they were to learn how to swim.
Funniest was at a pool, deep end, 15’, 3 diving boards. Young man, about 10, is on the board, nervous as all get out. His parents on the balcony yelling “jump Tyrone, jump”… I’m in my chair but on my feet, just waiting. Tyrone jumps, comes up as I expected, thrashing. I jump underneath him (last thing you want to do is go in the water, but this kid isn’t about to grab a ring and is too…uh, girthy lol for the hook), anyways, I’m underneath him, bounce off the bottom and just heave him towards the wall, then got behind him and collared him. He recovers, and I ask him why he listened to his parents when he is nowhere close to being able to swim. He says "I could see the bottom, so I thought I could stand up "

[Burdo]

Amazing stories. Goes to show the strength of our community, and interesting in that we are all across this country.

And those of us who were saved, or set on a good path are in gratitude - words fall short, some of us pay it forward.

So positive, outshining all else.

[Vaughn2]

One Sunday afternoon I was hanging out at Universal Citywalk in California and noticed three kids playing on the outside of the escalator. This is a long escalator that goes up to the second (mezzanine) level, about 25’-30’ above ground level. These kids were grabbing the handrail from the outside of the escalator and the hanging onto it as it carried them upward. The two older kids did it a time or two, each time letting go once they were a couple lifted a foot or two off the ground. (Of course their mom was nowhere to be seen.) Then little sister, about 4 years old, gave it a try. She panicked and didn’t let go of the rail. I was in a crowd of people who just froze as they watched this little girl getting lifted higher and higher off the ground. Without really thinking, I ran through the crowd and up the escalator, grabbed the little girl by the wrists, and lifted her onto the escalator with me. She was only a couple of feet from the top when I got to her, and had I not grabbed her she would have been wiped off the handrail as it disappeared into the wall and fallen to the concrete below. When we got to the top we immediately got on the down escalator. She was scared and crying, so I knelt on the steps and held both her hands, trying to calm her down and reassure her we were going to find her mom.

By the time we got back down on the ground floor, the older brothers had gotten Mom’s attention, and if her looks could kill, I’d have been dead. She looked like she was certain some guy was trying to run off with her baby. (Side note, I’m a longhaired white guy and I was wearing Sunday casual jeans and a t-shirt. The little girl and her family were black and dressed nicely…looked like they’d come from church. Race meant nothing to me, but I’m pretty sure it did to Mom.) Anyway, Mom came up and grabbed the little girl, scolding her while giving me death looks. I said nothing, but one of the boys piped up and said “Mom, this man just saved [can’t remember her name]'s life!” The mom gathered up the kids and walked away without saying a word to me. I was buzzing with adrenaline so I just went into one of the bars at Citywalk and had a beer while I tried to calm down.

Not sure if I saved a life, but my actions surely saved the little girl from serious injuries.

[David-65]

Only saved by God, more times than I can count.

[Burdo]

You have amazing grace Vaughn2. We’re grateful to you. A beautiful life carried on because of you. That was brave. Her older brothers will tell her, and her Mom, over many years to come.

I imagine others saw what you did and from that, they have faith in others because of it. Honored to hear your story.

If when told in person, you’d never have to pay for any beverages, not when we’re with you.

[Enzo_T]

Aside from everything else, I’ve been actively teaching CC classes for decades now and training shooters in groups and individuals to defend themselves for about the same time. Odds are that, yes…

[Kenneth94]

As an EMT yes. A lot of times. As a citizen, yes. But it still kind of freaks me out.