I was seven years old when I came down with a disease that made me throw up constantly and wracked my stomach with pain. For a couple of days my parents just thought I had a stomach virus, but it got worse and worse as time passes. Eventually the pain was enough to wake me in the middle of the night and they took me to the hospital. The doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong with me, and sent me to a pediatric hospital.

Even at the pediatric hospital the doctors were puzzled. I was poked, prodded, and tested, but nothing conclusive from from it. Days passed and I got worse and worse, nearly catatonic with pain by the time they gave my parent's two options. Either attempt a spinal tap to check for atypical meningitis or perform an exploratory surgery on my abdomen. They chose the surgery, and if they hadn't I wouldn't be here.

The surgery discovered that I had appendicitis, and that my appendix had torn open days ago and begun dripping infectious ooze on the rest of my internal organs. The surgeons cleaned me out as best they could, but there was so much infectious fluid they had to leave the incision open and insert a drain to continue removing fluid. I had already been a thin child, but over the course of my disease I lost 15 pounds and looked gaunt as a corpse.

I was thinking about mentioning when as a kid I drank an entire bottle of a sweet tasting medicine and had to be rushed to the hospital, but there was this time I was much closer.

I was taking a nap at college before a class started and this bi-- I mean... idiotic girl yells at me angrily, waking me up. My heart wanted to burst out and I felt this strong pressure on my chest for 30 seconds or so. And all that because I sent the wrong document for a work due that day, which could be easily addressed. If I had died that day, she'd have to wear the job as a hat.

I almost choked with a candy. I know, ridiculous, but I'd probably died if a random person didn't know how to do the Heimlich maneuver.

Wow, some harrowing experiences in this thread!

Mine was probably also in a swimming pool, we had swimming lessons once a week in elementary school, I never liked it since I was a rather poor swimmer and didn't like water much ever since an accident in a lake when I was 2-3 years old. Anyway, I did technically know how to swim, but I never liked being on the deep end where my feet couldn't touch the bottom if I had to stand up, so I avoided it.
As a sort of game in the pool, the "cool kids" used to swim underneath the ladder/stairs we used to climb into and out of the pool, and it was on the shallow end and felt pretty safe even for someone who didn't like being underwater much.
I decided to give it a go, I guess some of the other kids saw what I was up to and came around to watch, some of these were the very same ones who bullied me from age 7 to around 12, and they would turn out to have some less than friendly intentions.
You see, the steps were loose, they were quite heavy though and simply rested on the edge via a platform at the top, as I swam underneath it, under no more than 3 feet of water or so, some kid(s), don't know exactly who, kicked loose the steps so they fell on me, trapping me at the bottom under what was probably at least 100 pounds of metal, I was pinned to the bottom, stomach and face down and unable to move.
The teacher jumped in and lifted the stairs out of the way, I was later told that I was pinned for over 1:30 minutes and my lungs were burning when I surfaced again.
After this, I never got into a swimming pool with those kids again, and I have been in a pool only twice after this is my entire life (this is now 21 years ago).

The worst part? The kids who kicked the steps onto my back were never so much as reprimanded for doing it; they were the children of "good parents" and I was, unfortunately, the child of some "not so good parents", all about that last name where I come from...

The only thing I can think of was manipulating a gas bottle for the oven. The cable that connected the bottle to the heater somehow broke, so while I went and replaced the bottles, gas started leaking. When I tried to turn on the oven, some slight spark suddenly lit the whole room on an intense blaze, and I'm not sure why the bottle didn't explode, or how come I didn't get on fire considering the flames went through my face and body (albeit a very short-lived blaze). I stood there like an idiot wondering what the heck just happened. 

Unfortunately, the experience didn't provide me with fire-based powers. I also had to get rid of the heater cable and purchase a new one. :(

I was on a flat rooftop with friends. I was about to step onto the next flat roof but decided against it because there was a huge puddle and I didn't want to get my feet wet. I gazed into the puddle and saw the top of a dustbin. It was at that point I realised it wasn't a roof, it was a sheer drop into the alley below. I can still feel that sensation now.

When I was about 6, we had a swing in our front lawn. Don't know why but there were ropes hanging off of the top of the swing and I was alone and started playing with them. Then my neck was trapped in the ropes somehow and I got pulled up. Lost my breath for about a minute or two before someone saved me.
Also when I was 10 I got myself locked up in thee trunk of the car and it had no air passage. My father was on his way to work by foot. Thankfully my bro heard me and brought the keys from my father.
Also one time I don't remember when but I was with my father at his friends house and a 30 foot long 12 foot wide heavy shelf hanging on the wall fell on me. If was not sitting on a chair that thing could have crushed my tiny body.
Also got almost hit by a car, a rickshaw hit me on the head but stopped thankfully and I was chased and cornered by angry red hounddogs

I don't live very dangerously but I'm a bit clumsy. The closest I've been to death have probably been the times I've hit my head somewhere. Head can be pretty fragile so it's always pretty scary if you hit your head even semi-hard. Once as a kid, I think I managed to stick my head in front of a door that was slammed shut just after I stuck my head there. Got hit pretty good from both sides there. Luckily it was a pretty lightweight door.

Damn, so many near drowning incidents. I guess that one is the most common to happen for anyone. Same with me. When I was in first grade at a friends b-day party some piece of shit kid a little shorter than me pushed me in to the deep end of the swimming pool from behind and I couldn't swim at the time. I thought I was going to die and I could even hear (imagine) ambulance sirens. Luckily some other guy saved me. I swear if I could go back in time, I'd be going to jail..even at that age. I had another one of those incidents happen (although not as scary) a month to a year after. Some rowdy kids held my head under water forcibly and my older and much stronger (than them) brother was with me but didn't help me. I guess he didn't understand at the time that I needed help. So some emotional scarring to add with that.

A little off topic: There was something that happened before all of this that made these incidents (and some future scary incidents) worse. It's one of my first memories. I saw a relative of mine die right in front of me and I couldn't understand what was happening, nor did I have any concept of life and death at the time. That and seeing all of the medical stuff being done just added to the confusion and mental scarring.

Was it a liquorish pipe ?

I dont find it ridiculous at all.

One of these things nearly got me when I younger: