I think everyone has had a “I thought I was going to die” moment at least once in their life, and I’ve had three close calls in my own life. I’ll share those experiences in three parts.

Stomach ache while driving, followed by fainting

The first time, I was driving to McDonald’s for a certain job.

I hadn’t felt anything unusual since waking up that morning, and I was driving slowly with plenty of time to spare, but I felt a strange sensation in my stomach, which gradually turned into stomach pain.

I had previously experienced excruciating stomach pain due to gas buildup in my intestines, but that time it miraculously subsided once the gas was released. However, that day was different; the stomach pain turned into nausea.

I couldn’t bear the nausea any longer, and as soon as I pulled over to a nearby supermarket parking lot, I reached my limit, opened the door, and vomited.

I closed the door, and thinking I’d rest a bit, I reclined the seat and immediately lost consciousness. When I woke up, paramedics were calling out to me. A customer at the supermarket saw my car in the parking lot, noticed the vomit outside (which contained blood) and the condition inside, and informed a store employee. The employee then called an ambulance.

Emergency transport

When I was put into the ambulance, the initial suspicion was a myocardial infarction, so I took nitroglycerin sublingually upon arrival at the hospital.

After various tests, it was determined that I had a severe stomach ulcer, which had temporarily reduced my blood volume and caused me to faint.

I was also told that if the customer hadn’t found me when I lost consciousness, it would likely have been too late.

Needless to say, I went to thank them afterward.

The root cause of the stomach ulcer was Helicobacter pylori infection, which was completely eradicated after a week of hospitalization.