What was one of the most scariest moments in your life?

[Amy10223]

I remember when my girls were very young, I was with them in a mall, which they enjoyed going to because of the colorful arrangements, the stores (especially the toy stores) and so on. They were 8 and 4 at the time, or there about. At one point, I needed to buy a pair of shoes, and knowing that the 4 yr old would wander when I had to pay for them, I told the 8 (or 9 yr old) to stay with her at a certain spot where I could see them. I went to pay, and sure enough, while I was about to pay the cashier, the older one came to me, alone. I literally freaked out and asked her where her sister was, and she told me she had disappeared from her sight. I left the shoes there, looked all around and raced down the mall halls looking for my youngest child. It wasn't easy as it was crowded with people.

I found her walking rather deliberately, almost marching, in a crowd of people. I caught her and when I did, she had a defensive expression on her face. There was no fear, she was not crying, but rather in an indifferent mode. I think she was in a bit of shock about what had happened.

Years later when I asked her if she remembers this, she said she does, and I asked her why she was marching that way alone, she said she was trying to look for me. Never again did I take them to the mall alone. That was a parent's nightmare, and it could have been so much worse.

[AviatorTom]

Many years ago, a neighbor reported us to Child Protective Services. It was a complete misunderstanding, there was no risk or harm to our children, and Social Services erred on the side of safety. What was scary is that my then-wife and I had to go into a hearing, before a Social Worker Judge, and convince him that we were good parents. If we didn't succeed, there was a possibility that our kids could be taken away from us.

The hearing was successful, the judge realized it was a misunderstanding, but law required him to put us on a Child Endangerment list for 5 years, after which our "record" was expunged.

[Amy10223]

Oh goodness, that must have been a real nightmare! Sounds awful.

[Anonymous]

That's really scary for a parent!
For me it was during my Wife's delivery
I was sitting outside tensed
Then a doctor came out and said there were some complications and asked me to pray
I got freaking scared
Then a nurse came out and said that my wife is too scared and said she needs me by her side.. so they gave me some clothing and took me inside
I went to her side and I held her hands and stroked her hair comforting her and God made things go smooth and finally we met our daughter!!

[Amy10223]

That can be a scary time! Glad it all worked out well, and you could comfort your wife in that time.

[Stacey55666]

I worked the graveyard shift at a funeral home. At some point during the night I had to mop the "prep" room. I was surrounded by dead bodies. I was as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs! lol

If mopping was an Olympic event, I would have a gold medal for speed

[Amy10223]

Ah… my brother and his army friends used to tell each other stories that happened to them. One of them did what you did, worked at a prep room with dead people. One time, a body had what they call something, I forget the medical term where the muscles tense up after some time, and so the corpse sat upright and had a smile on his face. True story. My brother’s friend just about crapped in his pants.

[Stacey55666]

OMG, I would shit my pants, also. You're in a room by yourself, surrounded by dead people. It's a lot like a nightmare, except you're awake. Your mind plays tricks on you. I kept turning around and looking back. To the best of my knowledge, the dead people in the prep room were embalmed, but I'm not positive about that.

But my brother and I actually went out and picked up dead bodies. Most people assume that the fire department or ambulance does that. Not. Those people help rescue the living. Once you're dead, then the underpaid schmucks are called.
There was a running race in town. A helicopter was covering it from the air. The copter hit a guy wire and crashed. That was about the most gruesome thing we ever had to deal with. Those two fellas were roasted beyond recognition.

[Amy10223]

OMG, you are brave to do such a thing. I wouldn't be able to--I'm so squeamish. How do you do it? I can't even bare to look at my scar the I have for a knee implant. LOL.

[Stacey55666]

I had to bring home the bacon. I'm glad that's a thing of the past.

[Amy10223]

Good for you. It makes for interesting conversation, though! Thanks for writing,

[Stacey55666]

The funny part is, no one believes me. They think dead people just arrive at funeral homes by magic or something. If the dead body was on a hospital or nursing home bed, you weren't allowed any help.
You just parked your gurney next to the bed, and did your best to slide the body on to it. But if the dead body was on the ground, you were allowed to bring anyone you wanted to help get them on the gurney. I remember many times going to wild parties and asking friends: "Hey, does anyone want to come and help me move a dead body?" True story. I had no trouble getting volunteers for that. After we got the body to the funeral home, I drove them back to their party. And sometimes my helpers were half crocked, but as long as they could lift their end, no questions were ever asked.

I was never once was asked who helped me move a body. The funeral home gave me the cash to give to my helper, and that was it. The helper was NOT an employee. I could swing by your place, have you jump in the Chevy van, do the body removal, and get you back home within the hour. A few days later I would hand you fifty bucks.

One of the seasoned pros taught me to keep this on hand:


You put this above your upper lip when you had to pick up a "ripe" one.

[Amy10223]

----I remember many times going to wild parties and asking friends: "Hey, does anyone want to come and help me move a dead body?" --- That's so funny!! Haha!
I can imagine having that Vicks VapoRub above being your best friend when those times came. I bet many forensics people need to have something like this. If you ever saw the movie "Silence of the Lambs" I think they had detectives and agents (Jodie Foster) put something up there nostrils, that was for that whenever they found a dead body. I could never do that. Not only is that hard to stomach--the cadavers are dead weight (pardon the pun). Kudos to you, able to do that!! You can be in forensics if you wanted to.

[Stacey55666]

Thanks for the MHO

[Stacey55666]

Yes, it was definitely a bizarre job.