Saved From Being Hit by a Train

* Sent in by Ken Milne

I was our shopping with my girlfriends in town and had seriously overspent of some homewares and clothes and was lamenting my impulsive urges over lunch.  It was a common occurrence with me so my friends just laughed off my whinging and whining.

We went our separate ways after our catch-up and I made my way to the train station, stopping briefly at my favourite bakery before heading home.  I plugged in my earphones to call my boyfriend to tell him I’d be a little and late and not to worry.  I was busy chatting away when I approached the pedestrian boom-gate next to the tracks.  I’ll admit that I wasn’t really paying much attention, so I casually glanced to my right after the first train passed, oblivious to the other train coming the other way on the other track.  I just blindly went to step out.  But something held me back.  I couldn't move my arms or legs and I felt totally rooted to the spot.  I couldn’t move a muscle.  It was like something or someone had me in a full body hold.  In a flash the trained rushed passed me and I felt the wind gushing harshly against my face and body.  It scared the life out of me and my heart was beating in my throat when I realized how close I’d come to being hit, and possibly killed, by that speeding train.

My body then totally relaxed and felt back to normal and I tentatively made my way across the tracks to the platform.

I can’t really explain who or what stopped me from stepping in front of that train, but I’m certainly grateful that it did.

*

* Sent in by Ken Milne

My Guardian Angel Saved Me From Drowning

* Sent in by Rachel

When I was about 13 my family and some relatives visiting from Holland, travelled from Melbourne in Victoria to Hervey Bay in Queensland, on a two week road trip.

Somewhere halfway through New South Wales we’d stopped for a break and some lunch.  We’d pulled off the highway near an irrigation channel and a few of us decided to take a dip.  The fast-flowing current was pretty strong so the others quickly got out.  I was an over-confident swimmer and was sure I could easily swim against the current.

I ducked under the water and felt my body being swept quickly along with the current.  As I tried to surface I hit the top of my head against something hard and everything was dark above me.  I realized that I’d been swept under the concrete bridge that ran over the channel and there was no gap between the rushing water and the bottom of the bridge.

I bobbed back down and swam frantically against the current, trying to swim beyond the bridge.  I tried to surface again only to hit the top of my head on the bridge.  I was quickly running out of air and energy and I began to panic.  I kicked out frantically and in a last-ditch effort tried to swim free of the bridge again. 

Then I felt someone grab my hand firmly and focused my eyes on a figure in the water in front of me.  I was totally bewildering because I could clearly see the figure of a woman in a floating gown and she was lit up somehow, but she didn’t seem to actually be in the water ... she just seemed to be floating with the strong current not affecting her in anyway.  She just looked vibrant, calm and serene under the rushing water ... but I could feel myself starting to fade to darkness the longer I was stuck under the water.

I woke up on the bank of the channel downstream with no recollection of exactly how I got out from under the bridge and/or out of the water and up onto the bank.

Sitting up and looking upstream I could see my family frantically scrambling around the bridge and my mother being consoled by her sister, my aunt.  I yelled out and my Dad spun around then ran towards me.  I was still disoriented and couldn’t cohesively explain what had happened, but everyone agreed that I was safe, and that was the main thing. 

I still don’t know how I ended up on the bank some way downstream, but I do believe that what I saw under the water that day was my guardian angel and I can’t thank her enough for saving me from drowning that day.

*
* Sent in by Rachel