#1
Edit: Wow. The support on the internet can be beautiful sometimes. Thank you all so much ❤️❤️ To answer a few of the questions, we did two rounds of IVF, and it took three years for it to finally be “successful.” Her pregnancy was extremely rough, as there was rarely a day where she wasn’t sick but we were both so excited since we knew it would be worth it. Fast forward to October 2024, she is having bad stomach pains so we went to the ER. Almost immediately, they told us the three words that will haunt me forever - “There’s no heartbeat.” Tragically, this was the last thing my wife heard before she had to be intubated. And so, the nightmare began. She fought for 5 days, with family by her side. She ultimately passed from Sepsis, pancreatitis, leg infections, and finally full organ failure. She was an organ donor, but nothing could be saved.
Her funeral was beautiful, but it was obviously a near impossible day. The community all came together and supported me more than I could have imagined, and I’ll forever be grateful for that.
If you take anything from my story, please just pamper your wives, and hold your little ones extra tight.
Thank you all again, truly.
#2
It seemed like no choice at all, to live or die, but that choice to live made me the enemy of 1/3 of my country who passionately votes to k**l me and any woman in that situation.
And now women are dying because of the way they vote, women who are in the same situation that I was, and they could not be more delighted, it’s exactly what they always wanted, and it’s hard to live knowing that.
When I tell my story, “conservatives” (the right wing in my country,) call me a baby-k**ler, they have for over a decade now, they don’t draw any distinction and can’t tell the difference. They are mad that I didn’t die, they didn’t change the law fast enough to k**l me.
I view all of them so differently now, 1/3 of the population can’t be trusted, they are bloodthirsty monsters, they don’t care how many of us die, they will never change how they vote.
We got in touch with MisterBigDude and he was kind enough to tell us more about the roots of his now-viral post.
"At home one day, I was planning a trip and thinking about how it would be difficult (as all travel is) because of a physical issue I developed in my 20s," the Redditor told Bored Panda.
"That made me ponder how different my life was before and after that issue. I suddenly thought it would be interesting to hear from other people about events that had substantially changed their lives. So I wrote a quick post."
#3
#4
Found out my partner had been cheating on me for years with multiple women (his job as a police officer allowed ample opportunity for f*****g badge bangers and for believable overtime).
Single mum life. Moved over 1000km away to go back to my parents. Living on welfare. No savings. A car issue/pet issue/health issue away from total disaster. No sleep. Not many friends. No job. Raised the newborn on my own.
Scary how life can totally upend in a morning.
MisterBigDude said, "Since r/AskReddit gets a ton of posts, I figured few people would see mine. I was shocked that thousands of responses poured in, and I continued receiving them more than a week after my post!"
"Of course, many of the posters wrote about deaths of loved ones. It was heartbreaking to read those entries. (I am in that category too, as my life changed a lot when my father passed away.) Health problems and relationship breakups were also among the most common topics of responses to my post."
#5
#6
It can be tough to deal with the curve balls life throws at you. So, the global polling organization Gallup Inc. has been asking people how they are feeling for the past 18 years with its Global Emotions poll—and the good thing is that in 2024, the answer is a little less bleak than before.
The researchers surveyed more than 146,000 individuals aged 15 years and older in 142 countries about their positive and negative experiences over the previous 24 hours, and then gave each country four scores on a scale of zero to 100: two scores for how present or lacking their positive experiences were, and two more corresponding to the prevalence of their negative experiences.
Overall, the results point to a world that, despite its many worries, is more content than fretful. Global stress levels were recorded at 37%—the lowest since 2019.
#7
#8
40% of adults reported feeling a lot of worry; 30% reported physical pain; 26% said they were sad, and 22% were angry. But the positive metrics were higher. The overall negative experience index fell from 33 last year to 31—the same level it was before the pandemic. Over the day prior to the survey, 85% of respondents said they had been treated with respect; 71% said they were well-rested; 73% said they had felt a lot of enjoyment or had smiled and laughed; and 54% said they had done something interesting.
#9
I had just had my first son, was working long hours at a car dealership and my wife was working as well. My parents never gave me anything. We had incurred some credit card debt, about 3k that was destroying me, I hated owing money. I asked my dad for some help (drop in the well for them) and he coldly said “no” and basically said figure it out. Over a couple years the debt increased because we were trying to survive.
I took a job across the country, pulled my family out of everything and we are thriving. All without their help.
They always quip that they never get to see their grand kids, well, sorry about it.
#10
"It is hard to say what helps people navigate such transformations," the author of the Reddit post said about the replies. "Many of the respondents were obviously still struggling to handle the effects of those big life events. I wish I did have magic advice that could bring them peace, but anything I could say would sound like an empty platitude. Everyone grieves and heals in their own way, on their own time."
"I feel that my post did give many people a chance to work through some of their grief by writing about it and sharing it, even for an audience of internet strangers—some of whom wrote very supportive replies to those posts. That's one example of the positive potential of social media," he added.
#11
In junior year of college, when I was 20/21, I developed very unusual symptoms of insomnia, intense muscle soreness, slow movement, and a shaking right hand. After months of seeing different specialists, testing different medications to see if they helped, and finally a lumbar puncture, I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
This fundamentally changed my life moving forward. I finished college and went to grad school immediately afterwards, but the fallout of the emotions and intense feelings of isolation caused me to leave. I later worked as a research tech for 4 years, and finished my PhD last year after 5.5 years of doing grad school again. I achieved that goal.
It’s been almost 13 years now, and I can’t say that any day since I started showing symptoms has been a “good” one compared to before. I have to deliberately move my feet and hands so as to not drag them, trip, or drop or spill something. I’ve gotten very good at it, but it’s exhausting. Everything is day-to-day. It’s also psychologically isolating, since almost nobody can truly understand or relate, while it’s also ended relationships when I told them about it.
But I try to keep positive, and look forward to something better coming in life.
#12
Edit: I'd like to thank everyone for your comments. I showed them to my wife, and she was very moved. She said that I am the most precious thing she has in her life, and now I'm crying. ❤️.
When it comes to practical advice, Stephanie Moulton Sarkis, Ph.D., N.C.C., D.C.M.H.S., L.M.H.C., the author of Gaslighting: Recognize Manipulative and Emotionally Abusive People—and Break Free, suggests these ten ways to cope with big changes:
- Acknowledge that things are changing;
- Realize that even good change can cause stress;
- Keep up your regular schedule as much as possible;
- Try to eat as healthily as possible;
- Exercise;
- Seek support;
- Write down the positives that have come from this change;
- Get proactive and work preventatively;
- Vent, but to a point;
- Back away from social media.
#13
#14
I often question if my near death experience 5 years ago really resulted in my death, and I’m living in some alternate reality.
Life is precious - live each day you have to the fullest.
#15
We were both 17 when he decided that he had enough of life. I spoke to him the day prior while my family and I were on a road trip to see him and other family. He came from the foster care system, and knew that when he turned 18 the next month, he would be homeless. What he didn't know, and something that still haunts me, was part of the reason we we're coming to visit was because my parents wanted to adopt him... I didn't tell him on that phone call, because I wanted to surprise him.
He took his life the next day, early in the morning. We arrived at 11:43am.. we saw the police and mortician at his foster moms home. She told us what happened. They didn't let me see him.
That was 14 years ago. I still wonder if things would've been different, if I would've just told him that we wanted him to be part of our family.
Ever since then, while I have many friends, I have never had a best friend again.
That was the day that I lost my rose colored glasses.
#16
I can point to one single paper that broke me.
I actually had a real breakdown and spent last week in a crisis stabilization unit. It is TERRIFYING to watch education ebb like this, and to see students not participating in their own lives. I do not expect people to love writing, but at least be *present* in your own head! The entire system is dumbing down, which means that the American people are dumbing down too.
#17
He just turned 3, but the last year and a half has been a ride we never knew we would be on. Up until almost 2, he developed normally and was just the happiest little boy. In early 2021, he was diagnosed with a rare terminal genetic disease called Krabbe Disease after losing all of his abilities like walking, crawling, and even sitting up on his own in a matter of weeks out of nowhere. We ended up at the children's hospital of Pittsburgh to try to get him a stem cell transplant to prolong his life. They told us that without it, he would pass away by the end of the year, but if he got it, he may never be able to move or possibly even breathe on his own. That was the most stressful 24 hours of my life. He has gotten the transplant, can still somewhat move his arms and legs, and has the greatest smile you'll ever see, and he knows he is loved so much. We tried to get him in a gene therapy clinical trial, but he had an antibody that excluded him. Now, we are just hoping for a miracle to happen.
He has a page called Prayers for Arthur, hope for a cure that we use to spread awareness and celebrate his life ♥️.
#18
Woke up in the hospital a month later with casts on my legs, many fractures, and a damaged brain. Spent most of a year in a brain injury rehab hospital, fortunately recovered well, and returned to my life.
Though it was a bit different.
That was almost 18 years ago. So far, so good.
#19
#20
Losing a sibling is surreal because you realize that they are like an external hard drive of your childhood. They were the only one that would have remembered this or that, or could correct the story, or topped it with something even crazier that you both shared. Losing them is like a compartmentalized, instant onset Alzheimer’s where some of your most cherished memories get wiped from the earth, never to return.
If your collected memories are all that you truly are, then I simply cannot claim to be the same person after his death.