What is the closest you've ever come to dying?

I actually think there have been a few times, but the first one that comes to mind must be a good one:

For reference, I'm 26 years old, in case that somehow gives better visualization or makes this funnier. A couple months ago, I was standing in the hallway between my room and my brother's. We were about to go to sleep, so I was pretty much just saying goodnight to him. I have a habit of following him from room to room when he is on his way to bed, talking, and making jokes. I guess it just seems like the best time to make sure I've mentioned all the cool and funny stuff I have in mind. We usually keep each other up talking about stuff, but it's more fun than sleeping, so fuck it.

Anyway, he was standing in his doorway, and I was in the hallway joking around. I was drinking water, and something made me laugh. Not sure if he said something, or if I made myself laugh. Could have been murder by laughter, or suicide. It was a good laugh. A legit spit-take. After exhaling almost all of the air (and water) from my insides, I went to breathe in, and the smile left my face IMMEDIATELY. I was inhaling at like, 5% of the normal rate. I could feel my eyes open wide, and I remember looking at my brother with like, an "Am I choking?" look.

He was like, "Czik? Are... You choking?" I kind of leaned my head to one side and made a give-me-a-second face. At first, I struggled a bit, just trying to push the air through, but realizing it wasn't helping, I stopped fighting it. It was like a Chinese finger trap. I kept my breathing to the uncomfortable, but functional pace of almost not breathing at all. Even though I had my mouth almost wide-open, it felt like I was breathing through a coffee stirrer.

The whole time my brother and I almost kind of stood there, stunned. It was really surprising, honestly. He kept asking if I was okay, throughout, and I would just hold up a finger as if to say, "Hold up." After maybe 30 seconds - which sounds WAY too short as I type it out; I think it just FELT like forever - I recovered, and my brother was like, "Next time that happens, I'm just calling 911." I said, "Yeah. That's probably a good idea." I was honestly proud of myself for keeping calm. Pretty often, I've thought "How long can you go in life without legitimately choking?" Just seems like to easy of a fuckup not to make, eventually. Hopefully, that's my one. Laughed about it afterward, but I made sure to finish drinking, first.

/r/AskReddit Thread