I thought I was at the moment of death. As a nurse I’d been with patients in their final moments but now found myself preparing to face my own probable death. Late one evening, I was trying desperately to get home amidst severe weather warnings. Thunderstorm warnings were in effect with strong likelihood for development of a tornado. We live near a lake in Louisiana experiencing frequent tornado activity, so bad weather is always a concern. I was within a mile of home when the worst of the storm hit, stranding me on an overpass over the interstate. I was caught between cars, visibility so low I couldn’t even see the tail lights of the car ahead of me. Rain and straight lines winds buffeted the car, moving it and rocking it side to side. I waited, terrified, not knowing if I was going to be swept from my high point by a tornado or killed by impact from a vehicle behind. Though, I couldn’t see it, I learned later the tornado touched down about two hundred feet behind me, destroying everything in its path.
Once I determined death was inevitable, my fear left me. I felt gratitude for the life I’d been given and was grateful that my husband was there to finish raising the children. In a minute or so the skies cleared as I headed home to my worried family who was hiding in a closet from the tornado I’d just escaped! I’ve never felt a dread of death since that day.
You are very welcome.
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I,for one, am extremely happy that that tornado touched down where it did, and not 200 feet closer to the car you were in. Otherwise, someone else would be telling this story, and I already know they could never tell it as well as you. 🙂
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Why thank you.
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Wow, what an experience!
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Scary!!! So where in Louisiana? That is where i’m from. 😉 ~Elle
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Greenwood, near Shreveport. You?
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Central Louisiana. Very small town – Oakdale – on 165 about 40 minutes from Alexandria. About 45 minutes from Lake Charles. Small world! 😉
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Oh, I know Oakdale. Sometimes I go to Lake Charles or Alexandria
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I’m really surprised at how many people know Oakdale! Glad to meet you! 😉 ~Elle
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You too!
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Must have been scary!
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Scary at first, then peaceful resignation. I don’t dread death now.
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That’s a nice feeling to have…
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I don’t have any fear of death, it’s the process of a drawn out dying that worries me!
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Adequate pain control helps. Have a good relationship with your healthcare team.
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Excellent post. I recall that I was on a late night walk about on North Beach. I heard a voice shout, “OK, get him!” I turned around and there were two men behind me. One of them had a large pipe,
It was poised to come down on my skull. I looked the guy with the pipe in the eyes and completely relaxed and accepted that I was going to die. But instead of smashing my skull he looked me back in the eyes
And then the two of them fled. It seemed that I had instinctively done the one thing that would have saved my life and that was to look my assailant in the eye. I don’t quite understand why that worked but it is the only reason I can think of to explain that I am alive to tell the story.
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I guess he still had a bit of soul left.
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Something. I didn’t start shaking until they were gone…
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Has it changed how you feel about death?
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This happened when I was surrounded by the dead and dying. At that time it did affect the way I felt about death but I was convinced I was going to die.
I became afraid again when I tested HIV negative — perhaps because having a
future became so precious to me.
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I guess if friends were dying you felt swept along with them. A negative status would put you in a different place, wouldn’t it?
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It would mean that I would not die of AIDS…in the early days of the epidemic no
one knew how it was transmitted, what it
looked like or who had it….there was what
looked like solid medical evidence that it
could be caught from a kiss.
I had no reason to believe that I would not
be one of the men who would sicken and die. I fit the profile: bisexual, mid- 20’s and
sexually active.
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I’ve known that fear several times after a needlestick during patient care. It’s terrifying!
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Yes…I’ve only begun to remember it…it must be hard to imagine “forgetting” an entire decade but that’s what happened when I tested HIV Negative.
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Great writing; I felt as if I were there with you. Glad you made it through unharmed.
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Thanks. Me too!
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Great post and I too recognise that feeling as I once had it whilst scuba diving. And I agree, it is a lesson – to live our lives without fear, although its often easier said than done. Thanks for sharing.
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It changes things, doesn’t it!
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It does, it causes a shift that never quite goes back. But I think its a good thing, don’t you! Keep the great posts coming!
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It’s a very good thing.
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I had a tornado “chase me down the road of a Mt. Lake” many years ago and I can honestly say, I thought I was a goner. Not a feeling I care to experience, again. Don’t know which I fear more: tornado’s, hurricane’s, or the earhtquakes that I get on the West Coast. They all scare the hell out of me……
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My grandfather used to say that the fear of death would just make death come sooner 🙂 seems legit
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This must have been a very special situation. Full of fears and panic but then the moment of surrender and gratitude. Wow!
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Unforgettable
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I bet. I almost peed in my pance when we were driving at the edge of a thunderstorm area with tornado warnings when we went to Boston last year. We are not used to Tornados and I was terrified. You were so lucky!
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Linda, that is almost exactly what happened to me and Missy a couple of years ago. I had left Connie at Adam’s in Mississippi and was almost at my hometown about 90 minutes away. As i sat there my legs were shaking so bad they were bouncing and hitting the steering wheel. Before the storm passed I was holding Missy and praying and became really calm and peaceful. I actually feel now like the incident was a learning lesson and a blessing.
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So vividly described, Linda. We get lots of tornadoes here too and there is nothing worse than being in the car when one comes along. You just feel like a sitting duck! Glad you made it home safe and sound.
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