What's Your One-In-A-Million Survival Story?
Between Ernest Shackleton and crew's 800-mile Antarctic journey of survival in 1915 to Suleika Jaouad's cancer diagnosis and recovery chronicled in Between Two Kingdoms, I often find myself wrapped up in human stories of survival.
Survival stories are not easy stories, but they often get at the root of what it means to be human — the tragic but continuing endurance much of life teeters between. They're a testament to our perseverance, even in the most extreme. They give us hope in moments when we need strength.
So, whether you've survived lost at sea, beat a rare disease, or made it out alive after coming a little too close to death, I want to hear your survival stories. How did you survive despite the impossible odds against you?
Maybe you were diagnosed with a rarer type of leukemia, and at one point, a doctor told you there would only be a 10% chance you'd be alive in 6 months. You actually thought he was being generous, but it's been four years, and now you're cancer-free.
Perhaps when you were a child, you survived an electrical fire in your home that left more than half your body in 3rd-degree burns. Despite being given only a 5% chance at survival, you're now 33 and living a happy life with a partner and kids, something you thought you'd never see in your lifetime.
Maybe you are a survivor of a traumatic birth. You were experiencing what you thought was a normal pregnancy, but at 33 weeks, you went to the hospital after experiencing chest pain, fatigue, and confusion. The doctors rushed you into an emergency C-section and discovered you had HELLP syndrome, a rare but life-threatening pregnancy complication. Your baby's life was saved, but you went into liver and kidney failure and were put into an induced coma.
Luckily, you woke up two weeks later to a healthy baby, but you had a long road of recovery ahead. Now, you and your baby are doing great, but you wish you had known about HELLP sooner. The doctor said you might not have made it if you waited one more day with your symptoms.
Whatever your survival story, let me know in the comments or by submitting this anonymous form. Your story could be featured in an upcoming BuzzFeed Community post.
