Nearly lost a foot, or my brush with death

[AtomicKitKat]

So...I nearly got decapitated today, when I ran into a plastic rope that was holding up a banner, that was attached to a lamp post. The force of me running neck-first into it was strong enough to knock me on my keister, and leave an ugly red welt across my neck. Right now, it looks like I took a cane-shot to the throat, and the flesh feels really raw(although the skin wasn't broken).:smallfurious: I'm really pissed off more because if it had been someone just 5 inches shorter(like say, a teenager, or the average woman), they could have lost an eye, an ear, or half their face.:smalleek:

[Icewalker]

Ouch. I know exactly what you mean though, I did that once when I was a bit younger. I was on a bike and got clotheslined by a rope strung over the sidewalk, although luckily I landed on grass. Pretty big scab on my neck for a while though.

[Catch]

How did you run neck-first into a rope? :smallconfused:

[Setra]

All I'm going to say is... Ouch

[Icewalker]

He was running, and there was a rope strung up at neck-height?

[Jack Squat]

Your foot's attached to your neck? :smallconfused:

If you ran into it and didn't get more than a wicked scrape, I highly doubt someone could lose an eye or "half their face" - it'd just hurt.

I can't say I've had any similar experiences (though surprising, as I didn't look at where I'm going as much as I should when growing up), though my brother has ran head first into a tree and got a pretty nice rope burn from a nylon rope going through his hands at ~20 mph.

[Shades of Gray]

Your foot's attached to your neck? :smallconfused:

I think he meant a foot of height.

[Haven]

If it didn't break your skin, it probably wouldn't have done anything (eyes are vulnerable, but I'm having trouble picturing how that could happen). Unless you neglected to mention that you're Kryptonian as well.

Also, how did you miss the rope? :smallconfused:

[Icewalker]

He said plastic rope, so it was probably one of those thin but sturdy cords. Very small, often innocuous. I can believe it. Presumably he was distracted to some extent, but yeah.

[RS14]

Yeah; your neck is quite soft and vulnerable. Also home to lots of fat arteries. I doubt the line would have caused much serious damage, no matter where it struck.

[Ikialev]

How can banners be attached on a neck-height?

was it like
http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/9841/banner1ip.jpg
this? No way, your face would be lodged into banner. You would also see this when running.

Or maybe like
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/4735/banner2vj.jpg
Escept that your neck would have to be long as what.
Explain how it was possible!

[Miklus]

My sympathies. I once did the same thing, but on skies and going very fast. It hurts, I know!

[Jack Squat]

How can banners be attached on a neck-height?

was it like
http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/9841/banner1ip.jpg
this? No way, your face would be lodged into banner. You would also see this when running.

Or maybe like
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/4735/banner2vj.jpg
Escept that your neck would have to be long as what.
Explain how it was possible!

I'd imagine something in-between both of them - a banner hung level or slightly inclined with the bottom line, but away from the pole.

Why someone would hang one that's barely higher than a volleyball net, I have no idea.

[Ikialev]

oh. right, forgot about this possibility.
How tall are you, KitKat?

[TheThan]

I once ran full boar into a volley ball net I didn’t see (needed glasses at the time, didn’t realize it). Hit it full in the chest and put me on my back, knocking me out for an unspecified moment (probably less than a minute).

Had to pick myself up and go to the nurse, she said I looked like hell.

[Solaris]

I can believe it. There was a rash of guys running face-first into MRAPs out at my outpost, and I managed to hit my head on something pointy inside of one pretty much every day I was deployed.

[Perenelle]

So...I nearly got decapitated today, when I ran into a plastic rope that was holding up a banner, that was attached to a lamp post. The force of me running neck-first into it was strong enough to knock me on my keister, and leave an ugly red welt across my neck. Right now, it looks like I took a cane-shot to the throat, and the flesh feels really raw(although the skin wasn't broken).:smallfurious: I'm really pissed off more because if it had been someone just 5 inches shorter(like say, a teenager, or the average woman), they could have lost an eye, an ear, or half their face.:smalleek:

:smalleek: all I really have to say to that is owch.. >.<

sorry, hope you feel better. *hugs*

[Winthur]

How can banners be attached on a neck-height?

was it like
*snip the pic*
this? No way, your face would be lodged into banner. You would also see this when running.

Or maybe like
*snip the pic*
Escept that your neck would have to be long as what.
Explain how it was possible!

This looks shopped. I can tell from some of the pixels and from seeing quite a few shops in my time.

AtomicKitkat: I'd say that your life... *glasses* ...is moving in a breakneck pace.
*hug*

[Jack Squat]

There was a rash of guys running face-first into MRAPs out at my outpost

Correct me if I'm mistaken, but aren't the smaller of those roughly the size of a large step van? How does one not see it?

[Closak]

Aww, poor you *Licks*
Hope you feel better.

[AtomicKitKat]

Sorry for the late replies, dashed this thread off before going to bed, then woke up with barely enough time to leave for work, without switching on my system(laptop's HDD is on its last legs, giving the "F1 to continue" message this past week).

II(sorry, really don't like typing names with apostrophes): It was closer to the second one, except the banner's about a foot high, and the bottom edge was half a foot off the ground. I hit the upper rope(the one angling down towards the banner in your pic). There was actually a second(bottom) rope on the same side, but for whatever reason, the bottom rope was untied(I presume some kid who was small enough to duck the taller rope undid it to avoid tripping). I'm 5'8"(173cm), so the rope was at or about the 4'8" mark(given that I have a 9.5" skull, and the burn is at or about 2-3 inches below where chin flows into neck)

The rope itself was actually not one of those transluscent nylon fishing line sorts, but rather, something similar to one of these (http://www.khyatienterprises.com/full-images/1042825.jpg), white, and around 1/3 of an inch(about 8.5mm) in diameter. Given that it was daylight, it was actually quite close to invisible(plus the fact that I actually only ran 2 steps before hitting it, as I was just leaving the confined area of a building). The banner itself, was partially hidden from my view for 2 reasons. Firstly, I was approaching it from behind, which meant that I was more or less facing a white blank(which is apparently a rather effective camouflage in bright daylight), rather than the far more colourful front. Secondly, being rather low-hanging as it was(about 2 feet off the ground in total), it was in my "blind spot"(apparently, I have great difficulty seeing anything that is not a small child or animal if it's shorter than a certain height and not lying flat on the ground).

I actually gave my right hand's fingers a semi-decent burn at the first non-palm joint when I grabbed at it(which was what landed me on my rear, rather than my back), but as of right now, the burn scar on the neck is the main concern(yesterday, Sunday morning, it hurt if I so much as ran plain water over the area, and turning my head more than a certain amount hurt. Now, Monday night/Tuesday morning, some 40 hours after the incident, it's rough skin, and only hurts if I run my fingers along the scar.) Interestingly, the scar itself is almost horizontal(well, it's 2 lines that are semi-parallel/converging), although the rope was angled downwards from my left to my right.

As far as taking out somebody's face, well, it could happen.

Bonus story: The girl whom I've reverted to being "just friends" with(see Relationship W&A) was not working yesterday, so today, after work, I related the story, except since she didn't hear me the first time when I said "I got cut by a rope yesterday.", I decided to say "So yesterday, I was almost assassinated by ninjas.", which got a bit of a laugh out of her, but I've decided that if I ever have a bigvisible scar from this, this is the story I'm going with for the (grand)kids.:smallbiggrin:

[The Vorpal Tribble]

Ouch. I know exactly what you mean though You know those braided cables that come down from power lines to stabilize it or whatever?

I was at a friend's house one time, and hadn't been in there backyard. Come nighttime we headed to the back and it's still light enough to see by. We're just being stupid, and I take off running and though I can see the pole fine, i never saw the cable. Ran full force into it with my face. Dumps me on my butt.... but miraculously not a scratch on me. Hurt like the dickens though.

[Mando Knight]

Come now, you can't expect me to believe that's a brush with death. Why, in my grandfather's day, he'd shatter a limb or break half the bones in his face and still walk over to the telephone to call in the ambulance himself. :smalltongue: :smallwink:

...No disrespect to your discomfort, though. There is definitely no good reason why anyone should hang a thin cord in tension at head level where people walk. :smallannoyed:

[Optimystik]

This looks shopped. I can tell from some of the pixels and from seeing quite a few shops in my time.

The shadows are off too. They'll give any hack a WACOM tablet these days...

[AtomicKitKat]

Well, it's been a little over 2 weeks since the incident, and this past week I noticed someone's removed the banner assassin(either someone who witnessed me complained about it, or someone whom more people cared about got attacked). As for my neck, there's still a slightly whitish/pink line on the right side, just below my larynx, but very little rough tissue that I can catch with my fingernails now.

[Zovc]

I one time ran full speed into a waist-level (what looked like iron) fence.

My right hip bone seems to have led into the fence, and I flipped clean over the fence, landing on my back on the opposite side.

I didn't feel it or suffer any injuries, but I did a number on that fence... it's extremely warped.

[Ravens_cry]

Heh, I was playing soccer in my backyard and I ran head first into the embankment wall, made old railway ties. That was a nose bleed, let me tell you. Most nosebleeds drip, or drizzle. This was an actual POUR. I also had a lovely circumorbital hematoma as well.

[Thajocoth]

I thought you meant a foot, like the body part, not like the height. That sucks... I nearly lost a body part foot once. My leg got into the subway (in NYC) as the doors closed & the rest of my body did not. I couldn't pull it back out (dunno if that's because my legs are bowed or not) and the train started moving. Luckily it stopped, like, immediately and the door opened... But the speed I would've hit the wall at otherwise... I wouldn't be here.

Less scary, but more painful and closer to being a similar situation to what the thread's actually about... I was once running, in middle school, looked up at the first snowfall of the year, and... Tree branch in the eye. Well, next to the eye. It scraped the side of my eye. My vision's fine.