“I had an injured patient get hit in the chest with a nail gun at work. The nail missed the aorta by millimeters. He was sent home two days later and had no further issues. He joked about getting a bulletproof vest for future job sites.”

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Note: Some responses were pulled from this Reddit thread by u/Jonah_Boy_03.

"He spent a week in the hospital before he could move comfortably."

"He had the tiniest abrasion to his forehead and no neuro deficits. He had no idea. Everyone was absolutely dumbfounded."

"Most home glucometers don't go past 30. I was with my trainer nurse, who was dumbfounded."

"So, it must have been self-inflicted from a crossbow that the guy aimed at his chin. The fly-through on the CT was shocking; it was this perfect circle hole migrating up his head. After neurosurgery removed it, this guy walked out of the post-surgical ICU with no residual effects. And he admitted it was a suicide attempt. Luckily, the bolt only had a target point, not a hunting broadhead that would have carved up his brain."

"It was a national story. He was called the Bullet Man."

"As we were intubating him, his brain was getting suctioned out. I called neurosurgery for help, and they said, 'Nothing to do; he'll be dead soon.' The guy left a month later and waved goodbye to me."

"This was something someone said to my mom in the mid-'90s. I have zero idea of what happened to those people."

"Wish I could upload the photos I have. It's a wrench 36 centimeters/14 inches long, but the non-wrench end is a pointed pick axe type tool — and that's what's embedded in him. Nestled nicely against C3/C4 (middle of the neck). All we can get are X-rays — too much metal artifact for a decent CT. The rock star of a spinal surgeon just decides to yeet it out. Gave a few stitches, soft collar for a week, and the guy's back to normal."

"And I've seen worse since then. I recently had a patient not breathe for two minutes, take a breath or two, and not breathe again, with their oxygen dropping to 30-something percent. That was another emergency split to CPAP."

"She sent me a nice card a month or so later. It bothered me that her handwriting was better than mine, even after her stroke, but I was pretty happy."

Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.

Dial 988 in the United States to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The 988 Lifeline is available 24/7/365. Your conversations are free and confidential. Other international suicide helplines can be found at befrienders.org. The Trevor Project, which provides help and suicide-prevention resources for LGBTQ youth, is 1-866-488-7386.