Anyone ever found or seen a dead body?

Slow down when driving by car wrecks more often.
You'll see plenty.

Many... Why do you ask?

It's a smell you never forget

I've seen dead bodies (work in healthcare), but never came across one.

Floaters and Bloaters... HELL yes indeed. Fresh ones have the blood smell (if they bled out of course) The natural cause deaths don't really have a particular smell that I noticed.

Yes.

Today I was thinking about something that happened to me 13 years ago. I was walking down a San Francisco street when I happened upon a man who was asleep on a pile of garbage.

He had a huge gash on his ankle that looked to be infected and seemed in dire need of medical attention. I called 911, gave my info.

The next day I got a phone call and a visit from the police questioning me. When the ambulance arrived, he was already passed, and had been for some time.

And I got to thinking, how did he end up on that pile of trash by the side of the road? Did he fling himself there before he died? Or did someone put him there?

The police later told me there was no evidence of foul play. They wouldn't give me cause of death but because there was not much smell, I was thinking it had to have been recent.

I just can't bear to think of that man in his final moments, and what may have been going through his heart, and his mind.

May he continue to rest in peace. And may we all continue to be grateful, no matter what obstacles we face in life, we all have it better than that poor man.

I rolled a dead guy over once the stair was wild.

Yes. I took the vitals after the car bomb went off. It was a bloody mess.

And smelled like cooked pork.

People die in a variety of ways and for a variety of reasons... We all must be thankful for everyday.

I know what u r thinking" "is it good to eat"?

Don't do it unless you are straving to death

But you knew as he lay there...whatever it is that makes us human was gone. It is one of those indescribable feelings. It goes away if you've seen enough of them.

seen em, found em, even had one share his last meal with me when i gave him mouth to mouth (partially digested rice pilaf), even made a couple. the guy who got disassembled by an elevated train and scattered all over the street was pretty intense (i was tripping balls on acid for that one), the post thaw floater was by far the nastiest.

I did, when was in high school.

I was hiking with a friend in the mountains of Southern California. It was right after a heavy rain and flash floor.

We smelled it before we saw it. The smell of decaying death.

Then, in a ravine, tangled up in a jumble of brush was the naked body of a young Mexican woman. She was probably pretty once, but now she was all bloated and stunk badly.

Her face was frozen in the look of total fear.

We went and got the sheriff. He said she was probably an illegal immigrant.

Strangely, I'm in my late 50s, and have yet to clap eyes on a human corpse, in real life.

My parents are still hale and hearty in their 80s, and my grandparents all popped off when I was really young, and I never went to their funerals.

I've seen quite a few from working in Health Care and EMS (Emergency Medical Services) and once you experience it you'll never forget it or the smell of decomp if it's been awhile since they passed.

I've even had the displeasure of calling time of death for several friends and my own father

Yes. My father.

I worked as a coroner for two years, seen a LOT of dead bodies, in all manners you can possibly imagine. And yes, the smell, you never forget...

+1

No , not really have had this experience besides dead bodies on the side of the road, covered by the time I come along. Grateful for this. I think I would be traumatized just coming across one like some of you folks on here have. I would have nightmares for a month. And may I never expereince this. I live in a rural area, and we take our garbage to dumpsters. Sometimes people dump animal carcasses in the dumpsters, and that freaks me out. Someone once asked me if i was interested in being a volunteer ambulance driver. I quickly declined, because I know me, and that is just something I couldn't handle. Many of you here are much braver then I ....

same here

baiting me are you?

Actually, I don't think that would ever enter my mind.

funny thing, i always found dead animals much more disturbing than people. not like hunting, or road kill, but just stumbling on an unexpected dead critter where you wouldnt expect it. i'll skin out critters all day long without a twitch, but opening a trash can to drop an empty and finding a dead rat or any other critter just kinda freaks me out. weird, huh?

And here too. My mom and I were in the room when he passed away after a long fight with cancer. We knew the end was close as he had the "death rattle" for almost 12 hrs before he passed. We were both asleep in the room with him and at about 5am the sound suddenly stopped. We both jumped up and I listened for his heartbeat and we called the nurse. Slowly his heart slowed and stopped beating. The strange thing is that the moment after his heart stopped, he didn't look like my dad anymore, he looked different. Like a stranger. He wasn't there in spirit anymore but it somehow changed what his physical face looked like.

He was so peaceful and I'm thankful for that.

Somebody dumped a woman's body in my neighbor's yard one time.

I've been on the receiving end of a lot of phone calls to come help with a dead body.

My boss called me once to come kick the door in at his fathers place on christmas eve, I did, his dad was balled up on the couch and cold.

Another boss called me to work early one day, I showed up at her house to pick up some heavy equipment for grading, knocked on the door, no answer, went inside, she was cold on the floor next to the coffee maker she took down with her.

I've buried 12 friends so far in the course of 5 decades, each time, I'm the first to get the call to show up and help with the family.

I am a rock. I am most people's source of solitude and understanding. I get a lot of calls. I've saved a lot of lives as well, babies choking, car accidents, chainsaw injuries, broken compound injuries.

You just need to be the rock foundation that others seek at those times.

For that I'm thankful this thanksgiving, that others see that in me.

Last Edited by Redpaw360 on 11/22/2012 06:35 PM

We all think we'll die in a bed somewhere maybe at home or a hospital. Doesn't always work out like that.

After a few weeks in the Southern heat and humidity, no you don't.