I Almost Drowned Today.

reply to post by GezinhoKiko

but at least have some understanding

lol, I shouldn't have posted that last comment... I am a bit drunk and not totally with reality, I regretted posting it immediately after I submitted it. It was an inconsiderate post, considering what the OP just went through. I just couldn't help myself, I thought it was a good idea at the time.

reply to post by ChaoticOrder



understood!
drink is the devil
i did think it was a little unlike your posts
thanks for clearing that up!

Originally posted by Frankenchrist
This thread got me thinking.

I wonder how many ATS members have passed away?

I've known one. A good bloke. We had planned to actually work together, and somehow time slipped between us, and then out of the blue a mutual member we knew posted of his passing. He fell and never regained consciousness.

Threw me for a six I can tell you.

And I've read of other members who have passed, that I'd only seen a few times.

.. OP your post reminded me of a book I read a while ago, called Breath. Written by Tim Winton, a great author where I live. From kids mucking about in the local water hole to a paramedic, the theme was how life in all of it's exhilaration can change in an instant.

It's funny how our perception of things directly in front of us can change entirely how we think. You say it was a small expanse of water, yet you felt it was the end. Our thought do sometimes make our reality.

I'm no swimmer, which is funny being an Aussie.. I don't go to the beach. But I remember twice as a child almost drowning. first time we were fishing off the rocks of victoria quay in fremantle. I slipped off and drifted out, and only my uncle saw me, dived in and saved me.

The other time I was caught in a rip. It sucked me out, tossed me around and threw me back - even the ocean will have none of me. lmao. but I was desperate and unable to find up.

scary... so I know how it can be, glad it's a post like yours and not someone else saying we've lost another member...

reply to post by ChaoticOrder


that makes me feel a lot better, thanks for clearing that up

@mainidh thanks for sharing your experience
and that book sounds really interesting i'll look it up

are you in the middle of no where with no beaches?

I would imagine this happens allot in America where people live in land.

Here in Australia we are all living along coast lines so we wouldn't really have much of this problem.

I'm not sure on that but most people i know are good swimmers, i don't know a person whore can not swim.

glad you are still here, I nearly drowned when I was 5.

I go body boarding and I get pushed under by big waves its scary but you end up on the surface again.


I just wish my wet suit still fitted me because its pretty icy here at the moment.

reply to post by amraks


Hi. Meet me. I can't swim.

Also live in Perth.

Kind of a land lobster. Love the sun, but water tends to be the end of me. Especially on a hot day.

reply to post by amraks


interesting you should think that
i live on the coast here in the UK
and obviously our waters here are fuc*in freezing, merky and just plain crap!
so i suspect it helps the cause on the country of were you live
OZ has beautiful clear although shark infested waters
theres quite a contrast
so no, not everyone near the coast can or will swim in our oceans
AND if you think that way then the whole of Britain should enjoy swimming in the seas due to the size of our country but alas this is not the case

guess you was raised in a family that didn't do many beach activity lol.

What a terrifying experience.

Reminds me of a few years ago when I almost choked to death, it was awful. My ex and I were out having a meal with a couple of his military friends who had come to see us. I had managed to get a piece of food stuck in my throat, and I thought I would be able to free it without incident, but after a few minutes of several 'quiet' attempts I realised I was in trouble. I was unable to ask for help because I couldn't breathe and I began to panic, I was unable to tell anyone what was wrong. By this time I knew I was minutes from death, I was aware of thoughts of my children and family being without me and I was so distressed.

I threw down my cutlery so it clattered on the table and got everyone's attention, then one of my ex's friends looked at my face, realised what was wrong and jumped up and hit me hard several times between my shoulder blades, and the piece of food came out.

It was an awful experience, and for a few days I was in floods of tears each time I remembered the sheer panic I felt, it was as if I was reliving it all over again

Warrant Officer Pete (i can't remember his surname), thank you for saving a lady in distress you're my own personal hero.

reply to post by GezinhoKiko


Shark infested waters no body is worried about that, we have spotters, pays to know what currents are doing also.
is shark temperature or is it just right where no sharks wanna go.


here in tassie its rare for a shark.

our waters are cold down here too in this part Australia but we still swim, it sucks when you get past your nads(sack) . lol

reply to post by shadow12


wow OP good story, good thing your ok



it can be very scary to be in a GIANT body of water, surrounded by MORE and MORE water all around you.


the best you can do is focus on *where you are* and *your immediate area*


if you keep focusing on how "BIG of a WATER" your in, you will go crazy, and panic.


just say "i am here in the water, the land is THERE" "this is where i am, in this one area"

"im not in the entire ocean, im just here"


don't get swept away from land though.


peace ^_^

reply to post by amraks



yea its an unplesent experience when your nuts dissapear into somewhere unknown to me
it takes your breath away!

reply to post by shadow12


Hey, glad you are ok!

You're not used to salt water pools by any chance, are you? If so, you float much better in salt water than fresh, so it may have caught you off guard.

Originally posted by anoncoholic
reply to post by shadow12

 

www.abovetopsecret.com...

maybe you should practice in shallow water first

you're welcome

I do open water swims pretty often.

The thing that many people don't realize is the body can have a reaction to cold water called the gasp reflex. It creates a tightness in the chest, short breathing and can lead to a negative spiral for your body.

So, if you're going to swim in the open water, get in and put your face in the water. Get used to the water for about 10 minutes before you start swimming. It can save your life.

I've experience this gasp reflex and even though I'm a pretty strong swimmer, it's very scary.

I 've almost drowned a few times in the ocean (surfing bigger waves), and I know how scary it can be.

Also, if you are swimming in freshwater, your body is less buoyant than salt water. Something to think about.

Glad you made it!

reply to post by Jukiodone


A tip concerning rip tides:

If you are ever getting pulled out by a rip, the worst thing you can do is try to b line back to shore.

Swim parallel to the beach until you are out of the rip, and then swim in.

thank god I was a competition swimmer for 15 years of my life.. And a life guard..

I've saved people from drowning so I can see why you'd be scared, it can happen to anyone.

Just take a deep breath and lean back

Air floats.. Your lungs can be used like a nice little air pac to keep you afloat

And if your "larger" You float better!

Rescuing muscled out people was always a pain >.>.. They sink like rocks and you REALLY have to wrestle them (you have to even sneak up on some people..)

Originally posted by Wildbob77
I do open water swims pretty often.

The thing that many people don't realize is the body can have a reaction to cold water called the gasp reflex. It creates a tightness in the chest, short breathing and can lead to a negative spiral for your body.

So, if you're going to swim in the open water, get in and put your face in the water. Get used to the water for about 10 minutes before you start swimming. It can save your life.

I've experience this gasp reflex and even though I'm a pretty strong swimmer, it's very scary.

LOL

the "gasp" reflex.. To the OP this is more true than you know..

Even to competitions swimmers this is very true.. Let me build you a scenario here.

You're at a competition and you are about to start your event. You are on the starting block and the buzzer goes off to dive in.. IMMEDIATELY you gasp for air (take multiple breaths which slows you down )because you went from room temperature to 70 degree water.. (sometimes lower)

reply to post by shadow12


Open water swimming can be challenging for a few reasons...

first, you don't really know how deep it is, and it can look deceptively small until you are in the middle.
Second, even in a lake, there are currents, and if you are going against the current, you will run out of steam pretty fast.

I had a similar experience when I was young. Friends invited me to their cabin at a lake for the weekend. There was a floating, well, barge I guess, anchored towards the middle of the lake, which looked pretty close.

i'm not the strongest swimmer but I can swim and tread water and such, so we decided to swim out to the barge and hang out there for a bit.

So my friend is already at the barge, I'm a little over half way when their dog decides to jump in and come out, and didn't that dog doggypaddle right over me, pushing me under, scratching the crap out of my back, and scaring the bejeesus out of me.

So I panic. i'm trying to tread water, but when I got dunked I took a bunch of water in and I'm coughing and spurting, and once the adrenalin starts pumping, i couldn't even think straight. So thankfully, Jon jumped in and swam out to me and let me grab onto his back and shoulders while he treaded water, letting me finally catch my breath.

I tell you, once I got on that barge, it was really really hard to swim back to shore, i think we sat there for an hour before we tried. The dog noticed I was upset I think too as it stuck right beside me the whole swim back.

I didn't really drown but that was the closest ever, so I kind of have a feeling for the fear you must have held.

I hope you bought your friends a few drinks of their choice for that one!