My Story #78 -- "I Almost Died"

 

My Story #78

I ALMOST DIED

I wish I could remember all the times that I almost died. I actually cannot know how one almost dies, but I think I did it a few times.

I was told by my mother that, when I was two years old, I drank turpentine and almost died.Later my brother explained it in more detail, because he remembered the event. He said that I turned blue, because I could not breathe. Well, God took good care of me.

When I was two years old, I contacted the Polio virus, and many people died as a result of that virus. Fortunately, I did not die. I remember the iron lungs, but I did not need to be in one. God took good care of me. I still have the scars from that virus.

Once I and two of my brothers were swimming in our pond, and I was floating on an inner tube, and my two brothers were at the edge of the pond fighting about something (or playing; I am not sure). I turned around and slipped off the inner tube, which popped into the air and was thrown away from me. I sank to the bottom of the pond, pushed with my only working foot on the bottom to push myself to the top of the water. I called to my brothers, but they seemed too busy to hear me. I went down for the "third time" and wondered if I would be able to come up again. My brothers at last saw me and rescued me. Maybe I almost died that time.

I was going to cross the railroad track at Morgan, Kentucky, on my way home from work at Griffin Industries (1970's). The train came and went, but the lights were still flashing. I decided that the train was already gone by, so before the lights stopped flashing, I drove across the track and got to the other side safe. Just as I cleared the track, a train came from the opposite direction going very fast. My heart went into my head, and I probably almost died that day. The Lord took care of me.

Now here I am nearly 78 years old. I no longer drink turpentine, swim in ponds, or cross railroad tracks while the lights are still flashing. WHEW! I almost died.