June 27, 2019 | Andie Wood

People Share Their 'I Can't Believe This Is Happening To Me Right Now' Story


Most of our lives are monotonous and unchanging, for the most part. However, once in a while, we get a shock; something that happens in a split second that changes our lives forever. Sometimes, that shock is a punch in the gut, and the grief that follows is hard to bear. Other times, the shock is the best thing that ever could have happened, and it feels like a real-life miracle.

It just goes to show that nothing in life is permanent. If you're going through a rough patch, a sudden unexpected shift could change your course entirely. Also, if things are going well, don't take them for granted, because you never know how long it is going to last. If all that wasn't clear already, it will be after reading the following stories from internet users about a moment in their lives where they just couldn't believe what was happening to them.

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Don't forget to check the comment section below the article for more interesting stories!

#1 Life-Changing Moves

I finally had all my things packed up and got on the plane to move to France. It was the single biggest decision I’ve ever made in my life, and I wasn’t even sure it was going to happen when I first made it. I had always wanted to live in France, but I never had the courage to do it. Once I landed a job there, I knew I could make the move.

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#2 Now That's What I Call Karma

I was in Rio, and my mother had just given some money to a homeless dude. A few minutes afterward, a wild burglar appeared. He threatened her, so she gave him her purse and he was about to run away. The homeless dude then stood up and said something like, “She’s a nice woman, do not steal from her.” They started arguing and the purse came flying, somersaults and all, back to her arms.

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#3 She Went From Zero To Lifesaver In A Second

I was swimming at a lake last summer. My sister has seven kids, so I was helping her keep an eye on them. A little boy was bouncing up and down beside me. I thought the kids next to him were with him. Then, I realized they swam away and he was by himself. But he wasn’t play jumping, he was trying to stay above water.

After four seconds of him going under and seeing that he actually wasn’t tall enough to be in the 4-foot water, I reached over and grabbed him. The kid almost drowned. It turned out, he was about three years old. He puked up a bunch of water all over me and I held that stranger's kid in a hug so tight. The parents were 20 feet away with their backs turned.

It took me a good ten minutes to find them after standing there in the lake screaming for them and asking random people if he was their kid. I could not stop shaking with the realization this kid could’ve died and I just saved him. I had to leave after that and haven’t been back to that lake since. People, watch your kids, please. Tons of kids die every year. Takes one minute of distraction.

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#4 Don't Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch

My lawyer called me to tell me I won custody of my kids, then an hour later my ex called me looking for her child support check. I have to say, it was the best feeling in the world to be able to tell her I won. She didn't even want the kids in the first place; she just wanted custody of them as a way to get back at me. I will make sure to love these kids more than she ever could.

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#5 Thank Goodness For Damage Control

I woke up from what felt like a dream. I was half asleep and someone was talking to me. I knew they were there, but my mind was somewhere else. I woke up to a man asking me what my name was and my first thought was, “Well, that’s a pretty good question isn’t it!” I wasn’t quite sure what my name was, and I was still in a dream-like state where I couldn’t really grasp the physical world.

Then he asked me what day it was, and it took me a second, but it clicked: it was Christmas Day, The guy waking me up was a paramedic getting ready to load me into a helicopter. My face was so broken that I couldn’t open my eyes or make any sound more than a moan, but I wasn’t in pain. The moment where I thought “I can’t believe this is my life right now” happened once I landed at the hospital.

I always would think, when watching shows such as ER and the like, that it must be embarrassing to be injured and have a room full of people strip all your clothes off. So there I was, laying on a table which felt like cold like metal, in a neck brace, uncomfortable, butt naked, with people evidently scurrying around me. I chuckled to myself in my head how crazy it was that I was now that person naked in a hospital, but I didn’t care at all. I was just comforted that I was being taken care of.

Ski patrol told me I got knocked out and slid 200 yards, face down, unconscious. No one saw the accident because so few people were riding on Christmas day, but they could tell by the tracks that I had left. I don’t remember what happened at all, however. Needless to say, I wear a helmet when I ride now, which, everyone should regardless of skill level.

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#6 Just Another Day At The Hotel

I  was checking out a regular guest of my hotel when I realized he was having a stroke. He was mumbling, repeating himself, and he couldn't even sign his name. I called 911 so an ambulance could get him to a hospital. The moment it really hit was the next day when his wife called and said I saved his life. Like dude, I work at a hotel. This was not something I ever expected to hear.

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#7 Better Late Than Never

I found out I had epilepsy all my life when I was 45 years old. When I was younger, I used to feel these little sudden jolts up and down my spine, but they were never severe enough for me to think anything of them. As I got older, I started having actual episodes, so I think my condition was always there, it just got worse over time. At least I know now.

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#8 It Should Have Been Just A Fender Bender

I was in the hospital for my dad after he got into a fender bender. Everything was going fine (he only had a sore neck and some minor scratches) up until the doctor came in, shut the curtain behind her and told him “We found some spots on your lungs when we scanned you." It was cancer. Completely unexpected and heartbreaking.

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#9 First Baby Jitters

When the nurse handed us our first child ready to take her home, I looked at my wife and immediately thought. "Oh my god, we have to keep this thing alive." During the entire pregnancy, it never truly kicked in that we were going to be parents because we couldn't see the baby with our own eyes yet. The moment the nurse put our baby into our arms, we realized just how much our lives were about to change.

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#10 Teenagers To The Rescue

I broke down in the mountains late at night. This was at a time before cell phones were a thing. I had my flashers on, my hood up, and I was standing outside trying to figure out what to do. Two cops and a tow truck drove by without helping me! Hours later, a group of teenagers finally pulled over and offered to drive me to a phone to call for help.

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#11 The Final Cry For Help

I woke up to find messages from my friend saying he couldn’t take it anymore and he was saying goodbye. I’d never tried to call someone so quickly in my life, and during the whole thing, I just kept thinking, “This can’t be happening right now." It was the first time I’d ever experienced anything like that He’s okay now, but please, if you are going through anything, talk to someone about it. Take care of your friends and family.

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#12 They Were In The Right Place At The Right Time

I live in an apartment with a balcony overlooking a canal. One evening, my partner and I were out on the balcony having some fresh air, and there was nobody around except for a tipsy guy stumbling down the path along the canal. My partner commented that he'd fall in if he wasn't careful, and sure enough, he did.

We immediately called an ambulance and my partner ran outside to look for help. The guy was twice our size and if we'd tried to help by ourselves, we all would have drowned. Emergency services arrived in less than ten minutes and pulled him out. He lived. It still gives me shivers to think about what would have happened if we hadn't been outside.

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#13 Don't Drink And Drive

I woke up with my head lodged in between the car seat and the wall of the car after being hit by a tipsy driver. I was asleep in the very back of my Toyota Sienna while my mom was driving and I wasn’t wearing a seat belt during the time of the accident. Luckily for me, I managed to get away with just a scar to my forehead EVEN THOUGH I was flung across the car after being struck. I’m still flabbergasted I got away with just the scar.

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#14 Live Life And Love Big

I was diagnosed with incurable cancer at 33. I was given two months to live. It's been one year later and I’m still kicking it. As sick as I was, I’m glad I’m standing here. My prognosis is much better now. I won’t beat this, but it’s really given me a push to live life and love big. You just have to take in every moment and try your best not to take anything for granted.

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#15 Riptides Are No Joke

I got caught in a riptide, which is a current that drags you deep into the ocean away from shore. I've never experienced one, so I fought the current and swam against it.I'm a poor swimmer, so I ended up exhausting myself. I was out in the ocean with two of my friends when I realized I was too exhausted to float.

I remember that thought going through my head and I was 100% prepared to not make it. I turned to them and said, "Guys, don't panic, but I have about 30 seconds left." Thank God a surfer saw me struggling and helped my friends throw me on his board. A lifeguard boat came a few minutes later. I got extremely lucky.

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#16 "Is This Normal?"

I was nine years old when my mother and stepfather had gotten into a fight. She decided that everything that caused them to argue had to go, including me. She got the baseball bat and chased me, so I hid for hours until she lost interest. As I hid in the barn, I was wondering if this was a normal thing or not. This happened many years ago, during the summer of '84. I am living an amazing life now and she isn't in it.

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#17 More Skill Than Luck

It's probably not a big deal for most people, but the moment when I got promoted from a $13 an hour position to a $22 an hour position after only being with the company for six months was one I'll always remember. I still can't believe how lucky I am to have jumped so far up the company chain so early on. Hard work truly does pay off.

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#18 Gorillas Will Be Gorillas

One time, I got punched by a wild mountain gorilla. I was in Uganda, where they sell $500 permits for hiking into the forest with guides, during which you can spend an hour with the gorillas. One of the gorillas in the troop we were going to visit had the name “Punchy” in the local language because he enjoyed the classic game of “I hit you, you hit me back.”

So, upon seeing us, he ran towards our group, knocked over one girl, came to me and hit my gut. Luckily it was a “play punch” to see if I was interested, and the guards dragged me away to make sure he wouldn’t think I was hurt more. But yeah, a wild moment for sure! I can say, with complete certainty, that gorillas are freaking strong.

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#19 Carrying The Torch

I was selected to carry the Olympic torch back in 2002. I still, to this day, do not know what was submitted that convinced them to allow this. I am not anyone special. I didn't really think too much of it until the day I was running down the street carrying the torch, with people lining the road for miles on end to see the event. It was an experience that I cannot even describe.

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#20 Pack Your Books And Your Snowsuit

I got an email stating I got the Ph.D. position I had applied for a few months ago. The employer told me to get ready to go to Antarctica. To this day, I still can't believe I've been there... twice. As remote as Antarctica is, I think it's probably my favorite place on the entire planet. I would never give up a chance to visit.

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#21 Total Eclipse (Not Of The Heart)

I drove from Pennsylvania to South Carolina last year specifically to witness the solar eclipse in totality. It was simply amazing. It was like a dream-state. My family and I created those special pinhole viewers just so we could get the full-on experience. We loved it so much that now we follow space websites that track celestial events that we can participate in.

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#22 It's Best Not To Try To Wait Out A Hurricane

I watched the water slowly creep into my house during Hurricane Matthew... I had taken every measure to block the doors with sandbags, etc. It was in vain as the water came in through my foundation. It was the scariest experience of my life not knowing how to answer my eight-year-old son when he asked: “Mom, are we gonna be okay?”

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#23 A Fan's Dream-Come-True

I went to a concert of my favorite band ever. I bought the VIP tickets and chatted with the artist before the concert. Then, somehow I ended up going out to dinner with the whole band after the concert at some 24-hour diner. It was the best moment of my life. If you really like an artist or a band, I always suggest buying VIP tickets because you never know what could happen.

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#24 Talk About Paranoid

I was at a burger joint once and a guy was accusing the employees of poisoning the fries. In reality, it was just salt. I was sitting there with my sandwich trying not to die laughing. I'm not sure if the guy had ever been to a burger joint before, but salt is a standard component in fries. He must have been one of those paranoid conspiracy theorists.

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#25 That Little Flirt

I am not an attractive human being. I'll open with that. I was at Starbucks prepping my cup of coffee. For a venti, I tend to splash some half & half and throw in three raw sugars. A woman standing next to me said with a smile, "Take some coffee with your sugar?" I politely chuckled and held up the packet of the raw sugar I was using.

"My wife doesn't keep this at our home, so I tend to indulge in the good stuff when I find it." She then made, what I can only image, her "bedroom eyes" at me. She reached for my arm and said, "Maybe you need to start looking outside of your house for the good stuff." I laughed out loud because as far I could tell, the stranger was serious. I laughed all the way out the door and never looked back.

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#26 A Pregnancy Miracle

I'm actually pregnant after two years of heartbreak. We were about to go through fertility treatment since my periods have always been irregular but this one was even later than normal. I did a test and I was indeed pregnant! I am now 13 weeks gone and I had our first scan and tests. My fingers are crossed for the future!

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#27 Peaking Early In Life

When I was 17, I got to sing “Bring Him Home” from Les Miserables to a theater full of 1,200 people. It was a surreal experience to be able to hold the attention of that many people for like, three and a half minutes. They even clapped for me at the end. I’ve not had another experience like it in the ten years since.

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#28 Nailed It

As a law student, I got an interview for an incredibly prestigious clerkship. I flew across the country and I felt like I had seriously nailed it. I’d been unspeakably nervous but I managed to give the best interview possible. I walked out and started crying in disbelief and straight-up gratitude. A few weeks later, the recruiter called me. I got the job.

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#29 In Search Of The Northern Lights

My first solo overseas trip started in arctic Finland. On day three, I spent the day husky sledding, ice swimming after the sauna, then at night, I went out in search of the northern lights. I ended the night watching the aurora swirling overhead. That whole day was incredible. I still can't believe I actually got to experience it.

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#30 Life Can Change Course In The Blink Of An Eye

I was going through a major existential crisis. I was sure that I wasn't ever going to accomplish anything of note again, and that I'd horribly bombed all of my interviews. It felt like my life was over because I couldn't even get out of bed before 3 p.m. Then, one day, two of the three companies I recently finished interviewing called me saying they wanted to hire me and gave fantastic numbers. Just before I accepted one, my dream company called me and gave me an even better offer. I now work at Google.

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#31 Front Row Seat To 9/11

When the second plane hit the South Tower on 9/11, I was working across the street. The view from our windows was normally a wrap-around vista of the Trade Center. Suddenly, it turned into nothing but flames and smog. That's when I realized the first crash was not an accident. It was the most terrifying thing I witnessed in my life.

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#32 Not Everything That Happens In Vegas Stays In Vegas

In Vegas, I was awakened by my husband. He had a stack of money in his hand. He has just won $26,000 on a penny slot machine. I couldn’t believe it. I was 21, he was 23, and just a few days prior, we started escrow on our first home. The timing was perfect, I couldn’t believe it. We felt like the luckiest couple in the world at that moment.

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#33 It's Never Too Late To Change Your Life

I come from a not-so-well-off background. Not the worst life by any means, but my father died of AIDS when I was a kid, my mother developed a substance abuse problem when I was a teenager and my stepfather was abusive, so yeah, not great. I didn’t go to college after high school because I just needed to get out of there but finally, I enrolled almost a decade later.

My “I absolutely can’t believe this is my life” moment was when I got the acceptance phone call from Harvard Law. It was still the best day of my life and even after graduating I look back on that day with reverence. I can’t believe how fortunate my life has become. Always work hard and never take anything for granted.

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#34 Not Two, But Three...

Getting married, then finding out months later that she is two months pregnant... with triplets. I'd always wanted to be a father, but I never expected I'd have to take three under my wing right after I just got married. I knew my life was about to change pretty drastically, but I wouldn't have had it any other way. My family is everything to me.

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#35 A Halloween To Remember

When I was 13 years old, I went trick-or-treating around my neighborhood on Halloween night. I was making my rounds and as I rounded the corner, I noticed a bunch of people crowding around a house, panicking. It took a moment for it to sink in that the house, which was on fire, was my house. I saw my parents outside so thankfully they were safe, but we were all devastated.

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#36 Tigers Can Create All The Feels

Recently, I went on safari in India. I didn't really expect to see any tigers as we had been told that they could be elusive, but we saw FIVE in one day! One tigress walked straight towards us dragging a dead antelope to her three cubs. And we saw a male tiger drinking from a river. Such an awesome 'pinch yourself' experience!

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#37 Where'd My Wheels Go?

All four wheels were stolen off my car like I was in some horrible 80s movie set in New York. I was going to go grocery shopping and as I was walking toward my car in the parking lot, I saw it had no wheels. My initial thought was, “Wow, that car has no wheels, that sucks” and it took me 10 seconds to realize that the car with no wheels was mine. It was a huge nightmare and made what was already an incredibly bad week even worse.

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#38 Not The Job He Bargained For

I interviewed the president face to face for ten minutes... while it was being broadcast live. I'm an engineer, not a journalist, so it was very hard to believe it was happening.

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#39 The Joy Of Adoption

It was my happiest moment ever! My husband and I, in our 40s, could not have children. So we applied with the local county for a child and three years later we got a baby who had been abandoned. The best part was when we went to court and no one in her birth family showed up! She'll soon be 30 years old. She is absolutely wonderful.

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#40 Their Cheating Hearts

I got a message one day from a stranger that said: "There's something we need to talk about that is important to both of us." I made some time for a call shortly thereafter and the stranger called me. "Hi. You don't know me, but I think it's important that you know that my husband is cheating on me with your wife. I know this because he left his Facebook logged into our computer at home, and I see everything they have been sending each other for months."

BOOM. My life was immediately upended. I was a good husband to my wife. Really good. Then, my life exploded. My children were involved, and families were destroyed on all sides. That was the start of the worst year of my life. Over the next six months, I lost 40 pounds of weight and probably shortened my life by ten years due to stress.

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#41 Everything He Thought He Knew Was A Lie

I had some suspicions after my wife started getting calls from a random number. She would always hide in another room to take the call. Somehow, I discovered the conversations involved our son, so a part of me got curious. I just took a sample of his hair from his room, sent it to a DNA lab and waited for the results. My worst fears were true. I got my paternity test results and found out my son wasn’t mine. She had been hiding this secret from me for ages.

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#42 A Canoe Trip That Almost Turned Deadly

I was canoeing down a river with my wife. Our 11-year-old son was sitting in the middle. The river wasn’t crazy, but a lot of downed trees were wreaking havoc. We went around a turn, hit a log and overturned. The canoe was flipped over with water quickly pushing it down under the log. My son was trapped to the canoe somehow. I lifted the canoe with my shoulder and held his head above water.

I tried pulling him but he screamed and didn’t budge. Something was holding him down and it wasn’t letting go. I panicked and started pounding the boat with my shoulder to no avail. Slowly, I explored underwater with my left hand and discovered his leg was wrapped around his canoe seat. I lodged it free and yanked him away. We tumbled downstream and the canoe went under the log.

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#43 Sometimes Love Gets Rekindled Unexpectedly

When, 20 years after their divorce, I discovered my parents away on a romantic weekend together.

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#44 Watch Out For Those Lions

I was volunteering at a zoo in a third-world country I was attacked by a lion. The zookeeper didn't lock a door correctly, and three lions broke through the door. Holding a 40-lb piece of a cow carcass, I turned around and see them all on the same side of the fence as me and running towards me. At that moment, it went from, "Wow, getting to feed the lions is cool" to "This doesn't seem right."

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#45 Hard Work Really Does Pay Off

In community college, I was asked by the scholarships coordinator to attend a panel of scholarship application graders because they wanted more information regarding my answers. When I pulled up, I saw the scholarships coordinator walking into the building with a bouquet of flowers. After being asked to wait in the hallway for a bit, I was escorted into a large room full of people while the chancellor addressed the audience.

She was discussing normal meeting topics, which only added to the strangeness of my presence. She then started talking about a student, without naming them. At first, they were relatively generic statements. As she continued, it sounded more and more like she was describing me. Then I started to recognize some of the phrases she was using.

Once I realized she was reading my answers to one very specific scholarship application, I just started bawling. People were smiling at me as she spoke, and when she was done, she pointed me out to the audience, explained what she was reading, and announced that I had been selected as a recipient of a full-ride scholarship to cover all school and living expenses at any university of my choosing.

She invited me on stage to say a few words. I don’t remember much of what I said, or even if people could understand me through all the crying. I was then presented with a certificate and the bouquet, and someone took pictures. I went straight home to tell my dad the good news. We just hugged and cried. It had been a rough few years for my family, and I am proud to say that my parents have never had to pay a single penny towards my college education.


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